To find your values in life, look at moments when something felt meaningful, frustrating or worth your effort. Name the quality that mattered, compare it with other priorities and try a small action that expresses it. You are building a working description, not discovering a fixed score.
Set aside a short quiet period and use paper or the worksheet below. You can stop after one example. Revisit your words when your circumstances change.
1. Choose an experience, not an ideal version of yourself
Recall a specific moment you felt glad about how you acted. What happened? Who was there? What did you do? A small example is enough. Perhaps you admitted a mistake, protected an afternoon for a friend or finished something carefully.
Now ask what made the moment meaningful. Being praised may have felt good, but what mattered about the action itself? Write several possible words before choosing one.
2. Compare different moments
Think of something you found frustrating and something you willingly made time for. Frustration can suggest a priority, but it can also reflect tiredness or an immediate need. Look for a pattern across situations rather than deciding from one difficult day.
For example, a fictional reader, Jo, enjoyed teaching a colleague and felt disappointed when a meeting left no room for questions. Jo might explore learning, contribution and patience as possible values. Another person could describe those same experiences differently.
3. Put the words in your own language
Instead of leaving “connection” as an abstract label, try “being available for real conversations with a few people I care about.” Instead of “success”, ask what a worthwhile result actually looks like to you. The values examples can help with vocabulary, but you can write a word that is not on the list.
4. Notice trade-offs
Choose up to five priorities to focus on now. If choosing is difficult, compare two in a concrete decision: would you prefer a familiar routine or a new experience this weekend? The answer may depend on the week. A temporary priority is still useful.
Use the card sorter to move words between groups. It is an original exploration tool. The established Personal Values Card Sort from the University of New Mexico authors is a separate resource; our tool is not a reproduction or validated assessment.
5. Try one action and reconsider
Pick a small action that fits your actual resources. If you chose curiosity, ask a colleague about something they know. If you chose rest, leave one part of the weekend unplanned. Later, ask whether the action felt meaningful and whether your wording still fits. You do not need to change your whole life to examine a value.
DIN A4 · 210 × 297 mm · Write here or print and use a pen.
memoir · a little room to write
Values worksheet
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