The Beauty of Values Clarification

Knowing the things that are most important to you in life is one of the greatest self-discovery journeys that any person can take. This is called values clarification. Without this, it becomes difficult to know what one’s life direction, purpose is and how to truly fulfill it. I have no doubt that every success story would relate to this process. Interestingly, both at personal and corporate level, this principle is valuable.

My growing up was blessed because it was anchored on values. I had the opportunity to clarify the things that were most important to me (my values) as soon as I knew what values meant and how they influence our decisions and ultimately the outcome of our life. And actually, I have always reviewed my values at every point in my life.

By values clarification, I mean identifying and making clear what a person or organisation believes is important (values). Clarifying your values is vital to identifying where you need to invest your time, energy and resources. The goal of “values clarification” is for you to become fully conscious of their influence, and to explore and honestly acknowledge what you truly value at this time in your life. You can be more self-directed and effective when you know which values you really choose to keep and live by as an adult, and which ones will get priority over others.

Why is this so important?

There are several reasons why I consider values clarification as a beautiful step to take in one’s life journey.

It helps you become self-aware. Knowing of one’s self is the first knowledge that leads to every other form of success that one would ever experience in life. From a personal experience, I know that self-awareness is rooted in identifying and making clear what is/are important to you.

Whenever, an ethical decision is made or needs to be made by a person or a corporation, it is most likely such decision would be dependent on a well-clarified value or set of values.

To finish a task, it requires prioritizing it. If you have ever practiced prioritization, you will agree with me that doing so is usually based on what you consider or believe to be important to you at that time.

If any person or corporation is seeking to develop credibility in one area or the other, this can only be possible if there are strongly held values that inspire becoming credible. However, if you do not take time to identify them, it is almost impossible to become credible.

How you manage your time, resources and relationship will always reflect what values you have clarified for yourself. People who have clarified values simply do not go to every event, visit every friend or buy anything in the market.

These are just a few reasons why clarifying your values is a beautiful thing to consider doing. But then, how do you clarify your values? I will show you, with some personal stories in a future post.