EMAIL #55 - 20th, January, 2020 - PERSONAL VALUES + STRESS & MOTIVATION
Hi Team,
I'm back from Europe and heading full on into the 2020 work year.
To kick things off, I would like to pick up on the last main topic of personal values that I explored just prior to the holidays. Hopefully, you have all taken the time and initiative to do the online "life values assessment" outlined in the previous email. If you have you will now see that these personal values paint a pretty accurate picture of who you are and what you stand for in your personal life and at work.
"Our values are a constant reflection of the way we choose to behave", Mark Mason.
Our personal values are formed and expressed through our "life roles" such as our job role, our family and significant relationships and also our preferred leisure activities. However, these life roles can sometimes conflict with each other and can put our personal values out of balance, which then becomes a source of stress and anxiety. For example, if you are passionate about staying fit and playing competitive sport, but you are also passionate and committed to a demanding full time job, these two primary "life roles" can interfere with each other and cause stress and personal conflict in how you decide to spend your time.
Your personal values are also an important source of motivation throughout your life. Understanding and being faithful to your personal values is the important to staying motivated. Self-motivated people use their values and life roles to guide their behaviour and therefore find it easy to stay committed to doing what they are passionate about. So the key ingredient of motivation is not will power, it is knowing what your values are and staying true to these values.
Really it is all about knowing and understanding your personal values and allowing yourself to be guided and motivated by these values. You must also be conscious about keeping these values balanced and learn how to manage conflicting roles in your life when they arise.
In my second last weekly email I invited you all to suggest any specific topics you would like me to research and write about in upcoming emails this year? So please put your thinking caps on and email me your suggestions (otherwise you will be stuck with my list of future topics)!!
Thanks again for reading,
David
