Week 4 – Discovering our Core Values and Purpose:

Three Years ago, I sat at my desk and looked at myself in the mirror. I asked one simple question.

What am I here to do?

It seems like quite a deep question to ask as a sixteen-year-old. I was about to sit my GCSEs at the time, but it rings true to me today, as it was the moment I found out one simple truth.

I didn’t have a purpose. I hung out with my friends, I did charity work, and I got decent grades.

But what was I doing on this earth?

Contrast that with me now, I can confidently tell you.

I aim to solve global issues at the highest level through a mixed medium of solutions.

Seems quite high-level. It has allowed me to achieve success and keep being hungry for improvement.

What does this tell us?

Clarity of our purpose and values allows for increased progress: mentally and spiritually. We know what we are working towards and why.

So this week, I am going to try and help tease out your purpose and core values. This will hopefully help you understand what you are doing here.

Let’s first link this to the previous weeks.

• Becoming self-aware helps us understand how we have acted and whether it was per our values.
• This helps us gain clarity on whether we are being our true selves.
• As a result, we try to become more aligned with said values and purpose.

Now, let’s define purpose and values.

Imagine you are standing at a crossroads:

1. On one road are your values. They are stable and consistent themes that guide your everyday actions. For example, honesty and courage.
2. On another road is your purpose. This is the overarching question: What are you trying to achieve?

They are slightly different as one road is focused on the way you act, whereas the other is focused on who you are.

For me, when I sought to answer this question, this was the answer I came to:

“At sixteen years old, my purpose was to do well in my exams. The values which I held dearest to me were: determination, perseverance, and inquisitiveness. Now, I know my purpose is to solve global legal issues. The values I hold dearest are curiosity, accountability, and meaningful work.”

So it is clear, purpose is about who we are and trying to be whereas values are about what we do and how we act. One can be seen as long-term whereas the other is day to day.

But how do we discover our values? I want to refine this further and ask what our core values are. Why? Because these are the ones that help us act for our purpose.

So, what are core values?

Adriana Girdler defines core values as a description of your behaviour and what you are like. They stay strong regardless of stress and tension.

I am going to try and provide you with a four-step path to do this:

1. List out the three most important events in your life so far:
   1. For me, it’s simple: 1. getting into my high school – HABS. 2. Going on my charity trip to India. 3. Getting my degree apprenticeship offer.
2. Find the three core values that stem across all three. Don’t pick what you want them to be, pick what they are:
   1. Firstly, curiosity. At all three stages, I have been curious about the work I am doing as well as why it is important. I have been eager to learn.
   2. Secondly, accountability. I have found myself accountable at all three stages. For example, I might not have done well on a test. Or, I had to ensure I led a good session in India. Or when I was rejected from a law firm last year.
   3. Lastly, meaningful work. In all three areas, I did meaningful work that mattered. I led a Funday for 75 children with learning disabilities. I taught kids in India how to brush their teeth. I get to directly liaise with clients and help identify solutions that matter to them.
3. Write down what they mean to you. Ask yourself, why is this important to me, and what do I think this means?
4. Put this through the litmus test:
   1. Would I sacrifice this for money?
   2. Does this go in times of stress and tension?
   3. Do I think this can hold in 25 years?

If those values stay true and survive all of these stages, you know what values you hold dear.

Now it is about converting those values into virtues.

This isn’t a major distinction, but it is worth highlighting.

Values are abstract and are words to describe ways of acting. Virtues are practicing the values daily.

My value is meaningful work. So, how do I make this a virtue? I ensure that every day, I complete one task which means I have directly solved something for someone.

Constant practice of our values helps us understand why we hold them close.

It’s all well and good thinking courage is a core value, but if you are not practicing it then are you courageous?

This is all well and good, Dylan, but where does purpose fit into this?

My answer is simple. Purpose is the overarching goal that makes everything else clear. Your purpose is the WHY behind the reason you act the way you do.

For me, my purpose is simple, and that’s why I stated it above. I know what I am here to do. But it took me a while to get there.

Three years ago, I thought my purpose was simply to pass my exams and to get a good grade. I wasn’t thinking high enough. Now I hope I am.

I am also in the minority; 25% of people know their purpose. So, how do we look to find our purpose? Well, I think it starts with asking what purpose broken down means:

• Pur: Before setting out to do something
• Pose: What do I intend to achieve?

So the idea of purpose is about setting our intention of what we want to achieve in our lives. Here are the three questions I think you should answer, and your purpose will reveal itself:

1. Who am I called to serve?
   1. I am called to serve people from all walks of life.
2. What problems am I called to solve?
   1. I am called to solve legal and charitable issues.
3. How am I called to solve the problem?
   1. I can use a wide variety of media to solve people’s problems.

There you have it, by answering those three questions, I think you can tease out your purpose.

Mine’s simple: to solve global issues at the highest level through a mixed medium of solutions.

So this week, I want you to:

1. Write down your purpose using those questions.
2. Write down your three core values.
3. Every week, ask yourself if you acted by those values towards your purpose.
   1. If yes, keep going.
   2. If no, make a change.

Have a great week 🙂

Dylan