Why Your Values Matter

Your values are an unequivocal part of who you are, and yet, they’re sometimes hard to identify. Adding to the struggle, different values play different roles in both your personal life and your professional development. Plus, they’re constantly evolving, making regular checkins and adjustments necessary. Some examples of core values include connection, honesty, and commitment to social justice, while professional values may include balance, growth, and integrity. Of course, these values may overlap too. For instance, time with family, although it occurs at home, may be dependent on your career path, making it an important part of the puzzle in both your personal and professional life.

In Live LYTE Counseling & Services inaugural blog post, we take a closer look at the importance of knowing your values in both your personal life and your professional development.

The Importance of Values in Your Personal Life

Before we dive in, let’s look at the difference between goals and values and why you should put an emphasis on values instead of goals. A goal is an achievable task with a focus on the outcome instead of the process. With this type of singular concentration, it’s common to feel let down or disappointed once the goal is (or isn’t) reached). A value is defined as a belief that guides us. Rather than “achieving” our values, we regularly engage with actions that are in line with them, guiding us to act in ways that make us proud and behave in ways that make us feel good.

Now that we’ve defined values, it’s easy to see why they’re important, especially for people who are dedicating time to therapy services. Taking that first step and identifying your values can have a positive impact on your relationships, your sense of self, your work — your whole life, really! They help you better understand what matters to you, what makes you tick. You must do more than simply name them though; you need to truly connect to your values and act in ways that bring you closer to them. In doing so, you can find fulfillment and contentment and positively impact your mental health.

Some individuals have been disconnected from their values, so focused on what they believe they ‘should’ value based off of wanting to gain acceptance from others or what they’ve been taught by parents, family, and other influences. Counseling can help to uncover their true values and it can be a pretty liberating experience for them to identify who they are and what matters to them. An example of this would be how values impact how they spend their time and with whom. For many of us, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of connection. By recognizing this value and exploring ways to bring it into your life, you will feel more inspired in other areas of your life too. Maybe this means joining a virtual book club or engaging in zoom theme dinners with friends or family. Values are empowering. Whether you choose to take action or not, your values are still there, playing a role in how you feel and how you act.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), you can learn to accept your inner emotions (rather than avoid or deny them), identify your values, and then live in a way that honors them both. It combines behavioral therapy and mindfulness skills in an effort to help you develop psychological flexibility and embrace challenges rather than running from them.

Values in Professional Development

Additionally, your values play a major role in your career path and professional development. First, they allow you to be clear about what you want and keep you focused and motivated. Knowing what you stand for ensures that you’ll do your best work, which in turn brings new opportunities (perhaps a big project or promotion) your way. Your values indicate what’s important to you, and by keeping them front of mind, you’re consistently staying true to yourself.

Along these same lines, research shows that there’s a strong correlation between your values and job satisfaction. After all, how can you be happy if you don’t know what makes you happy? When you and your employer agree on things that are important to you — such as contribution to the world or commitment to growth — you’ll feel like your voice is being heard and most likely find fulfillment in your work. On the other hand, if you disagree with your employer’s product or approach, you’ll eventually reach a point where you can no longer behave inauthentically and compromise your values.

Lastly, your values play a key role in decision-making. Making decisions, particularly when those choices affect a group of people or even an entire company, is challenging, but having clear values to guide you can make a huge difference. Let’s look at honesty and integrity, two common values that you may experience from employer to employer. One way to ensure that you are integrating these values when making decisions at work is to consider who is being impacted by your choices and how they can partake in the decision-making process. Power-sharing and equity help to live out the values of honesty and integrity in the workplace. Having a clear picture of not only what these values mean but also what they look like in practice makes it easier to make decisions that have a positive impact.

Struggling with identifying and connecting to your values? If you’re ready to live life on your terms, Live LYTE , Counseling & Services can help! For individual therapy or clinical supervision, reach out to Marissa Friedman, LMHC, NCC. For professional development or clinical supervision, contact Carmen Bolivar, LCSW.

Written By: Marissa Friedman, LMHC, NCC

Marissa Friedman, MA, LMHC, NCC received her bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Florida (GO GATORS!) and received her master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Central Florida. Marissa is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and one of the founders of Live LYTE Counseling & Services, LLC. She is passionate about helping adults navigate stress & anxiety, increase self-esteem, and feel empowered and confident through online counseling in Florida.