How to Discover Your Personal Values and Principles

Imagine a sailor who sets out in the sea with no destination but hoping to reach somewhere.

Without setting the sail or having a compass to guide, just drifting through the sea, following other sailors.

Well, they also don’t have a compass and haven’t set the sail. All are hoping to reach some safe shore – where life feels fulfilling, meaningful and whole.

Now ask yourself, if you are the sailor, would you copy this strategy and set out to sail?

Most probably, the answer is no, isn’t it?

You would want a compass and set your sail in the right direction. You would want to know where you are going (maybe surprises are welcome).

Then why would you set out in the ocean of life without having values as compass and principles as the sail?

Without values and principles, you might reach somewhere, but without intention it may never feel the right one.

You might arrive and still feels lost.

Nothing can be more painful than reaching at the end of your life to realize you spent your whole life just drifting through. You followed the noise, the current, the crowd and reached somewhere or maybe nowhere.

What if you had chosen values and principles and used them as your compass?

Maybe you would have lived a life that wasn’t perfect. But was authentic and beautiful in its own way.

One that was truly yours.

If you don’t want to be feeling lost, unhappy, dissatisfied or numb, choose your values and set life principles and live your life by making decisions that honor them

Read on to find out how to discover your personal values and principles.

Values and Principles – What is the Difference?

Values are what matters to you in life. Or what is important to you.

Do you like to help people even if there is no reward? Then you value compassion or service.

If you can’t stand a lie or hating lying – then honesty can be one of your core value.

Dreaming to break free from the constrains of a 9 to 5 job? Then independence and freedom might be your values.

Values are your internal compass that shows you direction and help make the right choices.

Principles are rules that helps to stick to these values, make them practical in your life.

Value is what you believe in. Principles helps you live out those values.

Value: Honesty

Principle: I will speak and live my truth, even when it’s uncomfortable**.**

Value: Compassion

Principle: I will show up with empathy and kindness, choosing to understand rather than judge

Value: Freedom

Principle: I will create a life where I control my time and choices

Now that you are clear about what are personal values and principles, let’s dive into how to identify yours.

How to Discover Your Values?

A trip down the memory lane and being more observant about yourself is how you are going to identify your values.

A. 3 journal prompts to help refresh your memory.

1. What moments made you proud and happy?

Write about as many as you can. Can you identify any patterns?

These moments are emotional clues. They show what truly matters to you.

2. What makes you irrationally frustrated or angry?

These moments help to identify the values being crossed or disregarded.

Sometimes, it’s easier to understand what made you mad and work your way backwards.

3. Who do you admire or envy? Why?

This helps you understand your deep desires. What you want to achieve in life or the kind of person you want to be.

👉Related Post: 102 Journal Prompts for Self Discovery

B. Pay attention to your thoughts, words, actions

Here’s how to do it.

1. Observe what words coming up over and over in a day.

Example: I can’t stand fake people.

What is the value that is hidden in this thought?

This means you value authenticity.

Jot down such thoughts that pop into your mind through out the day. This will help you peek into your deeper self and discover what truly matters to you.

2. Observe what you judge in others.

What annoys you in others reflects what matters to you deep down.

Maybe you can’t stand small talk. You values depth or authenticity.

Hate people who don’t stick to their commitments. You value commitment or respect.

3. Observe what drains vs what energizes your energy.

Where your focus goes, your values are present. It reflects what excites or ignites your soul.

What next?

From journaling and observing yourself, identify as much as values as you can.

From these top your 3 to 5 values.

How to Turn Your Values into Principles

1. Pick a core value from the list and ask what does this actually means to you.

Example: what does freedom means to you?

“Freedom means being able to choose how I spend my time. I feel trapped in rigid routines. I feel alive when I’m creating or exploring on my terms.”

2. Turn it into a guiding rule.

Now turn that definition into a sentence that guides how you live, work, or make decisions. This is your principle.

Use a format like:

• “I will…”
• “I choose to…”
• “I believe in…”
• “I live by…”
• “I stand for…”

Example Principle for Freedom:

“I will design my life so that my time and creativity are my own, not controlled by routines that drain me.”

3. Pressure test it

Would stick by this principle even when it’s hard? Can you use this to make a decision or set boundaries?

If it passes the test – then its a solid value.

If it feels shaky – you should re-assess your values

4. Repeat for other values

You don’t need 10 or 20. 3 to 5 values are more than enough.

Repeat the above process and you will have your core values and principles defined.

Examples:

Value	Principle
Honesty	“I will speak and live my truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.”
Compassion	“I will lead with empathy, even when others don’t.”
Growth	“I commit to learning and evolving, even when it’s slow or scary.”
Freedom	“I will build a life that gives me time, space, and autonomy to be myself.”

Start Living Your Values and Principles

1. Use these as your decision filters.

Ask yourself – is the choice that you are making align with your values and principles.

This will help you to take better decisions.

2.Use these to set boundaries

Does these honor my values? If it doesn’t, you say no and set a strong boundary.

3. Use these as journaling check points

Did I spent the day by adhering to my principles and values? This journal prompt will help you keep in check of yourself every night.

Discovering Values is a Process

Don’t think that you will be able to identify your core values and principles by spending an hour on a weekend.

That’s not how it works.

It’s a process. There are no shortcuts.

It will take time, days and weeks, before you can truly identify what are your values.

But its worth all the time and effort you put in.

Because these values and principles will change your life in the best way possible.

Conclusion

Want a quick formula to define your values and principles in one sentence?

“Because I value [VALUE], I will [BEHAVIOR/ACTION], even when [CHALLENGE].”

Example: “Because I value freedom, I will choose work that lets me control my schedule, even when it means taking risks.”

I hope this post has helped to choose your personal values and principles so that you can build a super strong foundation for your life.

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