Value-Based Goal Setting Exhibit #6

All Values Categorized
Top Ten Values
Five Core Values

During this activity I was forced to truly think what values did I truly want to define myself by, to my that would be the ones that would (in theory or in practice) make me the most happy, if I was to live them out. I went through all of the cards shown and separated them into the categories I thought they belonged in. The hardest part was when I began to narrow them down, to me a lot of the values I saw as very important but I had to get it down to first ten, then five. What was surprising was how it was easy it was to get rid of some values even though they were in the “very important to me” compared to others in same category, such as achievement when compared to family. I narrowed my top ten values down to: independence, family, adventure, self-esteem, humor, knowledge, creativity, honesty, achievement, and purpose. From here I found my five core values to be: family, humor, knowledge, adventure, and purpose. After very much thought I consider, purpose, to be my number one core value. I think purpose is number one because if there is no purpose there is no point, as in if you are doing something without a purpose there is no reason to do it and there will not be the same since of accomplishment once that is completed. Also a life without purpose is a life without meaning, and when I feel I don’t have a purpose I feel that I am completely lost with what I am doing. Mean values however I felt strongly about and it was hard for me to get rid of them. For example, the hardest value for me to get rid of was “independence” which is something I hold very highly. I want to be able to take care of myself and not rely on others or things but when it comes down to it people can really help you out and compared to my five core values I didn’t think it would provide me with as much happiness as the others. What really surprised me however was how easy it was to categorize what was not important to me. The values that I put into that category, I really didn’t have to think about putting them there. What was even more surprising was the ease in which I narrowed down that category. It was by far my easiest top five to categorize.

Short-Term Goals:

1) Begin to excel at school: In order to reach this goal I will have to first make school my number one priority over everything else. The next step is to make sure I know everything I have to accomplish for each class and the workload I have. Once I have that done I will plan out the rest of my semester and summer classes week by week and what work I will have to do day to day to succeed. I will also have to follow this plan completely and not falter. I will also have to communicate thoroughly with my professors and classmates to get all the advantages I can for the classes I am in. Excelling at school is something that relates to almost all of my five core values. Right of the bat knowledge would be the value it has the strongest connection with because the better one does at school the more they know. The next strongest it relates to is purpose because this give me a purpose to keep going with my school work because if I relate it to “family” by the fact that the better I do at school the less tense my relationship with my parents becomes I have a meaning. Humor can relate to any aspect in life as long as you go in looking at the humorous side of things and don’t let them get you down.

2) Travel to somewhere I haven’t been: This can be achieved rather simply in the short term. The first thing that needs to be done is I need to save a specific amount of money, which can be done by working for a month. Then I need to set aside three or four days and decide a destination. Once the destination is set (within driving distance) a day-to-day schedule should be made of what to do. Once that is decided all that is left is to go on the trip. This relates the most with adventure because this is doing going somewhere I have never been before and experiencing new things and sights. That can also relate to knowledge because when you experience new things most often times you learn from them. I can also relate this to “family” by just bringing along my family and including them on my travel.

3) Become closer to my family: This is a slightly more difficult task but can be accomplished multiple ways. The biggest thing that can relive tension amongst my family is for me to excel in school. I need to also spend more time with my family and connect with them more. I can do this by planning day trips or activities that can be done to connect us more. Sitting down and holding very meaningful conversations with my family and not keeping anything from them. Then also accept them more into my life and who they are than I do know. Obviously this completely falls under the “family” core value but it can also relate to “knowledge’ because most everyone in my family has lived longer and experienced more and different things than I have, so by sitting and talking and listening to their advice I will grow and learn more. “Humor” can also be related to this because being around my family always comes with a lot of laughs. This also gives “purpose” because family is something that will last forever and I will always have a reason to strive to stay close with them. I can relate this to “adventure” as well because the things I do to become closer with my family can be adventures to places or things we have never done together before.

Long-Term Goals:

1) Have a challenging and successful career: In order to do this I must complete one of my short-term goals, which is excel at school. I must excel and then graduate in order to secure a decent job after college. After finding a job I must stay vigilante and always push myself to complete all my tasks as best I can and in a timely manner. I must go above and beyond in the work place. Establish rich connections with people in the professional world and communicate with all of the people who are over me. From this I will strive to work my way up in my work place and take career path decisions that continue to challenge me and give me opportunities for success. This relates to knowledge because in order to be challenged and successful I will need to continue to grow and learn. “Adventure” is tied into it as well because in order to continue to grow my career, it will take me to places I have never been and I will have to do things I never expected. This just adds “purpose” to my education and continuing desire for knowledge.

2) Have a family of my own: This is a huge deal in my life and is something I have always wanted to have. In order to do this several things have to be securely in place, I must first graduate and get into the working world. Then I once there I must get to a job and place where I am financially secure all while simultaneously looking for a women I could make my wife. Once I am finically secure and married I would make sure I am in the best school district in my area and find a home that an comfortable house a family. There I would have three children and raise them with my wife. This interacts directly with my “family” core value because I will literally be raising a family of my own. This also gives my life a “purpose” because I would have a wife and kids everything I do will be to make them happy and give them the best I can offer for every aspect of their life. Raising a family will also deal with the “knowledge” aspect of my core values because keeping a marriage and raising children comes with a lot of lessons learned. Having a family is also a constant “adventure” because you never know what is going to be around the corner and will constantly be experiencing new things. In order to not lose my sanity while raising children I will also have to see the humor that comes out of the situations that I am thrown into and thusly it relates to my core value of humor.

3) Find my purpose: This relates to everything because once found it would dictate every aspect of my life. In order to do this I must live my life and take in every aspect. Always continue to try new things and see what I am drawn to, learn from my experiences. I must learn about the inner workings of myself, and what my likes and dislikes are. Using all of these things I should eventually come across what I would consider my purpose in this life. Once that is found it would literally give every aspect of my life meaning to work toward that purpose thus controlling all of my core values.

4) Be brought to laughter everyday: This only really relates to my core value of “humor” but living a life where I am brought to laughter everyday for the rest of my life is the life I want to leave and can really contribute to my overall happiness.

Credits:

Created with images by Antranias - "goal football rush"

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