Page 46 - Free Yourself From

Taking Action for Knowing and Being Yourself 29

choices. For example, you might want to save lives but instead sell
computers, and as a result you’re perpetually frustrated with your
work assignments. But if you instead choose to sell medical devices,
you’ll feel more personally committed to your product and your
work, and believing in what you do will energize you to perform at
your highest level.

Identifying Your Values

Through our WILL program, my organization offers a values clarifi-
cation exercise (see Table 2-1 on page 32), which helps women explore
and strengthen their leadership skills, confidence, and competence
areas. The exercise usually helps women to see that when their values
are aligned with their day-to-day work, they are much more energized
and much less stressed. This exercise also demonstrates to them that
they will be happier and better equipped to reach higher levels of suc-
cess by knowing their values and designing their lives around them.
You can start to identify your values by examining your past
experiences and life events. It’s important to consider both your high
points and low points—when you were in the groove, at your best
and completely engaged in what you were doing, and conversely,
when you were really hating a situation and maybe even depressed or
angry about it. You can’t discern your values by reflecting on situa-
tions where things were just okay. It’s when situations trigger emo-
tional responses, either positive or negative, that your values show up.
Also, being aware of your triggers—when your boss, friends, or fam-
ily set you off—can help you to uncover your core values. This
process will tell you what motivates or inspires you, as well as what
your “nonnegotiables” are.
The following exercise is an example of what I ask women to
think about when I walk them through a values session in our WILL
program. Try it yourself and see what you find out.