personal values presentation

How it works

For Business

Join Mind Tools

Related Articles

Mindset Matters

Personal SWOT Analysis

Understanding Your Locus of Control

Core Self-Evaluations

Understanding Yourself

Article • 9 min read

What Are Your Values?

Deciding what's important in life.

Written by Jonathan Hancock

Reviewed by Cat MacLeod

Key Takeaways

• Your personal values are a central part of who you are – and who you want to be.
• By becoming more aware of these vital factors in your life, you can use them as a guide to make the best choice in any situation.
• Some of life's decisions are really about determining what you value most. When many options seem reasonable, you can rely on your values to point you in the right direction.

How would you define your values?

Before you answer this question, you need to know what, in general, values are.

Your values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live and work.

They (should) determine your priorities, and, deep down, they're probably the measures you use to tell if your life is turning out the way you want it to.

When the things that you do and the way you behave match your values, life is usually good – you're satisfied and content. But when these don't align with your personal values, that's when things feel wrong. This can be a real source of unhappiness.

This is why making a conscious effort to identify your values is so important.

So, in this article and in the video, below, we're going to take a look at how you can identify your personal values.

How Values Help You

Values exist, whether you recognize them or not. Life can be much easier when you acknowledge your values – and when you make plans and decisions that honor them.

If you value family, but you have to work 70-hour weeks in your job, will you feel internal stress and conflict? And if you don't value competition, and you work in a highly competitive sales environment, are you likely to be satisfied with your job?

In these types of situations, understanding your values can really help. When you know your own values, you can use them to make decisions about how to live your life, and you can answer questions like these:

• What job should I pursue?
• Should I accept this promotion?
• Should I start my own business?
• Should I compromise, or be firm with my position?
• Should I follow tradition, or travel down a new path?

So, take the time to understand the real priorities in your life, and you'll be able to determine the best direction for you and your life goals !

Values are usually fairly stable, yet they don't have strict limits or boundaries. Also, as you move through life, your values may change.

For example, when you start your career, success – measured by money and status – might be a top priority.

But after you have a family, work-life balance may be what you value more.

As your definition of success changes, so do your personal values. This is why keeping in touch with your values is a lifelong exercise. You should continuously revisit this, especially if you start to feel unbalanced... and you can't quite figure out why.

As you go through the exercise below, bear in mind that values that were important in the past may not be relevant now.

Defining Your Values

When you define your personal values, you discover what's truly important to you. A good way of starting to do this is to look back on your life – to identify when you felt really good, and really confident that you were making good choices.

Step 1: Identify the times when you were happiest

Find examples from both your career and personal life. This will ensure some balance in your answers.

• What were you doing?
• Were you with other people? Who?
• What other factors contributed to your happiness?

Step 2: Identify the times when you were most proud

Use examples from your career and personal life.

• Why were you proud?
• Did other people share your pride? Who?
• What other factors contributed to your feelings of pride?

Step 3: Identify the times when you were most fulfilled and satisfied

Again, use both work and personal examples.

• What need or desire was fulfilled?
• How and why did the experience give your life meaning?
• What other factors contributed to your feelings of fulfillment?

Step 4: Determine your top values, based on your experiences of happiness, pride, and fulfillment

Why is each experience truly important and memorable? Use the following list of common personal values to help you get started – and aim for about 10 top values. (As you work through, you may find that some of these naturally combine. For instance, if you value philanthropy, community and generosity, you might say that service to others is one of your top values.)

Common Personal Core Values

Step 5: prioritize your top values.

This step is probably the most difficult, because you'll have to look deep inside yourself. It's also the most important step, because, when making a decision, you'll have to choose between solutions that may satisfy different values. This is when you must know which value is more important to you.

• Write down your top values, not in any particular order.
• Look at the first two values and ask yourself, "If I could satisfy only one of these, which would I choose?" It might help to visualize a situation in which you would have to make that choice. For example, if you compare the values of service and stability, imagine that you must decide whether to sell your house and move to another country to do valuable foreign aid work, or keep your house and volunteer to do charity work closer to home.
• Keep working through the list, by comparing each value with each other value, until your list is in the correct order.

