Values Cards
Everyone deserves to live a values-based life. I created these values cards to be able to more clearly identify them within your own!
Here are the steps to use them if you choose to print them out yourself:
Use the four cards labeled "Most Important" "Important" "Somewhat Important" and "Least Important" to create four columns.
One at a time and without skipping ahead, go through each of the cards, reading the value and definition and place the card under the matching category of how important it is to you. As you place the cards, put them on top of one another, so that you cannot see the previous card. NOTES: Do not base this on prevalence (i.e. how often do I do/care about this?), but rather importance. If it helps, ask the question "if this were missing from my life, is it important enough that I would seek it out again?" If the definition on the card is not how you would personally define it, go with your own definition! HINT: If you're selective it will help you later on ;)
After going through all of the cards, you can use the last page to see if there are additional values that you would like to add to your 'most important' category using the blank values cards.
Remove the piles from "Important" "Somewhat Important" and "Least Important".
Now using the "Most Important" and "Important" cards, start going through the cards that were previously in the "Most Important" column. You are now using the "Most Important" card as the higher value cards while the "Important" card is a discard pile.
Your goal is to get down to 10 cards. Repeat the process until you are down to 25 or fewer cards using the method above.
Once you have 25 or fewer cards in the "Most Important" column, feel free to spread them out to decide your top ten. HINT: Some people like to separate their top cards by categories. If you notice any themes amongst your top cards that you would like to divide them up in, then pick your favorite definition/word/value within that pile, it can help reduce down to your top 10 easier!
Once you have your top 10 cards, order them 1-10 (1 = most valued 10 = least of your most valued)
Now, with each card having its own individual scale, rate them 1-10 on how prevalent they are in your life. For example, if one of your top cards is honesty, are you honest enough that you feel proud of where you stand? That might be an 8 or 9, however a 10 is reserved for those values that you wouldn't change in your life. I like to say "it's not too much or too little", AKA, it's not negatively impacting other values. And a 1 is "I know I care about this thing, but I'm not doing anything currently in my life to show that".
Once you have identified your top 10 values with each being rated 1-10 on how prevalent they are in your life, you can now create a values-based activities list! This list is of activities not goals. This means that they are items you can return to, not something you accomplish. For example, if adventure is a value, wanting to climb Mt. Everest isn't something that you would easily complete and even once down, you're unlikely to do so again. So instead, how about an activity to try a new hike in your area? HINT: If you get stuck on an idea, ask yourself if there are any journal prompts you can come up with!
That's all! If you have questions about any part, feel free to comment!
**You can also do similar steps without printing these cards out. If you'd like to do them without printing, get a piece of paper and create the four columns of importance and write the values down in each column. You can then follow a similar pattern for the remaining steps until you get your top 10!