We have to start with ourselves. Who are we really and how do we show up in the world? An essential part of knowing who we are is knowing what OUR values are and how we can navigate through these uncertain times.

Throughout our life, school, family, jobs and social groups dictate what values we exude in order to succeed in these arenas. We learn that our parents have values of kindness, respect and hard work, so we perform in a way that pleases their values. At work, we take on the company culture so that we can be successful and get the promotions we are striving towards. In social constructs, we detect that a group of people want fun, gossip and looking cool, so we play along in order to fit in.

Along the way we lose what is uniquely us.

How often are we allowed to take the time to discover what our own values are? Taking time to get to know ourselves and what is important to us yields an important gift - understanding our own values. Some would say, "What makes you happy?" or "What do you want to achieve in life?" I propose something deeper. What would it be like if, in a deep discussion, you were able to have someone give you a list of your top most important values. A formula, if you will, of what makes you who you are. For instance, I am made up of these values: Faith, Love, Empathy and Persistence. What would you do with your value-formula? How much of a difference in your life would it make?