One of the most successful self-help concepts is the Steve Pavlina List of Values (see below).
This list of values is designed to help you get a clearer sense of the things that are most important to you in life. Steve’s list contains an extensive collection of words that represent different values that matter to most people. As you scan the list, Steve tells you to take note of the values that resonate with you. Sure enough, some of the values will seem significant and meaningful while some will not really hold your attention for a moment. Steve’s advice is to look for the values that are ‘part of you’.
The Steve Pavlina list of values requires a two-part process. Once you’ve chosen the values that mean something to you, you then have to live in integrity with them.
The question is; what is the significance of these values?
And if they’re so important, how do you apply them to your life and how important is it to do so?
Two Major Benefits of Being In Touch with Your Personal Values
Your values are your priorities.
Your values will tell you how you should spend your time and will help you determine what are worth spending time on and what are not. According to Steve, time is a precious resource, and unless you know what to focus on, you will not be able to make the most out of it. Every moment that you waste is a moment that could have been invested in things that are significant and can produce results that are consistent with your desires. If you stop wasting time on the things that are not important, you can convert more time into more money, spend time taking care of your physical body, invest in relationships to keep them from breaking apart, and so on. These priorities will then lead you to the best life possible.
But people have different ideas as to what the ‘best’ is, and this is another reason why identifying your personal values are important. Even if you don’t waste time, if you spend it on things that are inconsistent with one another and inconsistent with what you really want, then you won’t achieve the ‘best’ that you have in mind for yourself. Your personal values will tell you what matters most to you, and this will help you in making the right decisions and taking the right actions. These values give you a consistent direction that will hopefully lead you to the best results that you’ve always wanted in life.
Your Most Important Values – What Matters Most
The Steve Pavlina list of values does not just help you get started on identifying the values that mean the most to you. The list comes with step-by-step instructions on how you can determine the correct hierarchy of personal values that you want to apply in your life. Steve does warn his readers that prioritizing their personal values are a time-consuming process. It is a project that requires investment and commitment. But Steve promises that the whole process is worth the effort.
By identifying your top value, the second highest value, and so on, you will know which values to satisfy and invest in the most. Steve suggests coming up with scenarios for each value and comparing the different scenarios to find out which would affect you the most.
Steve believes that a person’s hierarchy of values can help predict his behavior. Living a life true to your values then leads to the highest level of contentment in life, because your most pressing needs will be satisfied.
Changing Your Values, Changing Your Life
Once you know what your values are and how they affect your life, Steve teaches you to use your list of values as a tool to change your life for the better.
If you consciously change your values, you can steer your life toward a different direction.
There are many reasons why you would want to change your values. When you begin to realize where your present values are taking you, you may also realize that they are not taking you to the best life possible. Steve believes that to change the direction of your life, you can start simply by rearranging your personal values.
The Steve Pavlina list of values is just one of the many self-help personal development concepts that Steve has discovered in his own search for personal growth and self-realization. For more of Steve’s realistic advice on pursuing the best kind of life possible, check out the other sections of this website, such as Steve Pavlina polyamory and Steve Pavlina polyphasic sleep.
The Complete and Original Steve Pavlina List of Values
Please remember, this list of values is only a guide. Feel free to add your own (unlisted) values to your list as well.
Click to download the Steve Pavlina List of Values.