The Values
The topic of values is discussed in Love People, Use Things by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus of the Minimalists. This book details how minimalism can be used to help us assess our relationship with our values, and if we are even aware of what they are. The book Essentialism also covers values.
Our values are the deepest-knit principles or standards of what is important in our lives. They are individual to us all, and we are often drawn to those with similar values. Even in geopolitics, countries are drawn to maintain tighter relationships with those who have similar ideologies and values such as political systems, religious systems, economic systems, etc.
We can’t control the values of our country or environment. But assessing our own values will help us to better understand ourselves, and hence gain more from our relationships with people, the things we own, and most importantly, ourselves.
Types of Values
· Foundational Values – These are your principal values. Principles are fundamental truths, so they can’t be broken down any further. They serve as a framework for your beliefs or how you interact with the world around you. Ray Dalio introduced me to principles through his book Principles: Life and Work (more on this later!). Many people can possess these foundational values. Examples are Health, Relationships, Creativity, and Growth.
· Structural Values – These are the values personal to you, but can still be the values of many other people. For example, solitude, integrity, gratitude, and autonomy stand out to me. Discovering these values requires reflection. They are what we are like deeply, and we need to look back at how we respond to events in our lives, what motivates us, and when we feel happiest. Any values that motivate or make us happy to show in our lives are structural values. The full list of values possessed by one of the Minimalists is located here:
https://www.theminimalists.com/v/
· Surface Values – These are less important values, but they are what make you unique. These can be your hobbies, which can be subject to change. Your deep-routed foundational and structural values do not change.
· Imaginary Values – These are things in our lives we believe are important values, but that actually slow us down. They are obstacles in our lives. These things won’t actually make us happy and can often be a consequence of how we present ourselves to other people. Looking busy to feel productive is a key example. Most of these values are examples of instant gratification. Imaginary values could bring short-term pleasure, but in the long term, they do nothing to boost our happiness. They actually contribute to sadness as we seek to replicate the pleasure we felt for a short time. This isn’t sustained happiness. That comes from discovering and demonstrating our foundational and structural values and demonstrating our healthy surface values as often as possible.
Discovering Our Values
This can be difficult without help. Without a guide, it can be difficult to know where to even start.
1) Reflection on past events and hobbies – When have you found yourself having so much fun that time flies? Do you almost enter a sort of flow state where your brain is completely engaged in what you’re doing? These could be examples of values but be careful to attribute them to the correct area. Some of these could be hobbies that are surface values, or they could be hobbies that represent a deeper foundational value. For example, writing is a surface value for me, but creativity is a foundational value. Hobbies can come and go in our lives, and even return again, but the underlying aspects of these hobbies could be key values we possess.
2) What were you good at as a child? – When you were a child, what were you curious about? As a child, I made a book containing all the flags in the world with my Grandad. In High School, I constructed a floor plan for an entire imaginary shopping centre. To other people that sounds dull, but as a child, it excited me. Examples such as this could demonstrate underlying values, whether foundational, structural, or surface values.
3) Ask others – Those close to you know you best. They could be very observant and even notice things you don’t notice about yourself. Ask them what they think of you, or when they have been impressed by you.
4) Read through principles of successful people or people you admire – Often all it takes is reading something to gain an idea or motivation to discover your own values. So read Ray Dalio’s books on principles, or download the principles app and read through Ray’s principles. Ask if you relate to these principles, and then start to create your own. It doesn’t matter immediately if they are fundamental truths, because as soon as you start, you can branch of this specific principle until you have a fundamental truth that can’t be broken down further.
Our values help us determine what is right and wrong for us. When we make decisions, if we have our values in mind, we can be more confident in our decisions. As long as we do what is best for ourselves, it will reflect in our happiness.