Uncover Your True North: Harnessing the Power of Core Values - عدنان

Values: The unique 'Thermostat/Equilibrium/Zen' around how one goes about spending their 'limited time' on the planet! - عدنان

We all need to know OUR core VALUES in life? The same way everyone has a personality irrespective of their awareness of it. Even if you've never thought about it or listed your values - they are ALWAYS shinning through HOW you spend your LIFE in light of personal conditioning, experiences, narratives and decisions etc etc.

The funny thing about values is, that they are NOT what we preach (seldom do)/wish/want them to be: On the contrary, they demonstrate the best & worst thing about us (more than often productive/dark side of the same coin).

For example, you VALUE personal development therefore you are READING this article. However, to do so, your are GIVING UP on watching TV, swiping TINDER/BUMBLE to do this activity. Similarly, you DEVELOP your PASSIVE INCOME after work/go to gym/take care of your grandmother, INSTEAD of getting drunk/gamble with work colleagues - that shows the way you spend your time/life, more importantly it shows your personalised 'WHY' to things you do/filter/spend your time building your ideal life. 

When summed up, they make up your identity and reason behind your interests/decisions/problems and probably the ACTUAL RELIGION in your life.

How to USE/APPLY to your life instantly? Use this template below:

TABLE 2 – What someone actually gives a f*ck about against what they tell/wish/presume/pretend and preach
Hours per week: 168 ACTUAL Hours/week: 128 (after work) and merely 72 (after work & sleep)
Activity	Hours/Week	Value Hierarchy	High/Low vs Expectation	Action/Comment
Online Shopping/Keeping up with Joneses	15 hours	2	Higher	Run of the mill capitalism slave  - Get a purpose/meaningful pursuits and get a life!
Binge Watching TV	14 hours	3	Higher	Have you seen manifested? Also the one with Johnny Depp’s daughter?
Exercise	5 hours	6	Lower	Show up more at the gym/pool/park! You're not too old to get fit - you are too comfortable with mediocrity.
Gambling/Pubs	16 hours	1	Higher	The chosen escapism instead of therapy/psychologist
Cooking	8 hours	5	Lower	I thought this took longer so I spent life on Uber Eats
Relationships/Dating Applications	1 hour	6	Why Bother - no one is good enough for me.	Can’t wait for knight in shining armor and Women are not feminine anymore crowd!
Socialisation	12	4	Lower	Self-love king/queen
Reading	0 hours	??	N/A	Only for Nerds – Insta & TikTok university for life
Meditation/Religion	??
Family/Relationships/Children	??			Life stages/areas that need to be fostered for a more fulfilling life!
Personal Business/Side Hustle	??			Do you want to escape the Rat Race? Paycheck always equal or less than Spending hamster wheel?

If change was as simple as knowing information - then we'd all be millionaires with six-pack abs - Derek Silverman.

Time may dictate our CURRENT values but adopting new values requires change in BEHAVIOUR. More so, BEHAVIOUR is governed by HABITS.

For example, I have played sports, gym, exercised most part of my childhood, teen & adult life - but it took me 15 years to do a 3 - 6 minutes plank first thing every morning. Mainly, because I had to strengthen my core to be younger than my biological age - a personal goal (Value: Exercise). I have known this for years that 1-2 min planks can go a long way, I even had a Personal Trainer (Big man - Bladen) & Physio (Hi, Jerry) for the better part of past decade - why is it so hard to spare 5 mins in a day for something that is so liberating? It took change of behaviour (forced due to aging/voluntary decision for abs) which was repeated over a decent period of time (60 days) for it to become a HABIT (well sort of - I gym from 10pm to 12am, so kind of hurts doing this at 7am). 

In TikTok/lifehack terms, New Values = Repeated Behaviour x Time (HABITS)

I think 'Atomic Habits' from James Clear is a fantastic resource on the habits which pay the best return over the period of your life. We all know that quote from Instafeed, people don't decide their future. They decide (consciously or unconsciously) their habits and their habits determine the quality of their life. Well this is a the 'user guide' to that quote! 

I can say hand on heart - This Is It! This is how we stop wishing/expecting/demanding a better life - this is how we BECOME a better life. This is the highest form of integrity - aligning your actions with your values - cure for all cognitive dissonances and (probably) personality disorders. The highest form of success is - 'saying' what 'you do' and 'doing' what 'you say'! - عدنان

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on what have you noticed in your values? Do you have contradicting values? You want to excel at work (boss man/lady) but also want to be famous (Insta/OF/LinkedIn) and raise a fantastic family too (Proud mommy/The Arab uncle Husband/Father tag)? What do we do when 3 positive values collide? In full transparency, the image below show mine which I recalibrate weekly/monthly to ensure I make progress in all areas of life! 

READ MORE - Value hierarchy, Are you an adult or adult who is still a child or perhaps something in between or a child who has been adult for a while?