I was thinking about writing something on integrity, but after staring at a blank screen for a good five minutes, I took a step back and delved into personal values. After all, when each of us thinks of integrity, we probably focus on the values that are important to us. My values influence what I write, how I treat people, and, hopefully, the decisions I make. When I do or say something that aligns with my values, I feel positive and energetic. When I compromise my values, even a little, my gut tells me so. Have you had that experience?

So, how do you figure out what your core personal values are? I think about the times in my life when I felt happiest and most fulfilled and satisfied. But life is full of trials, so I have also seen my core values come to light in the worst times.

The list of potential values is endless, but here are a few to think about.

Accountability, altruism, balance, belonging, calmness, clear-mindedness, commitment, community, compassion, consistency, courtesy, creativity, curiosity, decisiveness, dependability, discipline, discretion, efficiency, empathy, equality, excellence, expertise, fairness, faith, family-oriented, fidelity, fitness, freedom, fun, generosity, goodness, happiness, hard work, health, honesty, humility, improvement, intuition, joy, justice, leadership, legacy, love, loyalty, openness, patriotism, positivity, preparedness, professionalism, quality, resourcefulness, results-oriented, security, self-control, selflessness, self-reliance, service, stability, structure, success, teamwork, thankfulness, thoughtfulness, tolerance, trustworthiness, understanding, unity, vision.

I’m guessing you came up with some that I haven’t listed. So, what are your core values? Can you pick the ten that are the most important to you? Maybe your choices are obvious. If not, go through the list and pick all the ones that are important. Then go through that smaller list again, prioritizing the ones that matter the most to you until you get to ten. There is no wrong answer. Your core values define who you are and how you want to live your life.

I had to go through the list several times, but settled on these: compassion, empathy, equality, faith, generosity, honesty, humility, love, selflessness, thankfulness.

Not to say that I don’t strive to have some of each value listed, but when I think of how I want to live my life, these ten bubbled to the top. I want my thoughts, words, and actions to demonstrate those values. The decisions I make, small and large, must be driven from those ten. In the world we live in, it isn’t always easy to stick to any list. I know there will be times when I fail, but I will always try to do better. Oh wait, maybe I needed to have improvement on my list.

I am happy, positive, and hopeful when I live my life based on some core values, and isn’t that what we all want?

Choose to be a light!