My guide to who I want to be and how I want to live.
I once viewed a short video about a man who created a 'life vision' for himself to guide his daily decisions and actions. For a long time, I've felt very lost, lacking a vision for my life and that video inspired me to think about the values that are most important to me.
I'm still thinking through my 'life vision', but for now, these are the core values that I am using to guide my life:
God and Family First
Be Authentic, Connect, and Serve
Live Passionately and Meaningfully
Center and Balance
Continuous Learning
Here are the principals I am using to guide my journey towards those values:
Commit to God and Moral Living. I want put God first and live according to my moral code. However, though I love God, I have a complicated relationship with religion and I struggle to find my place in it as well as self-love and self-acceptance. Living this value requires me to step back from church policies and structures that harm and refocus on my spiritual journey in line with what I truly believe about my Heavenly Father and Mother. I need to learn to apply God's mercy and grace in real ways and accept my imperfections. I choose to live morally every day.
Put Family First. It's incredibly important to me to always put my family first. With a busy career, it can be a challenge to balance the demands of a full-time job and motherhood. However, my son is my world and I want him to always know that he's first in my life. Putting family first means setting clear boundaries at work; prioritizing spending quality time with my family; and working hard to create a home environment that is positive, strengthening, and loving.
Always be Authentic. Being true to myself and honest about who I am -- the good and the bad -- is really important to me. Always being authentic means confronting my own weaknesses and mistakes and learning to accept myself despite my imperfections. It means trusting others enough to share my truth and creating safe spaces for others to share with me. It also means creating that space in my home so we can be authentic with each other, as a family.
Seek Meaningful Connections. I believe that, as children of God, our souls are inter-connected. Having traveled the world, I've also learned that we all have way more in common than we think. I apply this value by connecting in meaningful ways with those I interact with, whether strangers, friends, or family. Additionally, I seek to be part of a strong community of friends and family is key. This is important to me because 1) I want my son to grow up with a strong sense of community and 2) I want to fill my life with meaningful connections.
Serve Others. Making the world a better place and being kind and helpful to others is central to my entire world view and is a value that I want to be at the center of my life. Serving others means looking for ways to regularly positively contribute to society in both big and small ways. It means formally volunteering and participating in organized service events as well as looking for daily opportunities to lift others including my own friends and family.
Live Passionately and Fully. Some of my greatest life moments have involved trying new things, seeing new places, and enjoying memorable experiences. Living passionately and filling my life with adventure is important to me. Living fully means actively seeking new experiences, traveling, and ensuring my son actively engages with the exciting world we live in.
Build Meaningful Memories. Life if filled with precious moments and I believe in cherishing life's little moments. Building meaningful memories means making seemingly normal moments memorable, seeking meaningful and impactful experiences, and investing in creating special memories. I want my son to be raised with cherished memories and meaningful family traditions.
Center and Balance. I am an incredibly hard worker and a very passionate person. Intensity is both a strength and a weakness for me and finding balance in my life is a constant struggle. I want to learn to achieve a balanced life that allows me to live my passions and work hard, but also centers me in moments of peace and joy. Center and balance mean practicing more mindfulness, spending more time in nature, prioritizing moments with my son, and more time reading (less TV and mindless entertainment). It means more depth, less surface. It means more quiet, less noise. It also means prioritizing my physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Learn Continuously. My entire life view centers around the idea of continuous learning and growth. I am naturally curious and really value understanding the world around me. I embrace new opportunities and challenges because I know they will help me to be better and grow. If I could, I would be a professional student. Sometimes my commitment to learning, however, can translate to an obsession with the pursuit of perfectionism. Continuous learning in my life means a constant pursuit of knowledge and experiences that will grow my perspective and push me to new heights. It is fun and includes new adventures. It is balanced and rooted in curiosity rather than a lack of self-acceptance.
So that's it - my code of conduct, my life guide, my roadmap. Because I do well with checklists and metrics, here's some questions to help me assess my decisions and actions against these values:
Is this moral? Will it bring me closer to God?
Does this put my family first?
Will this allow me to be my most authentic self and connect more deeply?
Will this make the world a better place?
Does this enrich my life and add meaning?
Will this promote balance in my life or take away?
I'm a long way from truly living these values, but here's to working towards a path that better represents these values.
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