How can you know what's important to you? How can you know if you are
out of sync? Go to the list of 16 Basic Values
and think about the most important ones from your point of view.
Now number the values, 1 being most important to you, 2 being next, and so
on until you have numbered the entire list of 16 values from the most to
the least important.
Once you have done that, carefully go through both your calendar
and your credit card statements and checkbooks for the last two months.
Make notes of what you have spent your money on. Then count up the hours
you spent directly working toward each of the values. If you spend 10
hours at work each day, for instance, you might count this toward power,
independence, curiosity, social contact, status, and/or winning but it
would probably not go to vitality/health, tranquility or family. Now rank
the values according to your time, energy and focus, with 1 being the
value toward which you put the most of your actual time, energy and focus,
down to 16 where you put the least.
Compare the two lists - what you consider your priorities versus where
you put your actual time, energy and focus. If your high priority values
(1, 2 or 3 on your priority list of values) are low time/energy/focus
values (below 7 or 8 on your time/energy/focus list), this lack of inner
direction causes stress. In the same way, if your low priority values are
high time/energy/focus, this also signals stress. As you get older, the
stress increases with continuing lack of connection between what you hold
meaningful and how you actually live your life.
What do you want to do about this?
