Values Exploration Exercise
Choose an area of life (work/education, leisure, relationships, personal growth/health). Decide
which values are V (Very important), Q (Quite important), or N (Not important) to you.
1. