New Assignment

Values Clarification

Values are the underlying principles, consciously and unconsciously adopted, by which you make choices and decisions for your life's path.

Values are self-motivators that indicate what is most important in your life.

Values are reflected in what you actually do with your time and your life.

Mature, independent successful individuals act upon their own values and not the values of others.

Values Clarification is the process of deciding and clearly stating what you believe. It fosters self-confidence and places you in control of your life.

Reviewing and assessing your values periodically is necessary in order to maintain a clear understanding of who you are, what you want, and where you are going in life. The more awareness you can bring to bear on the question so very fundamental to your happiness--"How do I want to live the rest of my life?"--the better.

What are your present life values? If you've never given your values much thought, let alone been asked to write them down, this can be a difficult exercise. Here is some helpful information. Values can be the answers to questions such as:

What am I committed to? What would I be willing to die for? What am I willing to live joyously or enthusiastically for? What is freedom? What is peace of mind? What is security? What is power and authority? What comprises happiness in me? What is love? What kinds of beauty do I need in my life? How do I think goodness is rewarded? How would I like people to think of me? Do I need ethical standards and integrity in my life? What do other people mean to me? What do I want my legacy to be?

Values may be discussed in terms of how they relate to our life's goals, objectives and direction in life. Values are a source of meaning and satisfaction in life. For this learning assignment, instrumental and terminal values will be presented and discussed.

Instrumental Values are human qualities and dispositions which serve as a means of describing how we are or how we want to be in terms of our relationship with life. In some respects, these values may transcend understanding and perhaps may even appear enigmatic. Yet, we feel strongly about them and fervently support and accept these values as best describing our human character. The list includes but is not limited to:

aesthetics

ambition

authority

capability

caring

cheerfulness

cleanliness

common sense

cooperative

courage

creativity

curiosity

duty

education

efficiency

forgiving

freedom

giving

helpfulness

honesty

honor

hope

humor

imagination

independence

individuality

integrity

intelligence

justice

kindness

leisure

logical

loving

loyalty

membership

obedience

patience

playfulness

politeness

popularity

practicality

religion

respect

responsibility

self-worth

service (to others)

spiritual believe

truth

volunteering

wellness

wonderment

Our values are also potential purposes, manifest only in our goals. Terminal Values describe a sense of purpose and are reflected through human involvement and experiencing. They reflect reasons for living. They are what we are about. Included are:

accomplishment

achievement

adventure

appearance

career

comfortable life

contentedness

country

culture

discovery

education

family

freedom

friends (close)

fulfillment

fun

growth

happiness

health

inner harmony

justice

knowledge

leadership

leisure

life

mature love

money

national security

nature

pleasure

position

power

prestige

profession

recognition

recreation

relaxation

salvation

satisfaction

security

self-respect

serenity

social recognition

stability

status

success

understanding

wellness

winning

wisdom

world at peace

world of beauty

work

Which of these values, both instrumental and terminal, are most important to you?