Note: See “Exercise Files” tab for workbook. 

Transcription:

So now that you know what your values are from the Know Your Values course, Values Based Decision Making is about putting them into every day action. This is moving from “I know what I want” (because you have identified your values) to “I know how to take actions to get what I want with the decisions that I make”.

Knowing which motivating values are at play before you make the decision gives you power over your destiny. As you become aware of the unconscious values that are already driving your decisions, you will start to predict which values will be activated by future decisions. 

This is important because you want to have power and influence over the decisions you make. You can do that by creating relationship with your values, by naming them and understanding them. You are closer in touch with what you want and you know why you want that. Knowing this lets you be more flexible in the how you get what you want if you deeply understand WHY you want it. 

Think of it like this: when I know that I value creativity, I understand that I am frustrated by daily work that is repetitive and doesn’t permit creativity in any form and I experience sadness, I find it hard to be connected to my life and I find myself numbing my days with social media scrolling to get by. 

So…if I am aware this is happening, I will look for incremental decisions to satisfy my creativity value. I will identify ways to be creative in my life amidst the daily, repetitive work. I will find ways to create or bring creativity into my life after work hours.  And I will learn how to monitor what satisfies my creative value and what doesn’t work. And then I will decide if it is enough for me to have these incremental forms of creativity or if I need to make a monumental decision that deeply satisfies my need for creativity.  

However, we are complex creatures and when we satisfy one value, we can often frustrate a different top value like financial security when we make decisions. In this course, we will walk you through a matrix that lays out a process to 1. identify the challenge, 2. lay out the possible options and 3. document the ways that your top values will be satisfied and frustrated by each option or decision. 

So when you are thinking about why it’s important to make values based decisions, think of it like this: Values set the stage for who are in this lifetime or your true self. When you give action to your values with everyday decisions, you build character, you build respect and integrity that is recognised by yourself and others. In short…you are your decisions. 

When I make values based decisions, I am not afraid of making mistakes.  I know that if I don’t like the outcomes of my decisions, IT WILL at the very least lead to increased insight into myself. And if I don’t like the decision,  I will choose again.

In this course you will connect to your power through values based decision making, you will explore the connection between your values and decisions and use the VBL decision making matrix  to make a decision and you will begin to communicate your decisions clearly.