The Beginning of a New Year

The beginning of a new year often brings upon new and old resolutions. Your new intentions can be positive challenges but perhaps this time of year can also be used to reflect on your experiences during the past year and personal values. This may be an opportunity to engage in an introspective exercise and ask yourself – What are my values?.  What is important to me and am I committed to things in my life that are in line with my values?

At first, your list of values can be quite extensive once you start jotting them down. Family, friendships, creativity, generosity, and health are just some examples that may come up. When you feel lost or stuck in your work or personal life, you may realize that your decisions and actions are not consistent with your values. This month, take time to generate a list of your top ten values, talk to someone about it, write them down in a notebook and ask yourself if your values are present in your life. Include these values in your new year’s resolution and in a month from now, see where your values have led you.