29: Start with your values

Yesterday I had the pleasure to watch Adam Mason on Snapchat (adaminspired). He recently changed careers to pursue his passion: photography. He was criticizing how people were only after the “What” (e.g. What are you doing for a living?) instead of asking why they do that for a living.

Also, he recommended to ask yourself every day after you woke “Why am I doing what I’m doing?” and observe what you answer carefully.

However, the “What” and “Why” should be based on your values you carry inside. Your values define your why and what creating a nice sequence. In short:

Values › Why › What

This idea is very charming since you hear a lot that you should “start with why” and then wonder what’s my why based upon. Values define your motives (your “why’s”). You have a fixed set of values or principles (yes, you will adjust them throughout your life) that you set for yourself because they define the scope of the field on which you want to play. The so many “Why’s” and “What’s” are simply a conclusion out of that.

The take-away from today: Values are the deepest core ingredients that define your existence, your being, your feelings, and they build the basis to conclude your motives (why) and actions (what). Without knowing your values, you’re basically aimless.

This was episode 29 of the #weekdaykickoff 🌊. Every Monday-Friday morning. Colombian time. Until episode 5 I also audio-recorded on Anchor, you can find me there as “Alexander Kluge”.

 

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