If you have a tough time doing this, consider using Paired Comparison Analysis to help you. With this method, you decide which of two options is most important, and then assign a score to show how much more important it is. Since it's so important to identify and prioritize your values, investing your time in this step is definitely worth it.

Step 6: Reaffirm your values

Check your top-priority values, and make sure that they fit with your life and your vision for yourself.

• Do these values make you feel good about yourself?
• Are you proud of your top three values?
• Would you be comfortable and proud to tell your values to people you respect and admire?
• Do these values represent things you would support, even if your choice isn't popular, and it puts you in the minority?

When you consider your values in decision making, you can be sure to keep your sense of integrity and what you know is right, and approach decisions with confidence and clarity. You'll also know that what you're doing is best for your current and future happiness and satisfaction.

Making value-based choices may not always be easy. However, making a choice that you know is right is a lot less difficult in the long run.

Top Tip for Defining Your Own Core Values

You can breathe life into your values by defining briefly, in writing, what they represent to you. Crystalizing what they stand for and why they matter to you will help embed their importance.

Keep the definitions short and write them in your own words, so you are really connected to them. These definitions will be handy reminders of who you are and what matters most to you – when and if you need reminding when there are decisions to be made.

For example, if one of your core values is “creativity” you might say, “I value it because the ability to solve problems and to come up with fresh, new ideas brings me joy and a deep sense of fulfillment.”

Frequently Asked Questions About Values

What does it mean to have values.

Your values are the beliefs and principles that you believe are important in the way that you live and work.

They (should) determine your priorities, and guide your decisions and the way you act towards others. When the things that you do, and the way that you behave, match your values, life is usually good.

Why Are Personal Values Important?

Understanding your values can really help make life easier, and make you happier.

This happens because when you acknowledge your values – and make plans and decisions that honor them – you can use your values to make truly informed decisions about how to live your life.

By understanding the real priorities in your life, you'll be able to determine the best direction for you, along with meaningful life goals.

Identifying and understanding your values is a challenging and important exercise. Your personal values are a central part of who you are – and who you want to be. By becoming more aware of these important factors in your life, you can use them as a guide to make the best choice in any situation.

Some of life's decisions are really about determining what you value most. When many options seem reasonable, it's helpful and comforting to rely on your values – and use them as a strong guiding force to point you in the right direction.

This is your second and last free resource

Enjoy unlimited access to Mind Tools

Discover more content

Developing Self-Awareness

Understanding yourself better

Fixed Vs. Growth Mindset Video

Video Transcript

Book Insights

QBQ!: The Question Behind the Question

John G Miller

Eight Ways To Manage Your Mood

How to Stay Positive at Work

Add comment

Comments (6)

M. Calmekik

Professionalism, Fairness, Empathy

tom like lachie

Naazish Mohsin

Interesting write up where are the references?

I would highly recommend people to try a scientific core values finder assessment instead of informal quizes.

has a good balance.

about 1 year

Donagh Kenny

excellenet resource

almost 2 years

Latrece Thomas

I feel that everyone should set high values for themself. Integrity is a value I think 🥰 everyone should honor.

Sign-up to our newsletter

Subscribing to the Mind Tools newsletter will keep you up-to-date with our latest updates and newest resources.

Subscribe now

Business Skills

Personal Development

Leadership and Management

Member Extras

Key Management Skills

Most Popular

Latest Updates

Mindtools Member Newsletter November 14, 2024

Pain Points Podcast - Karthik Ramanna on Outrage

Mind Tools Store

About Mind Tools Content

Discover something new today

New pain points - stephen bruyant-langer: meaning.

Asking the biggest questions of all

Peer Coaching

Unlocking and fostering growth through collaborative support

How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?

