What Do You Stand for, Really?
Your values guide your life — if you know what they are.
Most people don’t know what they don’t know. Psychologists Rozenblit and Keil coined the term ‘the illusion of explanatory depth’ to describe this phenomenon.
We all believe we know more (about ourselves) than we actually do.
My point is not to make you feel bad, but to invite you to reflect on what guides your life: your values. Most people are clueless about theirs. Even if you are clear on what you stand for, read on. Take a few minutes to revisit your values.
Please, know your values
We all have something that we stand for. However, most values were ‘imposed’ to us. We inherited our religion, political affiliation, our idea of building relationships -even our favorite sports team- from our parents.
Most people stick with the framework they were brought. They keep those values forever. Others realize that, at some point, certain choices no longer work for them. And choose a different path.
Then come school and work — the push to adopt values imposed by others keeps influencing our lives.
That’s the problem with values. We usually act without being truly aware of what we stand for. Especially, like it or…
