What do you value? What’s important to you? How do you treat yourself? Do you have those same standards when you deal with others?
10 Things I Value
Time- They say talk is cheap until you talk to a lawyer. Yet despite being an attorney by profession, I try to make it a point to value the time of my friends, my family and especially my clients as I value my own time, often one of the scarcest assets in my arsenal. In practice, that means trying to be a few minutes early and never late for appointments. That means doing what I say I’m going to do, and trying to get it done well in advance of deadline where possible. It means not taking up anyone’s time I don’t really need, although obviously, some things, even social things, are more open ended and less time dependent. But it also means that when I’m with people, I try not to take calls or email or anything else that detracts from that other person’s time with me.
Effort-We all make mistakes and don’t always get it right. But it’s amazing how much of a difference it makes to me that people are trying, or have great intention, even if sometimes execution falls a bit far from the mark.
Caring– People who invest of themselves in their work, who are passionate about what they do are always inspiring to me.
Courage- There’s that great saying that courage is not the absence of fear, but confronting that fear head on. I try to take on my real fears head on, daily, and know when I am acting out of fear or out of some other reason, and I’ve gotten pretty good at identifying what is fear-based and what is not. If I’m fearful, I tend to be avoidant. That’s a sure sign I need to look into the courage container and see why I am avoiding doing what needs to be done.
Adventure– I like having new experiences and boldly going where I haven’t before. Travel, work, personal stuff- having a sense of fun and adventure is really important.
Community– I always learn best when I’m interacting with other people. Podcamp is a great example of this- community learning, where everyone brings something to the table. But I value having lunch with great offline friends like Christina Gorman, Cathy MacDougall, Elizabeth Stinson, Sarah Murray, and Melody Ruth, to name just a few, just as much- they are great friends I see regularly, and they keep me grounded. They’re my links to make me feel part of a greater whole in my analog life.
Patience- I can be impatient, and the ADHD does not help. But as I have gotten older, I understand more and more that sometimes, time helps to put perspective on a lot of issues, and sometimes waiting something out is really the best advice possible, rather than rushing things.
Family– My family is simply my rock. We’re a bunch of characters, to be sure, but just like friends and community, they bring perspective, joy, love, and a soft place to land into my life. And they understand me and put up with me, even when I am having a crazy moment. They keep me sane and tell me when I am out of line. Gotta love that.
Friends- The internet has been fantastic for reconnecting with friends new and old, and extending friendships that would have normally been limited to acquaintance status. I know feel like I can keep up with friends in other cities as if they were my neighbors. And frankly, since my neighbors are now online as well, I keep up with them more than I did before Facebook. (Up here, once the snows fly, we rarely see anyone out and about until March or so…)
Integrity: Integrity involves not only honesty, but being in touch with who you are, what you stand for, and having a sense of internal consistency, at least a bit. It’s the “wholeness” of someone, what you’d get if you distilled them down to their very best parts. It’s a sense of balance, a sense of knowing yourself and where you stand. I admire people with integrity, and aspire to it daily for myself.
What are your values? What do you think of these? What else would you add or subtract to the list?