My Value System

What is a Value System?

A value system is a hierarchy of values that all moral beings have and is reflected in their choices. Most people's value systems differ. It's an individualistic concept. One's value system is molded by one's virtues or vices, and experiences.

The purpose of this webpage is to review my Value System as a cohesive whole, to show how my values work together, to increase my commitment to them by sharing them publicly, and hopefully to inspire others to make their own.

While my Mission is my “What & Why” my Values are my “How”.

The Purpose of my Value System

If My Mission is my North Star, My Foundational Values are my compass.

A North Star is a singular point that I am always striving towards that provides direction, fuel, and motivation. A Compass is a tool I use for direction in times of uncertainty; a tool that can guide me through the forest until I reach a point of clarity where I can see my North Star and the landscape clearly again. My values are like the rules to my chess board, or my compass in the forest. My values flow with synergy and natural evolution through a process that creates growth, progress, positive personal development, and transformation into fulfillment of my life mission: "Be Extraordinary".

My Foundational Values are intended to:

Construct a conscious moral compass/internal GPS.
Construct a conscious identity and commitment to it.
Make it clear what is expected of myself and why.
Create constraints and define the playing field of my behavior.
Reduce uncertainty and confusion in my psyche.
Create a framework to make decisions more effectively.
Foster the right mindsets.
Boost my morale.
Attract like-minded people.

The end result is I do not need to expend extra energy figuring out what to do or how to behave in the pursuit of accomplishing my Mission.

Why These Values?

In short, because in my mind, every other value is a derivative of these values.

When conceptualizing my values, the issue I came across is that I value everything Good. I wanted to be productive, tranquil, serene, loving, spiritual, effective, a leader, harmonious, peaceful, efficient, wise, etc. This could have gone on forever into an infinite list. An infinite list provides no compass if you cannot distill values down to a core of select values. So I tried to distill my values into the values all or most other values can be derived from. This way, I could represent all these other “good” values. I believe I have done that to the best of my ability. They are:

Spirituality
Health
Wisdom
Love
Integrity
Effectiveness
Mastery
Power
Creation
Freedom
Peace
Evolution

You can always go more meta, more deep, more values. My analysis could go on forever into infinite regress. I have chosen these values as an adequate phase 1 framework. I will use them for their purpose (as outlined in the above section) and review them periodically. They are good enough, so at this point, it is about my commitment to them.

How They Work Together

I break them down into inward and outward values.

My inward values are:

Spirituality: Your fundamental relationship with The Universe.
Health: Your fundamental asset to interact with The Universe.
Wisdom: The highest form of human consciousness. Wisdom tells you the applicability and contingency of every other value - which is why it's so high on the list.
Love: The foundational creative force.
Integrity: Adherence to these values I extoll.

These inward values prepare you for how you interact with the world, aka my outward values. Once you have the inward reality cleansed, now its time to interact with the world.

My outward values are:

Effectiveness: This should be your fundamental aspiration in everything you do.
Mastery: This is something to strive for.
Power: This is the state you naturally achieve when you’re Effective and have Mastery.
Creation: This is what you Create with your Power. All your actions are a form of Creation - Create Wisely.
Freedom: This is the result of what you Create.
Peace: This results from your Freedom.
Evolution: This reminds you to keep cycling up, even once you've achieved your peace.

Moving Forward

Now I have clarified my values and internalized what they mean, I have to live them.

Living my values means more than professing them. I practice them, I walk the talk, I am clear about what I believe and hold important, and I take care that my words, thoughts & behaviors align with those beliefs.

I admit that I will not be able to maintain perfect adherence to these values. I am not a saint. But I commit to grow along these lines and use these values as guides to progress. I claim progress rather than integral perfection.

I commit to operationalize my values into my life. I commit to monitoring my adherence to these values weekly. My Values should be so crystalized in my mind, so infallible, so precise, and clear and unassailable, that they don’t feel like a choice. They are simply a definition of who I am. In those hard moments, I know I am going to pick what is right over what is easier. Because that is Integrity – choosing courage over comfort. Choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, and easy and it is practicing our values – not just professing them.