Do you know what your core values are? Core values can be the guiding light, the guiding principles that move you through your life. When you’re clear about your core values, it will help you in decision making and how you live your life. This week we’re going to finish up with the area of vocation by looking at our core values. What are our core values, and when do we make decisions that are in alignment with it so that we can be the person that we aspire to be? That is in integrity. Let’s get going.

Welcome to the Unlock Your Life podcast, a podcast for highly successful visionary women who want more out of life. If you feel that ache of unfulfillment in your soul, you’re in the right place sis. Join life mastery consultant Lori A. Harris as she teaches you how to stop living for others and finally put yourself first. Let’s dive into today’s show.

So recently I was approached and given an opportunity to do some consultant work. The first person that asked me about it I was like oh no. I don’t do that. Then another person approached me and asked me to do the same work in a different kind of way. When they asked me about it, my whole being said oh yeah. Hell yeah. When I felt that feeling, I knew that this was something that I wanted to go toward rather than shrink away from.

Why did I know that? Well, partly because I’m very clear about the things that matter to me. I know that I’ve shared with you that the main thing that lights me up, that gets me going, is living a life of freedom and helping others to do the same. So when I was offered this consultancy work, I heard it from the point of view of oh, this expands my mission. This allows me to do more to help more people experience more freedom. It feels like a hell yeah. So I continue to move forward, to move toward that opportunity.

Now, how can you use your core values to move toward the things that light you up? Well, first of all, we have to be clear about what our core values are. This week on the podcast we’re going to talk about how does one get clear about our core values?

Now, core values are the things that help you in making life’s decisions. They are the big rocks, the boulders of your life. We refer to our core values over and over again in our decision making, whether it’s for things big or small. They impact us as we decide who we are going to be and who we’re going to associate with. So we use our core values to decide where I will form friendships, to decide with whom will I form a romantic relationship? Even how we will make a living.

They are the major who am I kind of questions, and what do I believe? Does this particular action align with my core values? It’s one of my favorite questions because when I ask that question, any sense of doubt or lack of clarity clears up right away because I know what matters to me most. So when I asked myself does this align with my core values? It helps me to stay on track within the white lines of my life.

So I’m looking for integrity. I’m looking for alignment. How can you make a decision about your own core values? How can you get clarity about what are my core values?

One thing you can do is look at your own calendar. When you look at your calendar and you see where you have decided to put your time and energy in a forward motion, it can tell you this is what’s important to me. This matters to me. Sometimes you’ll look at your calendar and say, “Oh, I’m a little out of balance. I have more things in the this matters to other people category rather than it matters to me.” So you want to look at your calendar and make sure it’s reflective of the kind of person you want to be.

The other thing you can do is look at your checkbook. I know most of us are not really writing physical checks anymore, but you can review your accounts and see where you are putting your other form of energy, your monetary form of energy, and it will tell you a lot.

Now, for me, because I really care about freedom and liberation, there are certain organizations that I donate to on a regular repeated basis from the point of view of my tithing or giving the first fruits of my labor. There are places that go automatically. Generally, they’re things that support my own spiritual development, have been important to me for keeping balance for me. So they get paid first.

The other things that get paid first are the things that matter to me in terms of who am I and what do I believe? Do I support the organizations that light me up? So I donate to organizations that help people in the reentry process from leaving places of incarceration because I fundamentally believe in second chances.

I know that there are organizations out there that align with my core beliefs, and I want to support them not only mentally and spiritually, but I want to put my money where my mouth is and give them the tools that they need and make them fundamentally a part of my practice by providing financial support.

The other thing I believe in is we all should have clean water, and our lives shouldn’t be revolving around fetching water. So by donating to organizations that supply clean water opportunities around the world, I feel as though I’m supporting women. I’m supporting young people developing lives where they can flourish and dream and fulfill their own purpose rather than spending the lion’s share of their day fetching water.

I am so grateful that my life doesn’t revolve around fetching water. So I want to support organizations that support young girls and women in not having to spend the lion’s share of their day in fetching water.

