Values stocktake

Every day you make decisions based on what you value. As a central part of your character, your values create the road map by which you navigate life. But what happens when you hit a fork in the road where the life you lead collides with the values you hold dear?

- Marie Rowland

We are all familiar with retail stores or wholesale suppliers doing stocktakes periodically. This arduous job means they can ascertain how much stock is on hand, what needs to be reordered and what hasn't moved off the shelves. At the end of this accounting process, the company is left with an accurate inventory knowing not just stock levels but, more importantly, what is perceived as a higher-value item and what is not. If we transpose this proposition to a human level, you too can differentiate and calibrate particular values that are significant to you and can rank them accordingly from high to low.

By doing a personal value stock inventory, you can come to know the values that mean most to you and what you relegate to the back room of your heart and mind. Values form an essential part of your being instructing you on how you want to live your life. Some values may be universal, but others are unique to you and how you view the world. No two people will have the same value set. Further, there is no right or wrong to this list, as is the case with morals or principles, which are imbued with notions of good and bad based on societal norms and precepts. Values are inherent to your being and therefore are entirely individualistic in their nature. They impact every part of your life from how you parent to how you vote, from the choices you make to how you view the world - but not all values are equal in value.

Valuable values