The Value of Values

My therapist and I talk a lot about values, and there's a very important reason for this. It's not because I don't understand what they are. Rather, it's because obsessive compulsive disorder creates obsessions or fears based on what’s most important to me, and the best way to fight back against those obsessions is by choosing to live by my values, even if it scares me.

Values are essentially what is most important to you. They are the fuel that drives your decisions and actions. When your life does not align with your values, you may feel discontent. 

When I first started blogging, I knew I wanted to share personal essays that really dug into what matters to me, and the more I've written, the more I've learned about myself. I have nailed down my cornerstones and learned that family, friendship, and spirituality are the things I care about the most in life.

How My Values Impact My Content

On my business cards and in a lot of my marketing collateral, I say that I muse over family, religion, and creativity. Even though I have a lot more categories than those three on my blog, I really do think that every post that I've written falls into one of those buckets, whether it's a nonfiction essay, a listicle, a book review, or even a short story. You usually see one of those themes bleed into my work

Identifying my values has also made it a lot easier for me to think about what kind of content I want to write, not only for my blog but also for my social media pages. If you work in marketing, particularly social media marketing, you've probably heard the term “content pillars.” 

Identifying and living by my values made it easy to decide on my content pillars: family, religion, and creativity. So whenever you see a blog post from me, a Facebook Reel, or a Facebook post, it will usually revolve around one of those three content pillars. Occasionally I may post something outside of that, but those are the three things that 95% of my content revolves around.

This doesn't mean family, religion, and creativity are the only things in my life. Of course they're not. I am a multi-faceted person with many layers, but those are the three things that I am most passionate about, so I choose to share about them through my platform.

Identifying Your Values

I want to share a couple of worksheets with you in case you're interested in identifying your own values. Knowing what drives you is really helpful for identifying content pillars, but I think everybody—not just writers—should know what their values are because when you know what they are and you're living in alignment with them, you’ll feel peaceful and fulfilled. Here are the worksheets: 

• Values Clarification

• Exploring Values

The first worksheet, Values Clarification, will help you understand what you truly care about. It has a large list of values for you to look through, and you'll rank your top 10. I really like this worksheet because it gives you an almost comprehensive list of values. Some of them are things that I hadn’t ever considered, don’t think about often, or wouldn’t have thought of on my own. Take a few minutes to look through this list and rank your top 10.

The second worksheet, Exploring Values, helps you reflect on the values of your parents, someone you respect, and society. Then, it has you list the things that you want to live by and compare them to what you actually live by. This is a great exercise because it forces you to take an honest look at yourself. Oftentimes, we think we care about something, but upon further reflection, our actions don’t back up our words. This is a great worksheet to help you identify those discrepancies.

Housekeeping

A final note: I write about mental health a lot on my blog, and I think it's important to reiterate that I am not a mental health professional. But I am someone who has struggled with mental health on and off for the majority of her life. 

I've always been an anxious person, and it wasn't until recently that I received a diagnosis that actually put a name to some of the symptoms I was struggling with. Now, I understand that my brain works a little differently, and through therapy, I’ve obtained the tools and skills I need to live a more peaceful and harmonious life.

That being said, if you're struggling with something and the advice you received from a friend or even your general practitioner is not working, I highly recommend reaching out to a mental health professional. I spent way too long trying to fix myself with supplements and self-help podcasts.

There is no shame in seeking professional help for your mental health. We live in an always on world. It's stressful and fast paced, and there are a lot of horrible things on the news every single day. It's no wonder that we are more stressed, anxious, and depressed now than at any other time in recent history. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself and build a legacy of mental health and fortitude.