Find Your Inner Compass
Your inner compass is like a guidance system. It helps you find a secure place to make a choice. This is where you feel centred and balanced.
Your guidance system is a combination of internal awareness and understanding your role within a wider system. Just as a compass relies on detecting the earth’s magnetic pull, your Inner Compass relies on recognising core values.
Values
Values can be thought of as attributes, attitudes and ideas that have particular significance. Social values are behaviours and ideals which are important to society. Personal values are actions and thoughts that have significance to an individual.
Although social and personal values are similar, the hierarchy varies from individual to individual, individual to culture and culture to culture. For example, one person may hold love and hope as core values, while their culture assigns value to justice and loyalty.
It is useful to reflect on your core values because, in many cases, your values influence your actions.
Morals
Morals may be seen as the principles or rules used to choose a pattern of behaviour. In most cases, these are based on the values that inspire cooperation. Therefore, morals usually recognise a need for protection, fairness and equity.
Ethics
Essentially ethics and morals are similar; both terms describe the standards used to choose a pattern of behaviour. However, ethics may be situational or group dependant, whereas morals tend to be fixed to personal values.
Do You Know Your Values?
Although there are many values assessments available, you may like to try this three step activity. It’s a combination of reflection and meditation. Your aim is to discover what’s important to you. This personal activity deserves serious, sincere attention, so complete the exercises when can devote time to the task.
Step 1 – Reflect
Write the answer to the questions below
- Who and what is important to you? Why?
- What has special significance (value) for you?
- What are you grateful for?
- How do you expect others to behave toward you?
Step 2 – Breathe
Before starting this exercise, read through the instructions. You’ll want to be clear in your intention.
Close your eyes and take three full breaths. Breath from your tummy and notice your breath as it travels through your lungs. Allow your mind to settle.
Focus on your breath.
Imagine a genie appearing before you. The genie says they will grant you three wishes.
What is your first wish?
Open your eyes
Write down your first wish.
- Ask yourself the question, for what purpose (eg I wish for a home near the beach so I can hear the waves and smell the salt air)
- Then ask the question again (eg I wish for a home near the beach so I can hear the waves and smell the salt air so I can feel relaxed and inspired)
- Then ask the question again (eg I wish for a home near the beach so I can hear the waves and smell the salt air so I can feel relaxed and inspired so I can appreciate the rhythmic patterns)
- Keep asking the question until you reach your value (eg I wish for a home near the beach so I can hear the waves and smell the salt air so I can feel relaxed and inspired so I can appreciate the rhythmic patterns because I value harmony)
You may like to copy this template underneath the answers you wrote in Step 1. You will need to copy it three times.
I wish _____________________________________________________________
For the purpose of _______________________________________________
For the purpose of _______________________________________________
For the purpose of _______________________________________________
Because I value ___________________________________________________
Now, close your eyes again. Breath from your tummy, following your breath as it moves through your lungs. Notice the rise and fall of your tummy.
Imagine the genie appears again. It is time for your second wish.
What will you wish for.
Open your eyes
- Write down your second wish.
- Then, ask the question ‘for what purpose?’ (e.g. I wish…for the purpose of…)
- Then ask the question again (I wish…for the purpose of…which is for the purpose of…)
- Keep asking the question until you reach your value. (I wish … for the purpose of … which is for the purpose of…which is for the purpose of…which is for the purpose of…because I value…)
Now, close your eyes a final time. Breath from your tummy, following your breath as it moves through your lungs. Notice the rise and fall of your tummy.
Imagine the genie appears once again. It is time for your third wish.
What will you wish for.
Open your eyes
- Write down your third wish.
- Then, ask the question ‘for what purpose?’
- Write down your answer. Then ask the question again
- Keep asking the question until you reach your value.
Step 3 – Synthesise
Look at your responses to the reflection questions. Compare them to what you wrote during the genie exercise. Use your ideas to write a core vision of yourself. This is a reflection of your Inner Compass.
For example
I live a life of …
I believe …
And value …
My relationships are …
because I am …
You may like to write this personal vision in a journal, you could even use it as a basis for a vision board. The key is to be intentionally aware of how these values influence the choices you make.
If you’d like to know more about improving your communication skills or gaining a greater awareness of your innate patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour. Contact Nicole today to arrange a complimentary introduction to Strengths coaching session.
m: 0425 209 008 e: nicole@isthismystory.com
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