We can all live with purpose because there is so much to live for. There are things we can pursue, discover, or accomplish that fill our lives with meaning and purpose. We can have vision for our lives, dream dreams, and fulfill our callings. There is always something for us to do. Pursuing interests, developing skills, setting goals, and prioritizing our time all help us to grow and give us something to anticipate. We can make each day count and live with purpose.
Our values direct our behavior and the way we evaluate the world. Our values determine who we are, how we spend our time, what’s important to us, our likes and dislikes, our attitudes, and so forth. We make decisions based on our values every day. Sometimes our values conflict with each other. For example, spending time with our family may conflict with our work schedule which demands extensive hours. Clarifying our values helps us to understand which values are most important to us and the priorities we give to them. This will help us to make decisions that are consistent to our values and that we are happy with.
Review the list of values provided below. Add anything to the list that best describes what is important to you. You will find that some values are very important to you while others are somewhat important or not important at all. Underline the values that are somewhat important, and circle the values that are very important to you. Review the values you circled and note your 3 most important values. Now ask yourself the following questions:
Why are these values important to me?
How do my values affect the decisions I make?
What, if any, conflicting values do I have? How do I deal with them?
How do my values affect the way I balance work, rest, and play?
How do I spend my time each day? Is it consistent with my priorities?
Does my lifestyle reflect my values? If not, what would I want to change?
Fame
Wealth
Status
Health
Friendships
Family
Marriage
Financial Security
Raising children
Work
Success
Happiness
Pleasure
Physical Appearance
Helping others
Fulfilling career
Making money
Respect
Education
Creative expression
Freedom
Independence
Popularity
Love
Community
Contribution
Fun and excitement
Reputation
Recreation
Spirituality
Social connections
Leisure
Change
Admiration
The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. ~Allan K. Chalmers
Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose. ~Helen Keller
It is the paradox of life that the way to miss pleasure is to seek it first. The very first condition of lasting happiness is that a life should be full of purpose, aiming at something outside self. ~Hugo Black
Growth itself contains the germ of happiness. ~Pearl S. Buck
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. ~Albert Schewitzer
Copyright © 2007 Krystal Kuehn. All Rights Reserved. New Day Family & Couples Couseling Center
Taken from The 9 Habits of Happy People by Krystal Kuehn, Activity 1 of: Habit #7 What are You Living For? Practice Happiness by Living with Purpose.
Krystal Kuehn, MA, LPC, LLP, NCC is a psychotherapist, author, teacher & musician. She is the cofounder of New Day Counseling, a family couples counseling, child teenage counseling center, BeHappy4Life.com, an award-winning, self-help and inspirational site where you can find hundreds of free resources, insights & words of inspiration to change your life, and Baby-Poems.com where you can find beautiful baby poems, baby quotes, cute sayings & baby videos that will touch your heart & increase your joy & gratitude for the children you love & enjoy! Krystal is also author of The 10 Keys to Happy and Loving Relationships (available through amazon)and several blogs: Give Thanks Journal, Baby Poems blog & Words of Inspiration blog.