Every day we are faced with the need to solve some problems and circumstances that constantly test us for strength. And in today's world of all sorts of worries and stresses, our life values, which are a kind of pointers on the path of life.
If everything we say and do corresponds to ours, life is correct and meaningful, and we ourselves are satisfied and confident in ourselves. However, it often happens that our actions are at odds with our deepest beliefs, which is why irritability. And this is an indicator that something is wrong. In addition, such feelings can make us unhappy, and only when we always act according to our conscience, both self-esteem and a state of happiness are preserved.
The life values of a person can be safely called his internal compass, by which it is necessary to check all steps. After all, when there are certain attitudes, it is much easier for a person to think over actions and, which is the basis of a productive and fulfilling life.
But let's think about what our values in life can be.
Darina KataevaEvery person has life values. They are formed in childhood, and in adult life influence the actions of people, their decision-making, personal choice. Values are a reflection of the essence, driving force which influences the outlook and personality formation... What exactly are the values of life and how to choose them for yourself?
Where do life values come from?
Although human values are stable structure, they change under the influence of external circumstances and internal experiences. The values that are laid down in childhood are of fundamental importance. However, they do not appear instantly, they are formed over the course of life. The more mature a person becomes, the more stable values distinguish him. For some, money, fame, power and luxury items are essential in life. Others consider it important to spiritual self-improvement, creative development, health, family and children.
The formation of life values is influenced by:
upbringing and family;
friends;
classmates;
team at work;
experienced trauma and loss;
economic situation in the country.
Basic values of human life
Although each person is different, there are values that unite all people:
This is not related to selfishness. Such love helps to achieve happiness in life and self-improvement.
Near... The manifestation of this value lies in respecting each person, his opinion and position in life.
A family. – highest value for the majority of people.
Spouse or spouse... Emotional, spiritual and physical intimacy with a loved one comes first for some.
Love for children.
Homeland... The place where a person was born influences the mentality and attitude towards life.
Work... There are people who seek to dissolve in activity, they are ready to take on any assignment at work in order to achieve the common good.
Friends... and self-expression in it is of no small importance for any person.
Recreation... This area of life allows a person to concentrate on their feelings, relax and unwind from the endless hustle and bustle.
Public mission- activity. Altruists primarily strive to do something for the good of society. Satisfaction of their needs and desires is already in second place.
It cannot be said that each person singles out for himself one common human value and lives according to it. The listed areas are harmoniously intertwined, we just mark a few for ourselves and put them first in life.
Life values are a complex structure that is reflected in the setting and the way of achieving. As a result, a person foresees unpleasant situations and possible failures.
List of possible values in human life
In addition to basic life values, each person can have individual, sometimes extraordinary values. Below is only an incomplete list of possible human values, because it can be continued indefinitely.
Optimism... “The pessimist sees difficulties at every opportunity; an optimist sees opportunities in every difficulty. " Such a character trait can undoubtedly be considered a value and rejoice in the presence of optimism in your life: life becomes brighter and fuller with it.
Patience... "Patience and a little effort". Patience, especially among the modern generation, is definitely worth considering. Only with patience can you. This is about your personal benefits. But your friends and partners will surely appreciate this quality.
Honesty... "Honesty is the most precious thing." It is important to be honest not only with others but also with yourself. If for you this value is on a par with the basic ones, you are probably happy man: Paradoxical as it may seem, honest people have an easier life than those who love to lie.
Discipline... "Business before pleasure". Most people are extremely skeptical about this value, because discipline, in their opinion, is equal to restrictions, lack of freedom. And only over the years, many come to the conclusion that if you are a disciplined person, this does not mean that you somehow limit yourself, you rather find a way in freedom and happiness with the help of this character trait.
Examples of life value
Asking the question: “What is valuable to me?”, Many find themselves in a dead end. However, it is very important to give yourself an unequivocal answer in order to be true to your values when a new situation arises for yourself.
Life values are not associated with the opinion of others and the recognition of you as a person, thanks to the heights achieved.
The following sequence of actions helps in defining your values:
Stay alone with yourself... To understand what is important to you in life, and what is of secondary importance, it is recommended to clear the space of extraneous influence. Explore your personality in complete solitude, without the influence of external factors.
Remember important events In my life... It doesn't have to be only positive situations, reflect on the negative ones as well. Write down the main experiences on a piece of paper, think about what impressed you and what upset you, and without which you cannot imagine your life.
Explore Human Values, because personal needs and views follow from them. Keep track of the relationship between the resulting list and everyday life... Some of the points listed are only desire, not an established value in life.
