2 Steps to Identifying and Applying Your Core Values - Self-Study and Vision (boards)!

2 - steps to Core Value Identification and Application. Grab a pen, some scrap magazines, and a poster board. We are making a vision board! 

Kick Start 2024! Identify and Apply your Core. 

… Immediately we all think about how it is the dead of winter and our core is doing nothing more than being insulated by pies, homemade foods, and rest.... 

Although that is the focus of AIMwell Yoga’s January Flows, I don’t mean our physical core. I mean our Core Values. The set of principles that guide us like a Compass; even as we stray they emerge as the directors of our life’s stageplay. 

Until we put names to our values, we feel unsure of why we attract certain people or opportunities. We might feel lost in what motivates us or why we feel certain emotions about aspects of our lives. But how do I really identify our core values? We could sit down and write a few lines of “Core Value” words you found on Google… that might provide a moment of clarity, but still feels disconnected to your everyday life.

Then there comes the vision boards. We put on our favorite songs, gather with our best gals, and cut out dream like pictures of the life we’ll create in 10 days in time for the New Year. Yep. all done 👏🏾👏🏾😅

Unfortunately, these exercises leave us with momentary deep self-connection, yet don’t leave us with any more clarity on how we “get there.” Or even answer what exactly needs to change. 

To identify our core values, we need time and patience to peel back our layers. To apply the Core Values, we must ask ourselves how do we want our days to look and feel. Those small steps we take daily can change our lives. So let’s carve out 2 hours to embark on a 2 Step Self-Study and visioning activity that adds detail and thought to identify your core values. 

I bought this book, “The 1000 most important questions you will ever ask yourself: That make life work for you,” by Alyss Thomas on a whim while prepping for my annual reflections party and it turned out to be the perfect pairing for self-connection, reflection, and vision boarding! 

So here we go - 2 steps to Identify and Apply your Core Values!

Step ONE: The Exercise

Download the abbreviated questionnaire pulled from the book, “The 1000 most important questions you will ever ask yourself: That make life work for you.”

Find a quiet place for 15 minutes while you complete this exercise to completion. 

Step TWO: The Visioning.

Here is the fun part! The exercise from step one has 4 parts. I recommend folding your poster board into 4 quadrants and building each quadrant around the portions in the exercise. Explore what your daily life looks like visually. What view do your core values cast? Within all of this is a chance to release some creativity, wonder, and play into your life. 

Here’s the question that might be on your mind - why would I physically cut and paste with my hands when there is our favorite site, Pinterest? Well, just like journalling, or writing out a math problem, using our hands helps make things feel more real. The messages, the process, it all sits in our body, held and cherished when we do things by hand.

Once you’ve completed your quadrants, cut them down the seams and hang them up in a corner or safe and peaceful place in your home like my meditation corner. Make yourself see your goals daily to allow ease in the application process of your core values.

Let this be your encouragement; or at least the starting place for your online vision board. Sit with yourself or your best friends and answer these questions to identify and apply your core values for your journey towards self-connection and vision.