Boosting Your People Skills

Self-Assessment

What's Your Leadership Style?

Learn About the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Way You Like to Lead

Recommended for you

Sales skills for non-salespeople.

Using "Consultative Selling" to Pitch Your Idea or Product

Business Operations and Process Management

Strategy Tools

Customer Service

Business Ethics and Values

Handling Information and Data

Project Management

Knowledge Management

Self-Development and Goal Setting

Time Management

Presentation Skills

Learning Skills

Career Skills

Communication Skills

Negotiation, Persuasion and Influence

Working With Others

Difficult Conversations

Creativity Tools

Self-Management

Work-Life Balance

Stress Management and Wellbeing

Women in Leadership

Coaching and Mentoring

Change Management

Team Management

Managing Conflict

Delegation and Empowerment

Performance Management

Leadership Skills

Developing Your Team

Talent Management

Problem Solving

Decision Making

Member Podcast

Member Newsletter

Introducing the Management Skills Framework

Transparent Communication

Social Sensitivity

Self-Awareness and Self-Regulation

Team Goal Setting

Recognition

Inclusivity

Active Listening

35 Personal Values Examples

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

Learn about our Editorial Process

Personal values are the values that you hold dearest to your heart. They’re central to your sense of yourself as an ethical being.

We will often also call them our core values .

We develop our personal values from our cultural and social context. Our families, cultures, and societies give us values that are passed down from generation to generation.

Religion is another important place where people source their inspiration and values. Many religions encourage us to embrace personal values like charity, goodwill, and justice.

Personal Values Examples

1. Family – Family values are moral and ethical principles of typical family life, including sacrificing for loved ones, putting your loved ones first, and keeping your loved ones at the center of your thoughts and actions.

2. Loyalty – Loyalty might be a core personal value to you if you highly prize friends that are reliable and trustworthy. You might put your friends or chosen family first, always being there for them when they need you.

3. Compassion – A compassionate person is someone who prioritizes caring for others and feeling sympathetic for people in need of help and protection.

Related Article: 25 Humility Examples

4. Fairness – If you value fairness, you might be highly sensitive to situations at school or in the workplace where a teacher or a peer has exhibited favoritism or allowed someone to get away with living by a different set of rules to everyone else.

5. Honesty – You may highly value telling people the truth. This one gets tricky when being honest can be hurtful to others. So, a person who really puts honesty first might be the sort of person who will tell the truth even if it hurts to do so.

6. Generosity – This may be a core value of yours if you cherish people who will give their time and resources to people in need. You may consider yourself to be a generous person if you find joy and meaning in giving to others.

Related Article: 17 Best Adversity Examples

7. Integrity – Integrity is the quality of having strong moral principles. So, a person with integrity will always act with honesty and adhere to their own moral code regardless of what others do.

8. Perseverance – People who value perseverance will work through adversity and be determined to get a result. This is a great treat for employees and entrepreneurs alike.

9. Trustworthiness – A trustworthy person is someone who others can rely on to keep their commitments, maintain integrity when people aren’t looking, and keep the secrets of others. This might be valuable for a manger-level employee who is trusted with money-making decisions.

10. Courageousness – If you value courage, it means that you highly respect people who are willing to take risks and stand up for what they believe in even when the going gets tough.

11. Self-Discipline – If you value self-discipline, you might be a person who wakes up early, exercises daily, and doesn’t get distracted by vices.

12. Humility – You might highly value humility if you find yourself disgusted by people who are arrogant or braggadocious, and instead find yourself gravitating to people who are always expressing their gratefulness for the blessings in their life.

13. Kindness – If you value kindness, you’ll likely always be respectful of people around you, be gentle with criticism, and always willing to welcome people with open arms.

Related Article: 8 Types of Values

14. Individual Responsibility – If you value individual responsibility, you respect people who get up and work hard for what they’ve got, don’t ask for hand-outs, and will always expect higher of themselves.