The other thing that I love to donate to that I make it a priority that’s part of my first fruit is organizations that feed. Because you can’t experience freedom if your basic needs are not being met. So if people are going to school hungry, they’re not going to do as well as they could if they went to school with full bellies. So I’d like these organizations that help people with feeding their families, with feeding themselves, and providing basic sustenance.

So if you looked at my checkbook, you would see that on a regular, repeated, predictable basis, these are the causes that I’m giving my money to. The other things you might see is Lori goes to Starbucks a lot. Sometimes that’s in alignment with where I’m at in a particular time in my life, and sometimes I’ll have to look at that and say, “You know what? That’s not really where I want to be spending that part of my energy. I don’t want to be giving my money to that.”

Another thing that I noticed is, I try to stay out of Target because Target inspires a lot of impulse buying. I have to check in with myself and say is this what I want to be doing? Am I being the kind of person that I want to be? Am I investing this part of my energy in places that align with my core values?

So just deciding oh, those are cute shoes. Yeah, those are cute shoes, but do I need those shoes? Oftentimes, I’m coming back to no. I don’t need those shoes. Why do I not need those shoes? Because I want to have a higher quality of product for me. Like you know what? I know that in the end these shoes will just end up in the trash. I know that in the end these shoes may not be reliable. They may break on me. I know, in the end, these shoes won’t feel good on my feet.

So rather than get caught up in oh those are cute and they’re on sale, I pull back and say hmm, is that how I really want to be spending my life force of money by investing in things, a cheaper product quality wise from a store like Target? So I just say no. That’s a no. That’s going to be a no for me.

So how can you determine what your core values are? Well, we’ve done time study checks in the past, and this is going to be a core value check. For one week, I invite you to reflect nightly on three things. What happened today? What are the things that happened today? Did they leave me feeling good or bad? What kinds of things did I do today? Did I feel useful and purposeful? What were the things that I did that felt useful and purposeful?

Then looking around and seeing the people in my life or that I interacted with today. Are people doing things that I look up to and admire? What kinds of things am I giving my attention to? Did things happen today that I disliked? That I don’t want to be associated with?

As you do this, you will start to notice. So you get to the end of the week, you have these three themes that you’ve been looking at. What happened? Did I feel good? Do I feel bad? Did I feel useful? Did I feel purposeful? Was there something that I saw that I admired or that I disliked? Over the week’s time, you will learn something about yourself. From those things, you will be able to pick out these things are things that I want more of or I want less of.

So, do your core value check. Spend one week reflecting each evening on three things. What happened today? Where did I feel good? Where did I feel bad? Where did I feel useful? Where did I feel purposeful? What did I see that I admired? What did I see that I disliked?

You will discover there are some themes rising up for you. Perhaps it’s creativity. Perhaps it’s learning. Perhaps it’s freedom. Perhaps it’s curiosity. You will notice things. Maybe it’s kindness, maybe it’s compassion, maybe it’s empathy. When you notice these things, these are the things that you can go towards that will be a guiding light for you in living a life of integrity and great purpose.

Check in. What are your core values? Then it will help you in decision making to decide does this align with being the kind of person I want to be? Am I being in integrity with myself? It will help you in deciding how to resolve conflicts. It will help you in deciding with whom to spend your time. Where do you want to cut ties? Where do you want to build ties? What do you want to do with your life?

You can look at your life’s work in vocation and say is this work, this place where I spend the lion’s share of my day, is it in alignment with my core values? Go toward the things that support you in being the kind of person that you want to be, that support you in being the person in the vision that you’ve created for yourself, for the life that you want to live.

Thank you so much. This has been episode 47 of the Unlock Your Life podcast. If you’ve enjoyed this episode, I would invite you to share it with a friend. You can also go anywhere you listen to podcasts and rate, follow, and review the show. You can find us at Apple podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere that’s your favorite platform.

When you review and rate the show, it helps the show to grow and for other people to widen our audience. When you share it with a friend, it helps them to know what are your core values? What are the things that light you up? What are the things that you think might be helpful to them? It’s a win-win all around. Thank you so much for listening, and I look forward to talking to you again next week after this episode. So remember, it’s your life. Make it a great one.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Unlock Your Life podcast. If you want more information on how you can transform your life and do it quickly, visit loriaharris.com. See it on the next episode of the Unlock Your Life podcast.