Page 17 - My FlipBook

looking back

“Identifying my core values totally helped me at a really hard time in my life. I
was feeling conflicted and confused and burnt out with academics and wanted a
change. But my parents were really anxious and nervous about me getting off the
track they had envisioned for me. So figuring out where I was truly coming from
at that moment helped me talk to myself about who I was and to communicate
with my parents about my priorities and what I was thinking about doing. This
helped ratchet down the tension between us so I felt more supported and they
felt less worried all the time.”

—N. Craig, recent college graduate

IDENTIFYING YOUR CORE VALUES
Core values are the fundamental beliefs of a person or an
organization. If you ever work for a big corporation, you will
hear this term discussed often between team leaders as they strive
to create authentic identities for their brand. In school you might
have done some similar exercises to build your emotional literacy.
I know you are probably thinking to yourself right now, This is
dumb; I know what I’m about, but bear with me and ask yourself,
do you? I mean, really? Enough to tell me what your core values
are and how your actions represent those beliefs? If so, I give you
permission to skip this section . . . but if you can’t quote me your
personal mission statement in an elevator the next time I meet
you, read on. (Mine is “Be kind and follow through,” in case you
were asking.)

part one: you are here 29