Today's Thought - September

[bluidkiti]

September 29

Identifying Our Core Values

I hadn't really given a lot of thought to what my core values were before coming into recovery; I'm not sure I even knew if I had any. Once in recovery, we hear a lot about the importance of identifying and acting in accordance with our values.

But how do we do that? Well, let me tell you. First, find a list of personal values on the internet - there are literally thousands of such lists. Without overthinking, select ten values from the list that stick out for you. Then, spend some time pondering your short list of ten, and whittle it down to your top five. For each of those five, ask yourself what the value means for you, why it is important for you, and how it is showing up in your life currently.

Give some thought to how your life is aligning with those five values, or what you need to do to better align with them. My five core values, at the moment, are family, community, diversity, making a difference, and spirituality. Values change as we do, so I revisit this exercise every few years.

Although it's a tall order, we should strive to be a living expression of our values in recovery.

Today's reading is from the book She Recovers Every Day: Meditations for Women*