Just for a moment, imagine that you are 80 years old and you ask three people who both know you well and whose judgement you value, to tell you what they believe your life has stood for.  What would you like them to say about you and the way you have lived your life? 

Your hopes about what these people would say about you gives you some important information about what you value. 

Research suggests that identifying your values has some significant benefits including:

•Coping better with stress (we produce less cortisol in a stressful situation if we have thought about our values first)1

•Reduced burnout6

•Improved motivation for activities that relate to what we value2

•Improved performance3

•Greater happiness4

•Reduced defensiveness 5

•Becoming more accepting of different points of view and new information5

•Increased feelings of connection to others5

Spending time thinking about values is useful for both individuals and teams. For some good suggestions for how to both identify your values and take committed action in line with those values I recommend Get Out Of Your Mind and Into You Life by Steve Hayes

1. University of California News Release 4 Nov 2005 Reflecting on personal values offers protection from effects of stress, UCLA psychologists report http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/7624

2. Harris, Russ The Happiness Trap – How to Stop Struggling and Start Living

3. Geoffrey L. Cohen,* Julio Garcia, Nancy Apfel, Master Allison Reducing the Racial Achievement Gap: A Social-Psychological Intervention Science 1 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5791, pp. 1307 - 1310

4. Seligman Martin Authentic Happiness:  RANDOM HOUSE, Australia

5. Association for Psychological Science. News Release July 22, 2008 Reflecting on values promotes love, acceptance

6. Hayes, Steven (2005) Get Out Of Your Mind and Into You Life New Harbinger