How to find your core values in the life you already live.

Begin with three ordinary moments

Set aside a page and think about the last few weeks. Recall a moment you felt quietly proud of, a moment that frustrated you, and a moment you would gladly repeat. Small experiences count: keeping a promise, helping a neighbour, finishing something carefully, or having an unhurried conversation.

Describe what happened before deciding what it means. Who was involved? What did you choose? What part stayed with you afterward? The aim is to collect details from your actual days. An ordinary Tuesday can offer more useful material for this exercise than an imagined version of your ideal life.

Name what mattered in each story

Look underneath the activity. A shared meal might matter because of hospitality, friendship, care, or the pleasure of creating something. Only you can decide which word comes closest. Write a short sentence: ‘This mattered to me because…’ and finish it in your own language.

Give each story one or two possible value words. If you choose creativity, explain what you mean by it. You might mean experimenting freely, making something beautiful, or finding an unexpected solution. A personal definition makes a broad word easier to recognise in your choices.

Choose a working set of values

Notice which ideas appear more than once. Select three that feel especially relevant to this season of your life. This is a working set you can revisit. You do not have to decide on a permanent ranking of everything you care about.

It can help to distinguish a value from an outcome. ‘Be promoted’ names something you hope will happen. ‘Learn deeply’ or ‘contribute fairly’ describes a way you might want to act along the way. Ask which part is within your influence, while acknowledging the limits of your time, money, and responsibilities.

Values can also ask different things of you. Adventure may pull you toward a new experience while steadiness asks you to protect a routine. Write down the trade-off in a current decision. You can care about both and still choose what deserves more room today.

Make one value visible this week

Pick one small action that expresses a value in a way you can observe. If care matters, check in with someone and make time to listen. If learning matters, choose one question to explore for twenty minutes. If craft matters, finish a small piece with the attention you wish you could give more often.

At the end of the week, return to the page. Did the action express what you intended? Did the word still fit? Adjust the language or the action as needed. If you have a Meraki result, read its Aim section alongside these notes and notice where expression or service connects with your examples. Your stories remain the place to test the fit.