How to discover your core values and create a life that feels good

I truly believe that living in alignment with your personal core values is one of the key components to unlocking a life that feels good from the inside out. After all, your values are like your own personal compass, guiding you as you move through life. When you discover your core values and understand what truly matters to you, you can make choices that move you in that direction, staying in harmony with your beliefs and desires.

Understanding your core values can be a game-changer, whether it’s helping you to make decisions, figure out your next steps or map out your priorities. Knowing yourself deeply in this way is what leads to a sense of purpose, inner satisfaction, and fulfillment (and just happens to be what intentional living is all about!)

Table of Contents

Benefits of living from your values

How to discover your personal core values

Journal prompts to help you reflect on your core values

Incorporating your core values into your life

Benefits of living from your values

While it can sometimes feel challenging to uncover and live from your values, there are some really great reasons why you should:

Direction: Like I mentioned above, your values act as your own personal life compass. They can steer you towards what’s important to you when you’re making decisions and bring you clarity when you’re feeling stuck.
Alignment: Living from your values means living in alignment with your true, authentic self. There is nothing more freeing and fulfilling than living in authentically.
Motivation: Doing this inner work will make you more excited about your life in general. You’ll feel more inspired and more motivated to keep working towards your goals and dreams—even when it’s challenging—because of the fulfillment you feel overall.
Relationships: Not only will you be an example of what it looks like to live intentionally for those who know you, you’ll also likely make new connections because of your commitment to living from your values. You’re more likely to attract and resonate with people who have similar values to your own, which leads to deeper, more meaningful relationships.
Growth: Taking the time to uncover your values means you’ve taken the time to deepen your understanding and awareness of your true self. Self-awareness equals personal growth and self-improvement.

How to uncover your core values

I know that sometimes narrowing down your values can feel a bit overwhelming, so I want to share some of the methods I’ve used to help find my own values, as well as some journal prompts for reflection that can help in the process, and the benefits of incorporating your core values into your everyday life.

Discovering your personal core values requires self-reflection, self-awareness and introspection. There’s not a one-size fits all approach to getting clear on what matters to you. For some people, defining values might feel easy, but for others, it might take some time to actually narrow down all of your ideas into a list of values that you can actually use moving forward. Here are some tips that can help you uncover what truly matters to you:

Take time to reflect: Spend some time reflecting on your past experiences and on any significant moments in your life—both positive and negative. Identify any important insights that came from those experiences. For example, if you felt a strong sense of justice during a particular event, that might point towards the value of fairness being of importance to you. I’ve included some additional journal prompts below to help with this step!
Identify role models: When you think about the people in your life that you admire and respect, ask yourself what qualities they have that resonate with you. What values do they seem to live from? Often we admire people who’s values are similar to our own, so they can provide some great insights into what might be important to you as well.
Watch for clues: As you go about your daily life, notice how you feel in different situations or experiences. When do you feel most fulfilled, content or aligned? What triggers these feelings? What do these situations have in common? Are there any other insights you can gather from these situations? Your feelings are an important indicator of your values.

Journal prompts to help you reflect and discover your core values

You probably already know how much I love reflection and journaling as tools for self-awareness and personal growth. They can be equally powerful tools for uncovering your values as well. Here are some prompts that you can use to further explore your values:

What moments have brought you the most joy so far in your life?
What experiences make you feel fulfilled and why?
What are you most proud of?
How do you love to spend your day? What activities would you include in your ideal day?
What experiences are on your bucket list and why?
What boundaries have you found to be crucial in your life?
What are your non-negotiables in life?
What challenges have you overcome? What guided you during these challenges?
Who is important to you? What is important about them?
What beliefs do you have about relationships?
What qualities do you admire in other people?
What are your current priorities? How do you feel about them?
What beliefs do you have about work and career?
What beliefs do you have about purpose and personal growth?
What kind of impact do you want to make in the world?
What do you want to be remembered for?

Once you’ve gathered all of this insight, it’s time to list out all of the values that you came up with. If you need help coming up with your values, it might help to look at some value lists. I found this one helpful. Start by listing all the words that resonate with you, then slowly narrow it down to 5 or 6 core values. You want to find those 5 or 6 values that encompass what’s most important to you. Having too many values can be overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to live from those values.

If you’re struggling to narrow down your list, try grouping similar values. Ask yourself, which word best encompasses how I feel about this group of values? Ultimately, use your own inner guidance to decide what words really speak to you and feel right to you.

Incorporating your core values into your life

So now that you’ve got this amazing list of values…how can you actually incorporate them into your daily life? I believe that simply recognizing what matters most to you and keeping these values in mind can naturally guide you to live more intentionally each day. Of course, you can also actively use your values in different situations, such as when you’re making plans or decisions. Here are a few suggestions for integrating your values into your daily life, but really, there are countless ways to do so!

Use your values to:

set intentions
create goals
make decisions
establish boundaries
determine priorities
contribute to causes
check-in with yourself

Discovering your personal core values is a transformative journey that can lead to a deeper understanding of yourself and a more intentional and fulfilling life. The decision to intentionally align with your values acts like a guiding force, shaping your priorities, decisions, actions and even your relationships. By taking the time to reflect, journal and incorporate your values into your everyday life, you can create a life that truly feels good.