If I asked you what your top 5 values are, how quickly could you answer? When was the last time you took a second to sit down and actually think about them? Do you live your life according to what you value? Research shows that when we choose to focus our time and energy towards activities that are aligned with our values, we experience improved physical, mental, and emotional health. Knowing our values and creating as much space in our life as possible to focus on them is one way we practice self-care. 

Self-care is taking action to preserve or improve our health, meaning self-care will, and should, look different for each individual, especially if we live our lives according to our values. Just as our values are different, the self-care activities that support our values are too. For one person, self-care activities that rejuvenate them may include eating vegetables, meditating, and working out, while for another person self-care activities may include talking to a therapist, practicing grounding techniques, and getting enough sleep. The goal for the chosen activities is the same for either person: improve their health by focusing on activities that bring satisfaction and rejuvenation to them. 

If we keep in mind that our values are our deepest desires for how we want to live and behave as a human, our self-care activities become unique and personalized to us. Just as there are no mandatory values that each person must have, there are no specific activities that someone needs to participate in to practice self-care.

Need help in identifying your values? 

Here is an exercise that can help you identify your values and select self-care activities that will support you in living your life according to them:

1. Spend 3 minutes reflecting on what has always been important to you throughout your life. Think about times you had to make a difficult decision and what guided you through the process. Also think about times in your life you felt your best and what positive things you were focused on that made you feel good. Write down your reflection insights as words, phrases, or bullet points.
2. Now use a list of values (like this one) to identify values that align with your reflection. Looking over the list may also provide you with ideas of other values you may not have thought about initially, but recognize are important to you. 
3. Write down 5 values from steps 1 and 2 that are important to you. (You might find more than 5 that resonate with you – for this purpose, try to stick with the top 5.) 
4. Order the values 1-5, with 1 representing the value which is most important to you.
   1. It is important to note that it is not always possible to live every moment of every day according to all of our values. The prioritization changes as demands on our life change, and some values are easier to find activities that support the growth of them than others. 
5. Think about what activities make you feel like you are living your life according to each value. Try to identify 3 – 5 activities for each value. For example, if one of your values is financial stability, activities that support it may include paying your bills, meeting your budget goals for the day/week/month, and making a deposit to your emergency fund. 
6. Schedule these activities that will improve your physical, mental, or emotional health to ensure you have time and energy to devote to them. Look at your upcoming week and choose a couple of activities, rather than trying to do them all at once!

When we have a clear understanding of our values, this information helps guide us to live our lives in ways that make us feel rewarded, connected, and alive. Knowing what makes us feel positive helps us to know what we need to do to rejuvenate ourselves in times that we are feeling disconnected from our values. By focusing energy and effort on activities that align with our values, we implement personalized self-care that improves our health and allows us to feel grounded so we can give our best to others. 

Looking to support a group in reflecting on their values or embedding self-care into daily practice to replenish their personal and professional selves? For more on how to do this check out our ready-to-use SELf-Care faculty meeting plans! 

Written by Sarah Fillion & Dana Januszka 2021