Watch yourself... Set aside at least one day in which you would explore yourself, behavior, choices, and motives. The decisions we make every day are an indicator of a person's personal choice and values.
If the list of values is too long, it will have to be shortened.... There should be 3 maximum 4 values left. The rest is just additions and consequent decisions in life.
Conclusion
Some values that are simultaneously important to a person can conflict. After looking at the list you have drawn up, decide what does not fit together. This is what causes the creative, which is in disharmony with itself. It is important to remember the balance and the impact of our values on the lives of others.
Each person is different, therefore values differ depending on the character and established guidelines in a person's life... Although not every person has a tendency to reflect and explore oneself, it is still worthwhile to stop for a moment and think about what is valuable to me. Otherwise, you will be a driven person, without your own core. Under new circumstances, you will immediately lose yourself and your personality!
February 26, 2014We rarely ask ourselves questions like “Why do we live”, “What is our life value”, etc. Without saying this, we, nevertheless, are guided by certain principles, we choose the most important thing for ourselves, if it is impossible to keep everything. For example: “love”, “freedom” or “work” is more valuable for someone than “family”. If you don't have to choose between them, everything coexists peacefully. And if you need to make a certain choice? It will be made in favor of what is most important for a person, no matter how it seems from the outside it is a wrong or thoughtless decision. Of course, it is possible that over time a person will blame himself for having once made a “wrong” choice. Only he always chooses in the present, and in this present there are already other values.
Are there such values in life that are equally important for people regardless of their age, gender and in which country of the world they live? Of course have. This is family, health, work. In addition, people name other values, such as: education, love, friendship, self-respect, career, power, money, sex ...
It would be interesting to compare the values of "fathers" and "children", because their difference can interfere with mutual understanding between generations.
What do our teenagers choose? We learned their answers from 130 pupils of 5th and 9th grades from school №3 in Konakovo. 45% of respondents put “ happy family"To the 1st place among other 17 life values. 85% of children included "family" among the five most significant values. The second place was taken by “friendship” (58%). Although peer relationships during adolescence play crucial role, only 6% gave her the honorable first place. Indeed, the family continues to play a critical role in the adolescent's growing up process. He needs wise mentoring from adults, but does not show this and rebel against his parents, seeking to communicate on an equal footing.
Far from all, but only 54% of schoolchildren, consider "education" a value in life. Among fifth-graders, only 45% share this opinion. An even smaller number of schoolchildren (only 18%) strive for high achievements in sports or art.
Some young men and women build up the following set of values:
Education - work, career - money, wealth. Or even "cooler": work, career - money, wealth - fame, admiration and respect of others.
Among adolescents 10-11 and 15-16 years old, equally a large number of those who are beginning to realize the value of the “welfare of the state”. "Science as learning new things" is on the list of values almost the most last places(9th to 17th). Only one young man considers "science" a priority value for himself, along with such as "power" and "success".
36% of adolescents choose such a value as “happiness of loved ones”.
The responses of adults (30 of them were interviewed) were very diverse. Almost all of the values listed in the questionnaire were named by them, with the exception of such a value as “food”. And for 13% of teens, food is worth talking about as a value. Actually, it has long been known that there is a hierarchy of needs, and the first place in this pyramid is occupied by physiological needs. These include food, clothing, sleep, rest. A person is able to think and strive for more satisfaction high needs only when his primary (physiological) needs are satisfied. No wonder there is a saying: "An empty belly is deaf to learning."
For 13% of adults, a similar primary need is housing: their own apartment or house.
The main values of the interviewed men and women aged 22 to 52 are “family” and “health”. In second place is “work”. For 66% of the respondents, the category “happiness of loved ones” is very significant. The number of elections in favor of "love" and "friendship" is an order of magnitude lower. 26% of people cite them as important values in life. Education rating is not very high. Only 20% of adults consider education to be an important life value. Approximately the same number (20-25%) choose “the welfare of the state” and strive for self-respect. Respect of others is necessary for 15% of adults. No more than 5% aspire to a career, the authorities. The attitude towards money as a kind of life value was revealed in 20% of adolescents and 10% of adults.
It turns out that the values of "fathers" and "children" are very similar, although in each specific case this is far from the case. How exactly, you can discuss after reading this material. I wish you pleasant discoveries.
What are life values and their role for us
Life values and guidelines are some absolute values, which occupy the first place in the worldview and determine the behavior of a person, his desires and aspirations. They help to solve assigned tasks and set priorities in their own activities.
Each person has his own hierarchy of values. Values determine how a person builds his life, how he makes friends, chooses a place of work, how he gets an education, what hobbies he has, how he interacts in society.
