In our series of monthly workshops, the first workshop was on “Creating a Value System.” We discussed the definition and importance of a value system, how to create a value system, how values are integral to navigating our lives, and how they impact our decision-making, actions, habits, and behaviors.

What is value? 

Well, it has different dictionary meanings for different subject areas. However, in our workshop, we discussed “value” as something very important to us, that sits at the top of our priority list. Things that are very dear to us and which we want to protect at any cost. It can be about morals, people, things, thoughts, work, finances, anything, and everything! Values can also change with time and according to our experiences.

But why is it so important to understand our values? Why is acknowledging and being cognizant of values so crucial? 

This is because it is one of the crucial steps in understanding our purposes, our why(s), in creating our plans for our goals or dream lives. It is one of the first stepping stones on the journey of becoming a better version of our present selves. It helps us to create and obtain a detailed preview of the intricate blueprint of our lives.

Exercise-01

We started by asking our participants what they understood by values—what values meant to them. Then we showed them a box of words reflecting various values and directed them to select 5 words that were important to them or on which their values were based. After that, we had them rank those selected values (words) based on their degree of priority in their lives.

This short exercise was shown to be immensely helpful to our participants. One can easily do this at home if they are feeling overwhelmed with continuous and various life happenings or feeling lost from who they are or want to be.

Exercise-02

The next exercise was to write down “what they did last week to practice these values.” This exercise undoubtedly jogged their memories to deeply reflect on their daily actions and whether or not they were truly aligned with their values.

Exercise-03

Next, we requested the guests to score their prior week’s actions based on their level of satisfaction with those actions. This whole exercise was to help them understand where they were standing in their daily plans and which areas required more focus or had room to improve.

Realizing one’s values can ease one’s decision-making processes and guide one to make better and more focused action plans. And, having a refined action plan can assist us in building new habits that later compound into behaviors.

Exercise-04

Lastly, based on their scorecard, we encouraged our participants to make action plans for the next week. For instance, if someone has chosen health as one of their values and scored a sad 5 out of 10 on their last week’s action; that individual then wrote down next week’s action plan enactment, which will allow boosting the score and satisfaction with themselves.

The workshop was interactive with its ice-breaking session, exercises, and sharing of each other’s thoughts and experiences. A tribe of inspiring and confident people, including the youngest participant, who may have been only 13 or 14 years old, were all consumed with discussing great ideas and plans.

The main speaker was Chitralekha Kar Pooja, Founder and Facilitator of “Bold and Becoming”, an Assurance Professional from EY, NY, USA. The workshop was hosted by the EMK center. 

The recorded version is uploaded on our YouTube channel. Follow our pages for more updates on our monthly workshops and webinars.

Let’s hear about your values. What do you value the most in your life? Do you prioritize your plans based on your values?

Let us know at boldandbecoming@gmail.com.