Simplfy Week #2
Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 8:50PM This week’s challenge at Home Life Simplified is to define one’s own personal values. And I only had a week to pull this all together? Ack!
Although the more I reviewed this challenge over this past week and the more I pondered my personal values, the more I realized that putting this into words was not a struggle for me. In fact, over the past year or so I have done quite a bit of self-examination so this has sort of fallen into place for me this week.
It’s odd in a way but being on my own has helped me get back to what I feel is important to me. I have always been inspired by women who have made their own way in the world without relying on others for their self worth. Sometimes I am disappointed that I’ve slipped away from that in my life but it is nice to feel back in that place and centered once again. In my mind, it is one thing to have the love and support of a partner, family and friends and quite another to draw upon those people in order to feel worthy. Too often in the past I have been more concerned about others and their feelings, dreams, ambitions, etc. than my own. Honestly, I still struggle with this issue but at least I am at the point now where I can recognize those tendencies in the moment.
So what are some of the values in my life that I find most important to me?
In no particular order:
Independence, Kindness, Spontaneity, Creativity, Optimism, Learning, Self reliance, Generosity, Strength, Connection, Joy, Love, Happiness, Health, Humor
And to narrow it down to a top five:
- Humor. For me, this is tied greatly to optimism. Humor is my default response to most situations. Granted, it may not always be the most appropriate response but that’s something I’m working on as well. It is very important to me to have fun with even the most trying circumstances. Not surprisingly, I once attempted stand-up comedy in my 20s. I often wonder if I would be more successful now that I have more life experience under my belt.
- Generosity. I like to think of myself as a generous person. I’m not completely selfless but I do like giving of my self (time, things, space, sometimes even money) in order to help others or even just to cause a smile. I am a huge believer of giving back, paying it forward or passing things along.
- Creativity. I am a maker. I enjoy creating things no matter the medium...knitting, spinning, sewing, etc. Creativity is something that I use everyday even when it is applying a particularly creative idea to a problem at work. My motto is “there is a always a workaround”. There is always more than one way to accomplish a task and I love to apply my creative thinking to problem solving.
- Independence. Ah, how I’ve lived this word this past year. Sure, I moved into my own place and divorced my husband...but it was so much more than that. I feel like I’ve truly taken steps to be more self reliant and step out of my comfort zone.
- Health. Yes, a sure sign of the aging process is valuing health. I’ve worked a bit a making healthier choices in the past year. Hopefully, I’ll find ways of continuing that in the coming year. But with many injuries and illness befalling my family and friends this past year, I think about wellness and health issues more often these days.
Well, there you have it. I think this week’s exercise has helped me to get a sharper focus on my values and priorities. I would encourage you to visit Home Life Simplified and check out her weekly challenge. I'm finding it to be pretty interesting. In the meantime, I'm going to get back to my knitting...
Simplify
Reader Comments (4)
I think it's great that you value humour so much. Why go through life having anything but a good time and seeing the best/fun in everything? You should give stand up another do, life experience provides a lot of good content ;)
I love your values. I enjoy creating but aren't really that creative! I think lots of us are starting to value health a little bit more,and the health of our family. It really hits home when you attend funerals (I had 6 last year)!
I like how you linked humour to optimism... so true, and yet, i had never seen that connection before!
I wholeheartedly agree with humour. What a wonderful and positive outlook to value. Furthermore, you must have great strength and courage within, to value independence particularly after your divorce. Thanks so much for your honesty and sharing what you have.