As a rule, the hierarchy of values changes during life. V childhood in the first place are some significant moments, in adolescence and youth - others, in youth the third, in the adult state - the fourth, and by old age everything can change again. The life values of young people are always different from the priorities of older people.
Events occur in life (happy or tragic) that can turn a person's worldview by 180 degrees, make him completely rethink his life and re-prioritize exactly the opposite of what they were before.
This is a natural process of development of the human psyche and personality. Adapt to changing conditions environment- the protective function of the body, part of the evolutionary process.
Each individual needs to be clearly aware of the hierarchy. own system values. This knowledge helps in various difficult situations, for example, when it is necessary to do hard choice between two important things in favor of one. Focusing on the paramount values, a person will be able to correctly determine what is truly important for his own well-being.
Let's analyze typical example from life. A responsible workaholic often stays at work in order to successfully complete all assigned tasks. The job is really interesting, well-paid, promising, etc., but never-ending. There is always a gnawing feeling that he is not working on it and does not have time. At home, his beloved family is eagerly awaiting him. The wife periodically makes complaints about the frequent absence from home, which also causes some discomfort. The feeling of dissatisfaction lingers and becomes chronic.
It is in such situations that you need to learn how to correctly prioritize. It is important to decide what comes first. Solve the problem within yourself and stop rushing about. It is always impossible to keep up with everything, but it is quite possible to choose the highest priority. By examining such cases and adopting your own hierarchy of priorities, you can minimize chronic personal conflicts.
There are no right and wrong value systems. For someone successful career and recognition in the first place, for some love and family, for others education and continuous development.
But there is an awareness of their own hierarchy of priorities and internal consistency with them. And there is an internal conflict when a person has difficulties with and determining the true importance of things for themselves.
Basic life values
Conditionally, life values can be divided into two groups:
- Material:, comfort, home, a sense of financial solvency and stability.
- Spiritual:
- A family: intimate long-term stable in a pair, procreation, a sense of one's own need for other people, a sense of community.
- Friends and work team: a sense of belonging to a group.
- Career: achievement of a certain social status, respect for significant people.
- Favourite buisness: business project or hobby (music, sports, gardening, etc.), disclosure of their own destiny and talents.
- Education and development any skills, qualities, personal growth.
- Health and beauty: slimness, good physical shape, absence of diseases.
Both categories are intertwined with each other and become related values. V modern world it is difficult to separate material values from spiritual ones. For the realization of some, the presence of others is necessary. For example, to get an education you need a certain financial condition to earn. Money brings financial comfort and the opportunity for leisure and interesting hobbies to the family. Material investments are also required for health and beauty. Social status modern man is largely determined by the acquired material wealth. Thus, material values have become an integral part of the spiritual.
Life values are:
1. Universal (cultural). it general views people about what is good and what is bad. They are laid down in childhood, and their development is influenced by the society that surrounds a person. The model, as a rule, becomes the family in which the child was born and grew up. Parents' priorities become fundamental in the formation of their own value system.
The universal human priorities include:
- physical health;
- success in life (education, career, social status, recognition);
- family, children, love, friends;
- spiritual development;
- freedom (judgments and actions);
- creative realization.
2. Customized. They are formed in every person throughout life. These are the values that a person stands out from the generally accepted ones and considers important for himself. The priority may be politeness, kindness, faith in people, literacy, good breeding and others.
How to reveal your values
Currently, psychologists have developed a large number of techniques for diagnosing life values.
Tests can be taken online. They usually take no more than 15 minutes. The result appears within a few seconds. The methodologies are either a series of multiple choice questions or a list of statements for further ranking. The answers are not right or wrong, and the results are not good or bad. Based on the results of testing, a list of the main values of the respondent is issued.
These methods help a person quickly get a picture of their own hierarchy of priorities.
Test results can sometimes be confusing. You may think that they are wrong and your priority system does not match the issued program. Try another test and then another.
While you are answering the questions, you can simultaneously decide for yourself what is most important for you in life, and what is secondary.
Another option for defining your own value system is an independent analysis of your priorities.
To do this, you need to write on a piece of paper all the things that are meaningful to you in life. Everything that you respect, value and value. It is not necessary to use terminology and peeped criteria and definitions. List in exactly the same words as things are called in your head.
After making your list, take a short break. Switch to other activities. Then take your list again and take a close look at it. Pick the 10 values that matter most to you and cross out the rest. Now the list needs to be halved again. To make it easier to determine your priorities, scroll through different life situations determining what is more important.
As a result, 5 most significant values remained. Rank them (list them in order of importance from 1 to 5). If you can't choose what is more valuable to you, imagine a situation in which you would have to decide what would be more difficult for you to lose. And this is exactly what you cannot part with even in thoughts, and will be your highest priority in life. The rest will also remain important, but still secondary.
