52 Week Challenge - Week 2 challenge:

 Go through the process and define your top 5 core values including ranking themnesty

Try not to become a person of success. Rather become a person of value. 
Albert Einstein

This week’s challenge from Deb at http://www.homelifesimplified.com.au/52-weeks-to-simplify-your-life-challenge/ had me thinking long and hard, heading down one track and then doing a couple of U-turns and heading off in another direction but finding my way back to the first well worn track.

Narrowing it down was really difficult and after day one I wasn’t sure I’d found the right words to describe the values I have or is it the values I want. This is the crux of the challenge this week for me, are the values I listed ones I have or ones I want.

I’m going to dissect each one and see how I go:

Honesty – very important to me, honesty is everything.  The good the bad and the ugly as long as it is honest. Very important for anybody, family, group, friend, workplace, community or anywhere.

Integrity being an upstanding person that does everything right is this important to me or is just so I am seen to do the right thing.  I didn't really want to put this one in as it makes me sound like such a fuddy duddy but being honest (we all know how important that is to me) I had to include this one even if it makes me sound really boring.

Understanding and empathy for people, walking a mile in another person’s shoes.  For me this is very important and works in all areas of my life. Understanding family, friends, community,  workplace and importantly me.

Sincerity this is about being honest not only with myself but with others. Also about being true to myself. Yes there is a bit of a theme happening here - even thought I tried to get away from it I just couldn't. This is what makes me the person I am.

Peacefulness – its not peace, or being a pacifist, its about living a peaceful life without conflict in any form. This is very important and works in very well with my other values.  All roads lead to peace.

I still wasn't sure that these were the right ones.  Another way I looked at it was  'what do I value in others' or 'what don’t I like in others…….'.

When I looked at the values I like in others I came up with similar values but this wasn’t enough for me so looked at it in another way. I decided to create categories and then put values under the categories to come up with the top value in each category and hopefully I will be on the way to my 5 core values.

In no particular order the categories and the core value for each category are :

Community - Understanding
Family - Sincerity
Work - Integrity
Me – Peacefulness
Friends- Uplifting

This is very interesting – there were a lot of similar values in both my lists.  As much as I would love to include determination, listening, support, manners, respect, work ethic, kindness, learning and the many others I culled from my top 5 I guess it is the difference between what is and what you want it to be. Something for me to aim for and maybe in a couple of months if I attempt this challenge again these values may change.

Looking back to move forward……. I see it as it is:  Honesty, peacefulness, integrity, understanding and sincerity these are my values.

Yep, that’s Me!