What Rule Book are Your Playing By?                                                                 More Articles
How Values Affect Your Results

We all possess a unique set of values that acts as a sort of rule book for living, that guides the choices we make, how we spend our time, where we invest our wealth, etc. Tony Robbins considers values “like a compass that directs your life.” Our choices and behaviors are ruled by those top values. Whether individuals get what they want or not can often come down to their priorities, what their existing values system dictates.

Do you know what values you live your life by? It is likely that you picked up your current values from those around you growing up. You will not do anything that falls out of your value system, even though you might not be aware what they are. More importantly, it is your top five values that determine your life and the results you get.  Values can have a significant impact on the results you are currently getting and the results your desire.

A value is simply what is important to you in life or various aspects of life.  Values tend to be words or phrases like “love,” “honesty,” “fame,” “financial security,” “living life to the fullest,” “playing 100%” etc.  You can have a separate set of values operating within the area of career compared with your relationship values or your broader life values.

What happens when you Transition?

The problem for when you transition to a new career, or retire maybe that you continue to live by the same “rule book” while trying to get different results in life. When I first learned about the impact of values I took an in-depth look at what was in my personal rule book and how it had dictated some of my decisions and behaviors. I saw that “independence” had been at the top of my list for a very long time. I also valued hard work, integrity, and teamwork.
Money, however, in the form of financial reward was far down on the list in terms of my priorities, which was evident in the results I was getting at the time…or was not getting. And “love” did not even appear on the list at all! No wonder I was not creating successful relationships or getting ahead financially, no matter how hard I tried.

We experience what we deeply value.

Internal struggle and a lack of fulfillment can often arise when what we want to get, or what we say we value, does not match up with what we’re actually getting.

Someone may desire to be successful when really there is a deeper held value like “security” determining their decisions. They may choose to stay in a secure job, that they do not enjoy, rather than going for personal success goals. The need to be secure will outweigh their desire to take a chance on changing careers or starting a business.

Most of us “downloaded” our values system a long time ago, in our childhood, from our parents and those closest to us. They are stored in our unconscious mind and work in the background influencing our choices and decisions.

The good news is that you can change. Just like sports or governments may change the rules of their game, you can change your rule book. Awareness is the first step. Know what your current rules/values are. Do they help or hinder you? Learn what values successful people live by - you can read about them or simply guess. A person's lifestyle and environment often gives clues to what they value.

You may need to let go of some limiting beliefs you have about your current values. For example if you believe security is important and you should not take risks in life, then that will limit your ability to let go of security as a value. A coach can best help you work with your belief and values system to see where they are helping you move forward or holding back from all you can be.

Get started by looking at what is important in your life and be aware of how that is influencing the results you are currently getting.
Tweet

by Annette Lynch - 8 Aug 2011

About the author:

Annette Lynch (formerly Huygens-Tholen) is a Success coach, NLP Practitioner, Author and Speaker/Educator helping individuals to change their lives through strengthening Personal Leadership.  Achieving a dream to be an Olympian in 2000, Annette then learnt to overcome her greatest challenge - life after sport.   By studying and applying the mindset skills and attitudes of sport into the game of life, Annette has transformed not only her life, but thousands of others in UK, USA, Aus and NZ through coaching and training.
Her book, "Success beyond Sport" teaches the 8 Winning Points for leading oneself to success - emotionally and financially.   For more information on Annette and how to create success in your life visit www.annetteffect.com  

Back to Top

###