The Value of Accountability
What are your intrinsic motivations for achieving a personal goal? What is driving your curiosity about personal accountability? Why even care?
I can’t answer those questions for you, but I can help you take a first step toward finding the answers. Defining your values is one of the most important conversations you can have with yourself. Your values guide the way you move through life. They provide context for your motivations and can help you make decisions when you're at a crossroads. Not only do tough choices become easier, but you also become more motivated to accomplish your goals when you understand how they align with your values (1).
About a year ago, I completed a values exercise with my partner. It was a meaningful experience, but I’ve grown a lot since then (it’s been an adventurous year), so I realized it was time to revisit it. That’s the cool thing about values—they aren’t set in stone. They evolve as you grow and experience new things (2). Because of this, it’s good practice to reassess your values periodically to ensure your present values get the attention they deserve.
I invite you to join me in this exercise:
There are different ways to identify your values, and no one way is right. However, there is one rule: you must be honest with yourself.
You don’t have to take the same values test I did (shoutout to my friend who introduced me to it—you know who you are). But I found it helpful the first time, so I’m sticking with it for consistency. Here’s the link: Think2Perform Values Test.
Alternatively, you could Google “values test,” pick one that resonates with you, or simply grab a pen and paper and list your values.
To start, make this as simple or as detailed as you want. If you’re stuck, here’s a list of values for inspiration: James Clear’s Core Values List. Eventually, I recommend narrowing it down to your top five core values.
Yes, only five. You might push back and say, “We’re more complex than just five core values—why stick to only five?” First, that’s the framework of the test I took…lol so there’s that logic. Second, narrowing it down to five is challenging, and we grow through challenges. It’ll be fine. It might even be fun. Focus on the five values without which life would make no sense.
To be fair, here’s my list (in no particular order):
Autonomy - Places importance on freedom, independence, and individual discretion.
Challenges - Things or situations that test a person's thoughts or abilities.
Cooperation - Placing importance on working together to achieve results; go along with a role.
Health - Placing importance on physical and emotional well-being.
Integrity - Firm adherence to a moral code and/or set of values, walking the talk.
Revel in the uniqueness of my values fingerprint. What does your values fingerprint look like? Are your top five what you expected? Now that you have your list, take an intentional moment to assess how you generally spend your time. Does it align with your values? Remember the only rule: honesty 🙂.
This is just a starting point for understanding yourself and what drives you. It’s not a means to an end but a step toward living a more fulfilling life. I’ll leave you with this old video that captures the essence of what I’m talking about: Watch Here. I think it still holds up today.
E. Higgins et al. "Making a good decision: value from fit.." The American psychologist, 55 11 (2000): 1217-30 . https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.11.1217.
D. Kendal et al. "Understanding pathways to shifting people’s values over time in the context of social–ecological systems." Sustainability Science (2018): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0648-0.