15. Gratitude – You value gratitude if you find yourself respecting people who say please and thank you. If you’re a religious person who values gratitude, you may always insist on praying before eating your dinner.

16. Empathy – If you value empathy, you may find yourself gravitating toward people who can put themselves in the shoes of others. You, personally, may find yourself feeling for the sick or downtrodden and wanting to do something to help them.

17. Patience – A person who has patience as a core personal value is going to prioritize giving their time to others. They will sit down and be calm while waiting for others. This is a great trait for a teacher.

Related Article: Values in Sociology – Explained.

18. Open-Mindedness – An open-minded person is someone who is always willing to hear new points of view and even change their own point of view if new arguments are highly convincing. It’s the opposite of stubbornness.

19. Thoughtfulness – You may highly value people who are thoughtful. If this is you, then you might find yourself rolling your eyes at people who are full of bluster and never stop to reflect on their own actions.

20. Optimism – Some people are perpetual optimists. They value optimism , perhaps because by being optimistic, you are more willing to have a go at achieving even unattainable goals. You may also be more willing to persevere through hard times.

21. Altruism – If you highly value altruism, then you value people who do good deeds for the intrinsic value of those good deeds, and not in order to feel good about themselves or get something out of it.

22. Tolerance and Diversity – If you value tolerance and diversity , then you’re likely very comfortable with multiculturalism and want to encourage people to live and respect the wide variety of cultures and traditions that exist in modern society.

23. Forgiveness – Forgiveness is a central value in Christianity. It emphasizes the importance of redemption and getting a second chance. If this is a personal value of yours, then you likely don’t hold grudges and want to move forward and see the best of people in the future.

See Also: Personal Credo Examples

24. Being True to Yourself – This value is all about making sure people are not hiding who they really are in order to satisfy others. Instead, it thinks that humans flourish when they are living their best life.

25. Community – If you value community, then you are someone who might do a lot of volunteering and find meaning and purpose in being a member of a community group.

26. Social Justice – If social justice is central to your personal value set, then you likely want to see the oppressed and downtrodden get better treatment. You might advocate for fairness in your workplace and want to dedicate your time and resources to stamping out discrimination.

27. Dependability – If you value being dependable, then you might make sure you always turn up 5 minutes ahead of time so you’re never late and you never miss a deadline. If you say you’re going to do something, you will do it.

28. Work Ethic – Work ethic is a personal value that’s great to mention in an interview or CV. It means that you always put your head down and work your heart out to do a good job. You’ll never be found slacking off!

29. Respect – The value of respect reminds us that we should always be polite and caring for others. Even when someone disrespects us, we hold ourselves to higher regard and always treat people with the respect that we want to be treated with.

30. Compromise – The value of compromise is a very wise value. It involves recognizing that you will never get your own way, but by getting people together to reach an agreement, you can achieve great outcomes for all.

31. Playfulness – Playfulness is a value if you think it’s inherently important for living a good life. You might think that taking time off for relaxation and play is incredibly important for you, and that you’ll make sure you never let work take over life.

32. Pragmatism – A pragmatist values setting goals that are achievable. You’re the opposite of a dreamer. Instead, you have aspirations, but the most important thing to you is that you set yourself to tasks that you know can succeed at.

33. Environmentalism – Environmentalism may be a core value to you if you think it’s extremely important to care for the environment and natural world. It’s even more of a personal value if you act on it by limiting your waste, driving less, and buying ethical products.

34. Independence – Independence is important to you if you refuse to be tied to a job or a partner. Many modern-day women, for example, want to maintain their independent identity even while having a partner who they love.

35. Individual Liberty – If you value individual liberty, then you respect other people’s rights to make decisions for their own lives. It tries to ensure people don’t impose themselves on others. However, this rubs up against communitarian values where you need to do things for the greater good.

