Dissecting & Honoring Your Core Values

Doing the 100 Day Challenge is a wonderful opportunity to explore and dissect my core values.
Core values are the things that make you, you. They represent what is important to you. When we feel out of integrity it is because one or more of our core values are being violated or compromised. To protect ourselves and to keep in integrity we put boundaries around our core values and the immediate result of setting clear boundaries is that we raise our standards. If you are working hard towards a goal or intention and not getting anywhere or moving forward really slowly it is probably because the goal or intention is in conflict with your one or more of your core values.

One of my core values is - to feel good and my 100 day challenge is all about that. What I am finding from focusing on my 100 day challenge is that I am experimenting and raising my awareness of exactly how to honor my core values. It's forcing me to get granular and that is always a good thing.

My Feeling Good Index

• That just showered feeling, which incidentally lingers the next morning when I shower the night before. My skin feels alive and my feet tingle.
• Smooth shaved legs.
• Relaxation - my new drug of choice. This also satiates my need and value - peace and calmness.
• Stretching and listening to my body - especially that spot at the base of my spine.
• An abundance of time.
• Laying under a tree on the grass in sprinklings of sunlight.

Once I started getting specific around this I realized that I could create a matrix for each value which would enable me to track both the ying and yang of each of my core values. One way for you to do this would be to create to lists for yourself "How I Honor My Value" and "How I Dishonor My Value". The beauty of this dissection for my is that once I get granular about how to honor my values then I can be very clear and specific as I create boundaries and set standards around them. As always being specific also enables you to wrap your arms around something tangible that you can move towards, or away from (things that dishonor your values). It's a lot easier to spend more time stretching, doing relaxation and laying under a tree than to simply state I am going to spend more time "feeling good". The wonderful result is that when you clearly state what you want more of it inspires you to take action. Which is really important because all the planning, exploration and work on your personal and professional development means nothing without action. Action solidifies it and truly brings gratification bringing us to that wonderful place of flow in our lives.