In 2023, I hope each of you is able to set goals/intentions/resolutions/etc. and fill your own cup while doing so. We all know you can’t pour from an empty cup!
I have several blog series coming up, but I plan to do a short post on each of these “Fill Your Cup” ideas in the next month. Stay tuned!
Today’s post will be about “Reflection”
What do you think of when you think about reflection? Quiet contemplation? What you see in the mirror? How the things around you reflect you?
I think of my semi-annual Values exercise. Every year, I try to revisit my personal and professional values. I think it is important to remind yourself what is truly important to you. Here is the exercise I do with some instructions for your personal values sort:
Values Sort & Values Based Decision Making
This year, I changed some of my words around, added a couple and took some away until I came up with my top 9: genuineness, creativity, knowledge, independence, compassion, order, solitude, growth, and respect. I also tried to think about what their opposites would be, and what my goals for this year would look like.
I give this exercise to a lot of my clients, but I have a policy – I try to do all the exercises myself, also. This speaks to several of my values, including genuineness, creativity, respect, growth and knowledge. It also overlaps with several from a professional values lens.
Just a note – my professional values list looks a little different than my personal one, and I try to keep the list shorter in an effort to clearly define my mission and my brand. In case you’re curious, that list is: expertise, compassion, directness, respect, curiosity, and collaboration. Hopefully, it is easy to see how these relate to each other, and how some word choices might change when you look at things from a business perspective instead of a personal one. For instance, expertise and knowledge are related, as are curiosity and creativity/growth or directness and genuineness (according to my definitions. Compassion and respect are the same words, but take on different meanings and have different associated goals.
Your Challenge
Try the exercise! See what your values and conflicts are telling you about your life. If you haven’t done this exercise before, I hope it is as powerful for you as it is for me. If you have, how does your list change this year?
See you soon! Next time, I will talk about REST – something we all need (and I do not know many people who are good at)!