See Also: 65 Personal Identity Examples

Determining your Core Personal Values

When coming up with what your personal values framework, have a think about what’s important to you and what inspires you. Some sources can include:

1. What are your Family’s Values?

Our parents are the first people who teach us the difference between right and wrong. They lay the foundations for our lives by exposing us to stories that can help us build a moral framework, as well as exposing us to important influences like our church group or close family friends. Similarly, our siblings and cousins are often the first friends we have, and we learn right from wrong through playing with them.

2. What are your Religion’s Values?

Throughout history, societies have turned to religion for our values. Religious texts allow people to contemplate right from wrong and learn from a higher power about how we humans are expected to behave here on earth. Agnostic people may turn instead to philosophy for wise people who can teach us important lessons about right and wrong, and how to live a good life.

3. What are your Culture’s Values?

Each culture has a set of values around which it is oriented. We have western culture, for example, which values individual liberty and democracy. Similarly, in the United States, individual accountability is an important value. In societies like Denmark, care for the community is more heavily emphasized. You may embrace these sociocultural values as personal values if you find they resonate with you.

4. What are your Mentors’ Values?

There may be mentors in your life, such as teachers or coaches, who you admire for their wisdom and the way they behave. Reflect on why you respect them. Chances are, it’s because of the values they live by: respect, integrity, hard-work, or compassion.

5. Who are the People you Admire?

While a mentor might be a person in your life who you know personally, there may be other people you admire who are celebrities or politicians. For example, you might admire a sports star, actor, or philanthropist who is changing the world. Reflect on what values they have that make them admirable. This might be their work ethic that got them to the top, their humility in interviews, or their generosity in giving to the poor and needy.

6. What does Your Ideal World Look Like?

Reflect on the world you want. Consider what it looks like. It might have many of the values you embrace weaved into it. Your ideal world might be peaceful, compassionate, and fair. Or, it might be one full of wealth and pure meritocracy where the hard workers and people who take individual responsibility truly are the wealthiest and most successful of all.

Personal Values for a CV

The best personal values to include in a CV or resume are ones that demonstrate that you will be an excellent employee. For example, employers often want employees who:

• Have work ethic – This will show that you’re going to work very hard and not waste your employer’s money.
• Have integrity – This will show that you can be trusted, even when no one is looking.
• Value cooperation – In today’s workplaces, you need to work in teams to get jobs done. A person who works well in teams is a valuable asset to a company.
• Are optimistic – Your employer wants a positive person who will spread motivation and positivity around the workplace and to customers.

Go Deeper: Resume Skills Examples

Benefits of Clear Personal Value Sets

Having a clear value set has several important benefits . For example, it can help you to:

• Make decisions. If you know what you truly value, then you can use your values as a guide when making decisions – big and small! For example, it can help you make decisions about what career to go into (one that will help you exercise your values) or what to study at university.
• Work through difficulty. If you know who you are and what you value, then hard times are easier. You will have your values as a guiding star, reminding you to persevere and carry on through difficulty.
• Set goals. You’ll know what you value and what you want, meaning you will be able to identify exactly what you want out of a good life.
• Make social connections. By knowing who you are, you can gravitate to others who share your personal value set.

As you can see, there are many different personal values that can help shape our character and guide us through life as we interact with others, make decisions, and face challenges both large and small.

When telling others what your personal values are, make sure you state examples of personal values that are genuinely reflective of yourself, not just ones that you think sound good. People will know if you’ve not told the truth because you need to demonstrate and live by your personal values every day of your life.

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 10 Reasons you’re Perpetually Single
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 20 Montessori Toddler Bedrooms (Design Inspiration)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 21 Montessori Homeschool Setups
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 101 Hidden Talents Examples

1 thought on “35 Personal Values Examples”

Thank you for the articles that you have written and shared. I just finished reading two on humility and 35 Personal Values. You write in a way that engages the reader. That is something that I would like to do one day. I have some writing helps, I just don’t know how to get started. It is a worry that I end up writing and it won’t be good enough for publication. Your article on 35 Examples of Humility was very eye-opening and informative. These articles have been so helpful. Again, thank you for teaching more on both subjects.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *