Personal Values Checklist

From this list of values (both work and personal), select the ten that are most important to you-as guides for how to behave, or as components of a valued way of life.

___Achievement

___Advancement & promotion

___Adventure

___Affection (love and caring)

___Arts

___Challenging problems

___Change and variety

___Close relationships

___Community

___Competence

___Competition

___Cooperation

___Country

___Creativity

___Decisiveness

___Democracy

___Ecological awareness

___Economic security

___Effectiveness

___Efficiency

___Ethical practice

___Excellence

___Excitement

___Expertise

___Fame

___Fast living

___Fast-paced work

___Financial gain

___Freedom

___Friendships

___Growth

___Having a family

___Helping other people

___Helping society

___Honesty

___Independence

___Influencing others

___Inner harmony

___Integrity

___Intellectual status

___Involvement

___Job tranquility

___Knowledge

___Leadership

___Location

___Loyalty

___Market position

___Meaningful work

___Merit

___Money

___Nature

___Being around others who are open and honest

___Order (tranquility, stability, conformity)

___Personal development (living up to the fullest use of my potential)

___Physical challenge

___Pleasure

___Power & authority

___Privacy

___Public service

___Purity

___Quality of what I take part in

___Quality relationships

___Recognition (respect from others, status)

___Religion

___Reputation

___Responsibility & Accountability

___Security

___Self-respect

___Serenity

___Sophistication

___Stability

___Status

___Supervising others

___Time freedom

___Truth

___Wealth

___Wisdom

___Work under pressure

___Work with others

___Working alone


Now that you have identified ten, imagine that you are only permitted to have five values. Which five would you give up? Cross them off. Tell us your five important personal values.

When I did this exercise (2008), I used a scale and then picked the highest-ranked. I find that my top five values are super-important to me, and where they are not, I am not, if that makes any sense. (I'll tell mine if you tell yours)

Sources: selfcounseling.com , kon.org