An Introduction to Personal Values

Personal values are the beliefs, principles or ideas that are important to you in your life. It provides an internal reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful, desirable, and constructive. Ideally, your personal values guide your life choices, big and small. Personal values are important because they provide us with a road map for the kind of life we aspire to lead. The more our choices line up with our values, the better we generally feel about ourselves. Values generate behavior and help solve common human problems of survival by comparative rankings of value, the results of which provide answers to questions of why people do what they do.

So why is it Good to Know Your Personal Values?

First, you get clarity build your self-awareness by identifying your values and secondly, knowing your highest values can act like a guide for you. It makes intelligent decisions easier. Also knowing your negative values, those from which you try to keep away from, is very helpful as well. When you are clearly aware of your value hierarchy you can consciously check situations against your value-system, which will create better decisions and results. It will be easier to keep your balance in life. For instance when you are about to make an important decision you can double-check if going the one or the other way would go against one of your core values. On the long run, that would pose a problem for you. So all in all its an awareness building process which can give you direction in life.

The Formation of Personal Values

Values are obtained in many different ways: The most important place for building values is a person's family. The family is responsible for teaching children what is right and wrong long before there are other influences. It is thus said that a child is a reflection of his or her parents. As a child starts school, teachers and classmates help shape the values of children. Religion also plays a role in teaching children values. According to Shivam Sharma, values are formed during three significant periods: 1. Imprint period from birth 7 years. 2. Modelling period from 8 13 years. 3. Socialization period from 13 21 years.

Personal Values and its Importance in Creating Corporate Strategy

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Knowledge:the fact or state of knowing; the perception of fact or truth; clear

and certain mental apprehension. It helps to pursue and learn about new things and ideas; to search for truth, or information; to be known by others as an intelligent person and to feel intelligent. Wisdom:the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; discernment, or insight. It helps us to understand, perceiving experience from a broad frame of reference. Power: ability to control and influence over other people and their actions. It helps to lead and direct others, to influence or control others that are to get them to do what I want them to do. Ethical standards: principles that when followed, promote values such as trust, good behavior, fairness, and/or kindness. It helps to believe in and maintain a code of ethics, a sense of right and wrong; to be moral; to conform to the standards of society, family or spouse, profession, and personal beliefs. Versatility:capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks, fields of endeavor. It helps to be able to move easily from one subject, task or skill to another. Be flexible. We should know how to adapt on the changes that we will encounter for the near future. Risk taking: tendency to engage in behaviors that have the potential to be harmful or dangerous, yet at the same time provide the opportunity for some kind of outcome that can be perceived as positive. It helps to be able to take the risk. Being a risk-taker is good sign that the organization is looking forward for a development or improvement although they know that it might be harmful or dangerous. Perseverance:steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

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Being a persevere person gives a steady and continued action or belief usually over a long period and especially despite difficulties or setbacks. Courage:To be entrepreneurial and thus take risks, reach beyond boundaries, and experiment.

Responsibility: To be held accountable to others or to organisations to which I belong for a job or task, to process something and care
for it.

10. Creativity: To be free to and have the ability and desire to develop new ideas, solutions to problems, improvements in products or
procedures, or designs of things or plans; to be mentally challenged; to be first to innovate or create.

11. Security: To possess the basic wherewithal for living; to feel safe; to have self-confidence; to have job security and continuity of
income.

12. Dedication: To be loyal to a company or to a supervisor, my family, social and political groups, and others, to give devotion,
commitment, or friendship to others.

13. Justice and parity: To receive rewards and recognition for my contributions and achievements in proportion to my efforts and
comparable to those received by other people.

14. Growth: To advance, to expand my life through the improvement of my status at work or in the community; to increase my work-and
non work-related knowledge or skill; to find fulfilment in the groups in which I work and live; to mature personally and professionally.

15. Integrity: To be consistently open, honest, ethical and genuine 16. Religiousness: To believe in a supreme being; to relate my belief to other people and let it guide my actions; to lead others in line with
the teachings of my faith.

17. Love: To experience warmth, feelings of affection, a sense of caring, enthusiasm for, attachment to, devotion to, and interest in
something or in another person, especially someone to whom I can make a commitment.

