What do you value?

When I started Step 3, writing down what my values are, I got overwhelmed.  I value so much in life that the list is truly exhausting.  So, I put down my pencil and thought of this a different way.  I mean, if you really think about it, there is value in almost everything.  What I was trying to get at was what are my non-negotiable values.

To make it a little easier I tried to get outside of myself.  Thinking about the values that I admire in the people closest to me.  Thinking about the things that I work hard to maintain and enjoy every day.  What really means the most to me?

If I put it in those terms I come up with a quick list of values:

relationships
family
aesthetics
knowledge
faith
acknowledgment
freedom
growth

I know you may look at this list and say, well duh, who doesn't value those things.  But really think about it.  Is it important to you that things look pretty?  That might not be high on everyone's list, but it is important to me.  I value pretty.  I work really hard to make our home, our yard and our stuff beautiful.  I like to present dinner on pretty plates.  I like my work space to be pretty.  It is important to me.  That might not be high on everyone's list.  But, knowing myself, I'm not happy if it isn't pretty.

So you can see how starting to put down values and really thinking about where they fall in importance can help you to see how your talents/skills will match up.  Speaking of talents/skills, I think that is a much harder task to identify those.  I'm working on it.  But, I kept coming back to...how does that fit in my value list?  So, I decided to focus on this one first.

What is your most important value?