Make decisions based on your core values

how established morals lead to positive direction in life

So many of us (especially the younger portion of us) experience feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, or have a gravely depleted sense of self-worth. Much of this can be blamed on social media, or the newly “perfect” societal expectation we’re constantly reminded of. When we find ourselves in this weakened, lost state of mind, we must have values to cling on to when making decisions on how to move forward. Without them, cycles of stagnation and depression often emerge.

Despite the immense gravity social media has on us today, we must be strong enough to look past that, and what I’ve learned through my own mistakes, life, and mental wellbeing, is that strength should come directly from your core values as a human being.

In Buddhism, which I’ve spend the last year of my life studying closely, The Eightfold Path is described as the morals one should live by in order to achieve a fulfilled, virtuous life, encompassing right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. Though, everyone is bound to have a slightly different “path” which compliments one’s own life and experiences which have shaped their own core values. Nonetheless, I find the Eightfold Path to be a great framework “draft” when discovering your own.

I’d suggest to first cultivate a layout listing what characteristics/values mean the most to you, and then analyze which ones you feel you exercise most in your life. Honesty is crucial in this process, because there may be a value important to you, that you may not actually implement much in your life due to lack of discipline or awareness. That is okay. The point for this exercise is to highlight those faded values, so that you can grow to establish them in your daily life. One of the things I noticed when I did this last year was how poorly I was practicing honesty in my life. Due to insecurity and the desire to maintain a certain image of myself, I would often act or say inauthentic things, which in turn made my self-esteem and expression lack gravely. Once I became aware of it though, I was able to cultivate honesty and authenticity into my core values, and thus began making decisions based off of that moral.

The goal here is that every time you are unsure about a decision, or simply need a push of guidance in life, you should refer to these established values. Our actions in life should align with our core values, which is why being more mindful of them helps us achieve this.

I encourage you all to try this out, and over the course of a month record in a journal decisions you made which aligned with your core values you established. At the end of the month, analyze your self-esteem and state of mind.

Best of luck to you all.