Are you living your values?
I am always telling anyone who cares to listen that I am passionate about the power of movement to improve our physical and mental health and the many varied ways in which this occurs. I tell people that I practice what I preach and I won’t ask people to do something I haven’t tried for myself. And yet there are times when I find myself missing my usual appointment with myself to make movement a part of my every day.
Modern day Monk Jay Shetty says no matter what we think our values are, our actions tell the real story.
You may be someone who values kindness yet find yourself being short tempered and rude with your nearest and dearest. During the time approaching my menopause I definitely experienced altered emotional states and episodes of behaviour which were in a direct contrast to my true values of caring, fairness and family.
So how do we know what our real values are? Why not try a life audit. Ask yourself:
- Where am I spending my time?
- Where am I spending my money?
Time
Time is our greatest commodity since so much of it is already spoken for to be spent sleeping and working. The choices we make regarding our spare time are telling, do you exercise, read books, watch documentaries, binge watch box sets, listen to podcasts (like mine!), or surf your social media accounts?
There’s no judgement here! But if you have been thinking about making a change a great place to start is to ask yourself whether how you spend your time reflects your values? Or is there a mismatch between the values you truly hold compared the values you are living out in your daily actions.
Money
Do you see the values you live by reflected in the money that you spend? Shetty says ‘’Exclude necessities like home, dependents, car, bills, food, and debt. Now look at your discretionary spending. What was your biggest investment this month? Which areas are costing you the most?
Does your spending correspond to what matters most to you? Were they on long- or short-term investments like a meal out or dance classes. Were they for entertainment or enlightenment, for yourself or someone else? If you have a gym membership but only went once this month and spent more on wine, you might have some rethinking to do.’’
Try A Values Audit
Learning about ourselves can actually be quite fun. Perhaps you want to take some time to explore your true values. Try this simple values audit.
Select any ten values from the list below that you think are most important for you:
Accountability, Achievement, Adaptability, Ambition, Balance, Being liked, Being the best, Caring, Caution, Clarity, Coaching, Commitment, Community Life, Compassion, Competence, Conflict management, Continuous learning, Control, Courage, Creativity, Dialogue, Ease with uncertainty, Efficiency, Positivity, Entrepreneurial nature, Environmental awareness, Ethics, Excellence, Fairness, Family, Finances, Forgiveness, Friendship, Future generations, Generosity, Health, Humility, Humour, Independence, Initiative, Integrity, Job security, Leadership, Listening skills, Openness, Patience, Perseverance, Personal contentment, Personal Growth, Professional Growth, Personal Power, Resilience, Self-discipline, Trust, Wisdom.
Now with a clearer idea of your true values, doing a self-audit can shine a light on the habits that have crept into your life and you can decide whether your true values are aligned with them or not.
If Health Something You Value, I can Help!
Making changes in your life is a lot like like gardening. You can pull out the weeds and plant new seeds but these new seeds will need nurturing to grow and develop into strong healthy habits.
If you want to replace your unwanted habits such as binge watching TV with habits more aligned to your values:
- Make a decision to make a change,
- Set clear goals,
- Put your goals where you can see them every day,
- Celebrate your successes,
- Get support to help you stick to your guns.
If moving more is on your to do list but you’re not sure where to begin? I can help!
It’s important to understand that you are not an unhealthy, unhappy, or negative person. But that we all can have unhealthy habits. By changing your habits you can change yourself if that’s what you want to do!!
Book a free chat if you want some help to live out your values of health, personal growth and personal power.
Moving through Menopause: All Change!
I have had my challenges in coming to terms with my current life state and ‘creating’ my new identity has been a process. This episode I chatted with Tamar Challis, a Person Centred Counsellor and coach specialising in women’s mental health and managing life transitions such as new parenthood, divorce, menopause, redundancy and retirement.
We talk through the mental health challenges of the empty nest, work and relationship changes and how exercise among other things can reconnect us with our bodies. Menopause presents us all with a variety of challenges but it can be an opportunity to reinvent yourself and the good news is you don’t have to go it alone or suffer in silence. Put yourself to the top of the list and settle down with a cuppa or grab your ear pods and get in some steps.
As always please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions.
Email hi@precizion.co.uk
Why not Book a FREE Movement MOT
Phillipa x
Move More, Feel Better, Live Longer
