Allowing Your Values to Steer Your Success

Many people in today’s society are stuck in the day-to-day demands that seem to be a natural part of life. As the world around us speeds by, sometimes it’s easy to feel like a sailboat being bounced around on rocky waters and tossed about in the wind. But this doesn’t have to be the case. You have the ability to take charge of your life and live the life you were meant to live.

If we take a closer look at the sailboat analogy, think about what helps to control the boat. There is a mechanism that allows the captain of the sailboat to adjust the sails to work with the wind, to guide the boat in the direction of choice. In other words, there is a steering mechanism to keep the boat on the right course.

We also have a steering mechanism for our lives, and that is the choices that we make. Our choices help to steer our life to one of stress and discontentment or to one of peace and fulfillment.

HOW ARE YOU STEERING YOUR LIFE?

What provides you with the power and wisdom to gauge the strength and direction of the wind, adjust your sails, and set your day-to-day life on-course to safely reach your destination?

It’s time to be the captain of your ship! Only you can take responsibility for keeping your life sailing smoothly, on waters that are sometimes peaceful, and at other times choppy.

When the choices that you make are aligned with your highest values, you begin to experience more peace in your life. Answer the questions below to help steer your life towards peaceful waters.

1. What are your top three priorities at this time in your life? Do these priorities align with your highest values? For example, if one of your top priorities is having a successful career, how does this align with one of your highest values – family? Does your successful career provide you with the income to provide your family with a comfortable home, security and safety, a good education? Or does your successful career take you away from your family, create unhealthy stress and poor health?
2. Think about your schedule and then write down your key daily, weekly and monthly activities. Be sure to include all personal, work, family and community activities.
3. Of the activities you listed, which align with your values? Which activities do not align with your values and what can you do to eliminate or decrease your participation in these activities? For example, if family is a value, what activities do you participate in on a regular basis in honor of that value? Are family dinners and movie nights part of your activities? Or are your activities of running the kids to sports games, dance classes, art classes, etc. getting in the way of your family having quality time together?

ACHIEVING PEACE

When you successfully focus on activities that are aligned with your highest values and priorities, you begin to create a space for peace to exist. To truly experience peace, the peace that leads to a life of contentment and purpose, you may need to remove things that are hindering your path to peace and replace those with things that support your sense of fulfillment.

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