By Aaron Guyett
Driving my attitude, my behaviors, my actions, my words, my position, my view point, my passions are these little things called values.
Intrinsic to my being I pick most of these little weighty items of disproportionate strength in my young childhood, and then if certain events happen in a life-changing way, I will pick up or drop some of these hard-to-remove and even harder-to-add mental guidance posts to my soul.
I would like to say they are added to my mind, but much of the time they are felt at deeper levels than the things we tend to associate in the mind.
Given the chance, these little things will make my stomach turn if I resist them.
They may even make me sick or sullen with stress if I have to bend them too often.
“Values are fewer in number than attitudes and serve as important predictors of behavior. They appear to be more stable and long-lasting than attitudes.”[1]
One good look at my values, and even the town drunk could predict my success or failure in certain tasks or life events.
This is why it is important to recognize and understand our values, especially if there is a value that is in there that is keeping you from being the person you had hoped to become.
To change one’s values will take a ton of courage, persistence, commitment, and endurance, but I do believe it is possible.
[1] Stewart L. Tubbs, Systems Approach to Small Group Interaction, Boston, MA: McGraw Hill, 2011, p. 103.
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