Part of my week 1 homework is to write down all my personal values. Fortunately, I spent a lot of time thinking about what is important to me. Around 2006, I spent months thinking about my personal values. Today, they remain largely the same.
Liberty
First and foremost, I value being free to make my own choices. I have never succeeded when told what to do when I don’t see the reason behind that command. Consequently, I’ve always been an entrepreneur.
There are many positives that come with this value. I am great at being autonomous. However, I can be stubborn if I don’t agree with an opposing view.
Additionally, I despise when people take others’ freedom away. This is part of why I became a lawyer.
Honesty
Honesty is very important to me. However, it isn’t just spoken honesty that is important. More important is internal honesty and honesty of character.
I see internal honesty as being true to myself. Can I really do this thing? What are my weaknesses? Why do I feel this way about something? These are all important questions that require internal honesty.
Honesty of character is equally important. Do I carry myself in a way that portrays who I really am? In other words, do I pretend to be someone or something I’m not?
Efficiency
Efficiency is the one that people tend to question first. When they hear my values, I can generally see inquiry when I get to efficiency.
What I care about is doing things with as little waste as possible. I don’t like to waste my, or others’, time or resources. I find that disrespectful.
What I don’t think fits into efficiency is laziness. Active thought goes into efficiency. However, laziness is a passive act. I appreciate being able to think through a task before jumping in. I like to do things right the first time to avoid repeating the task unnecessarily.
Strength of Mind
Simply put, I like to continue to learn and grow as a person. Therefore, education and educational experiences are important to me. Being able to educate others is also very important. Consequently, I run several blogs and occasionally guest speak in classes.
Strength of Body
I’m not a bodybuilder or extremely fit person. However, I’m fit-enough. That’s my new way to describe the mildly athletic. I like running and participating in various sports for fun. Additionally, I value being a relatively healthy person. Keep the body strong.
To Be Free, Live Free
This, along with my other values, are tattooed on my left arm. I put them there so I had a constant reminder of what has been important to me. To me, this means I have to first lift any internal limitations I place on myself. After that, I can achieve what I want in my life.
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