Lesson 3: Values — Your Internal GPS
Values — Your Internal GPS
Imagine driving somewhere new with no GPS, no map, and no idea where you are going. That is what life feels like without values. You just react to whatever road appears and hope you end up somewhere good.
Values are not rules someone else gave you. They are the things that matter to YOU — so much that when you violate them, something inside you feels wrong, even if no one else noticed.
How to Find Your Values
Think of a moment when you were genuinely proud of yourself. Not because someone praised you — because YOU felt good about what you did. What did that moment have in it? Honesty? Courage? Helping someone? That thing — that is a value.
Now think of a moment when you felt gross about your own behavior. What value did you step on? That discomfort is your GPS recalculating.
Values vs. Rules
Rules say: "Do not lie because you will get in trouble."
Values say: "I do not lie because honesty matters to me."
One is about fear. One is about identity. Leaders operate from values, not just rules. Rules have loopholes. Values do not.
The Hard Part
When your values are tested — when the group wants you to do something that feels wrong, when the easy choice conflicts with the right choice — that is when values actually matter. Anyone can have values when it is comfortable. Leaders have them when it costs something.
Try This Today
- Write down your top 3 values (no right or wrong answers)
- For each one: name a time you lived it, and a time you did not
- Ask someone you respect what their top value is — the answer will surprise you