As we study about organization or companys environment that we may encounter in the near future. Lets now focus on the first step which is knowing ourserlves. It is important that we, ourselves know how to act professinally for it can be one factor for our success. Our topic for today is all about personal values. First one is Simplicity. It means not being complex nor complicated. Now, kindlt think of ways that you can use to simplify your life. To those who had the idea in mind on how to simplify life, well its better if you would apply it. It is one way to be happy,live simply. Its easy right? Very simple as that. ( e.g, in business) 18. Simplicity In this time of great complexity and hurry, there is no more important personal value than "simplicity." Taking the time to simplify anything that is overly complex is a very helpful skill in these rapidly accelerating times. Simplifying a work not only streamlines it, but make it more effective and productive, leading to greater results when compared to its former complex arrangement. Strategies: -Take any important work or project in your life and come up with at least two ways to simplify it. -Develop a half dozen ways to simplify your life. 19. Harmony Next is harmony, I have here four words. Can you apply harmony using this four words? Humble, Kind, Arrogant, Boastful Harmony is the coming together of disparate elements for common purpose. It is the moving together of varied or opposing forces, so that they emerge in a higher truth that all can benefit from (not merely a compromised truth). The value of Teamwork is one variation of the value of Harmony, as is the value of Organization. Harmony is such noble and elevated a value that it can be considered a spiritual value. Strategies: Make harmony a permanent personal value that you believe in and practice. Over the next few days and weeks notice points of conflict that appear in your work and life and seek to implement a higher truth, or point of view, or action in each situation that can harmonize the opposing ideas, conflicts between people, and other forms of opposition. 20. Content Over Form Thirdly, Context over Form or is accounting term substance over form, lets have here the some famous qoutations: Dont judge the book by its cover and What is beauty if the brain is empty We know the expression "don't judge a book by its cover". It means that is what is inside that is important, not the superficial surface. This expresses in a variety of ways in life. For example, any serious person will judge the truer, deeper meaning of a thing, rather than merely its outer form. A tendency to react to the outer aspect and not its intrinsic value prevents one from getting at the heart, the inherent truth of the matter, taking one away from the full knowledge that would have led to right decisions and actions, and thus great accomplishment and success in life. It is from the depths of situations and circumstance that you find its essence. For example, if one admires another's

social position, instead of their true accomplishment, including the values they subscribe to, you will miss the key to their success, and therefore fail to learn from it. Or, if you are merely evaluating a person from the shallow perspective of their appearance, or quickly coming to a conclusion based on a brief acquaintance, then you also miss the deeper and wider truths behind. If you judge a book by its cover you will never get to know the depths of others, and the true meaning of life's situations. Strategies: Consider various circumstances in your life where the outer or surface form is more important to you than its intrinsic content and value. Adjust your attitudes and beliefs accordingly. 21. Hard Work We have already known that hard work is one of the keys to success in life and work. Do you think if would just sit there and relax, there would be luck that will knock your door, maybe yes, thers an instance but you can be able to maintain or sustain what you have if theres no hard work. (e.g, if you want a promotion). It is universally agreed that hard work is one of the keys to success in life and work. Without it, few can succeed. A person may not be hard working for a number of reasons -- the influence of parents, a lack of energy, a lack of motivation, a bad experience, pure laziness, etc. Consider why you may not be hard working, and then make a determined effort to change the behavior. Keep up the effort over time. Watch how life continually blossoms with good

fortune!
22. Challenge To feel good about what I do, its degree of difficulty, and the complexity or demands on my creativity; to have opportunities to apply my knowledge and skills effectively and easily.

Dont be afraid with what comes to your life or work. Sometimes you may think that you cant do it but just have faith, you can do everything as long as you behave in yourself. (e.g, project asssigned to your unexpectedly.
23. Faith Self confidence, believe that you can do it, just have well to do it. Then you can do it. Always remember that you are not alone in the organization. There are other members who are willing to help you if needed and of course you shoulkd recognize any help received. (e.g, project help from big boss) 24. Passion Drive and commitment to energize, engage and inspire others in the achivement of ones goals. ( e.g, corporation objectives) 25. Good time/pleasure It is good that sometimes tou have time for reservation, relax to reduce strees after hardwork. 99% expiration 1% inspiration 26. Friendship Work with others enjoying their co-employees, it promotes teamwork.(e.g, in achieving company goals) 27. Self-Esteem To be someone of value in my own eyes and in the eyes of others; to be accepted as a person rather than as a nonentity or as a means to an end; to feel useful and wanted by other people; to be a leader; to be appreciated by others. Value yourself so other can value your worth. (e.g, believe in yourself).

Conclusion
Personal values are the traits or behavioral characteristics ones self. It is very important in an organization because it c an be seen on how you act. Whatever you think say or do reflects your personal values. It affects your actions, interaction with other members of the organization you belong to. It depends to your personal values if you can act positively or negatively. It may vary when youre in your workplace. You must adapt to corporate values. You must respect yo ur co-workrers. But if it so natural, it would reflect on you whether you like it or not. The thing is you must know how to handle different kinds of personal values and adjust upon the situation when needed.