This way you will get a picture of your life priorities.
How to instill life values in the process of education
The question of instilling life values, as a rule, is asked by young parents. I want to grow my own a loved one"Correct" and happy.
The fundamental factor in choosing a system of priorities that one wants to put in a child's head is the parents' own understanding of the "correct" values.
The ideas about important things formed in childhood will be fixed in the subconscious for the rest of their life and will remain unchanged without serious shocks. It is about universal human values (family, love, striving for self-development and education, career growth, material enrichment).
In a family where close people always come first, a child will grow up who appreciates love and interpersonal relationships... In a family of careerists, an ambitious personality will most likely form, yearning for a certain status. Etc.
The value system of a growing person is built on life experience... On what he "cooks" in every day. It is useless to tell the younger generation that the most important thing in life is the family, when the father disappears at work, and the mother does not crawl out of her gadgets, depriving the child of the attention. If you want to form the "correct" life priorities in your baby, show it on my own example... The life values of children are in the hands of their parents.
Rethinking values
The formation of basic life values begins in the first year human life and ends at about 22 years old.
Throughout life, a person is faced with different situations, entailing a rethinking of values. Such moments are always associated with strong emotional upheavals (both positive and negative) or prolonged depressive states. It can be:
- marriage;
- birth of a child;
- loss of a loved one;
- a sharp change in financial position;
- serious illness (own or a loved one);
- tragic events on a global scale that claimed many lives);
- falling in love with a person who does not correspond to ideals;
- life crises (youth, maturity);
- old age (end of life).
Sometimes a change of priorities occurs involuntarily, when a person instinctively chooses the best path for his future life.
Sometimes, for example, in cases of crises, prolonged mental anguish leads to a rethinking and a new choice of life values. When, in long depressions, a person feels his own unhappiness, cannot find a way out, and the problem of life values becomes acute. In such a case, realigning priorities requires a conscious approach and a clear desire.
Rethinking values gives a person a chance to “start life with blank slate". Change yourself, radically change your existence. Often, such changes make a person happier and more harmonious.
Useful articles:
For each of us, life values are a fundamental guideline in different types activities. They contribute to personal growth, creation comfortable life, the formation creative thinking etc. Everything is achieved by a person thanks to the hierarchy of values he has built, which determines which of the priorities comes first. This is the measure of human happiness.
Some put the family in the first place, others do not think of their well-being without the third give them to interests and hobbies. Some representatives of humanity, refusing material wealth, see their happiness only in spiritual self-improvement. In general, life values are goals and priorities that, controlling a person's life, determine his essence. The choice of fundamental guidelines is carried out by people depending on the level of development of their consciousness. However, either material should not be extreme, as this will inevitably lead to excessive materialization or, conversely, illusion. Therefore, it is very important to achieve balance in the system of life priorities.
There are universal human values that are equally important for all people. Each era sets its own priority system for the individual. V modern society values include health, family, work and education. The implementation of priorities that are significant for a person is very important for his recognition and self-affirmation.
Starting to form in the family, life values in the future determine the image and their worldview. By analyzing them, you can determine scarcity or wealth. inner peace a person, the variety of his interests and personality. In the formation of a person's value attitudes, a significant role is played by his close environment (friends, family), religious beliefs, as well as national and social traditions.
The main life lines can be divided into several groups:
- A family. Assumes long-term relationships (with parents, children, marriage partner, loved ones and friends) that are considered valuable. Thanks to the improvement of a person in a pair, his personal growth is more effective. And warm relationships with relatives allow you to feel the fullness of happiness.
- Career. It involves purposeful actions aimed at achieving a certain due to which new opportunities and spheres of influence open up for a person.
- Favourite buisness. Promotes the disclosure of the inner world of a person. With a reasonably built hierarchy of life guidelines, favourite hobby, hobbies and many other interests will contribute to strengthening the state of peace of mind and happiness.
- Money, comfort. An orderly life is viewed as a value that requires certain financial costs.
- Education. Improving professional skills contributes to personal development and represents a certain value. Through the acquisition certain knowledge and skills, high-quality and competent performance of work, career growth is possible.
- Health and beauty. Body values ( fit figure, developed muscles, well-groomed skin) are considered as an important component healthy way life, requiring systematic studies.
- Personal growth... It includes certain social and psychological skills that contribute to the formation of maturity in views, attention to people around, the manifestation of wisdom, control of your feelings and emotions.
Thus, life values are a person's way of self-assertion, regulating his behavior.
