1. Who are the people I respect most in life? What are their core values?
2. Who is my best friend, and what are his/her top three qualities?
3. If I could have more of any single quality instantly, what would it be?
4. What are three things I hate?
E.g., cruelty to animals, not keeping one’s word, deforestation, etc.
5. Which three people in the world do I dislike the most and why?
6. Which personality trait, attribute or quality do people compliment me on the most?
7. What are the three most important values I want to pass on to my children?
8. If I were to teach a graduating high-school class values that would give them the best opportunity for success in life, what would those be and why?
9. If I had enough money to retire tomorrow, what values would I continue to hold?
10. What values do I see being valid 100 years from now?
11. What are some qualities that make an ‘ideal’ man or woman?
12. Your top 10 values
Now take a look at your answers above. Do you notice any reoccurring themes? Taking what you’ve observed in others, what others have observed about you, what you want for others, and things you would fight for or against, create a list of your top 10 values (in any order) below.
13. Your top 6 values
Now, let’s reduce it down to the half-dozen most important to you. Put a star by the values you’re sure about. Then take the ones you feel are important but aren’t sure if they’re top-six material and put them in pairs. Think about two of those values side by side, and ask yourself which of the two is more important, eliminating the other. Keep pitting the survivors against each other until you’re down to six. If some of the values you listed are just two words describing the same idea, combine them.
14. Your top 3 values in life
Now prioritize your core values in order of importance, with the most important first. All are important, of course, but which are the most important? If you had to choose between two values, which would you fight for, or even die defending? Now which are your top three?
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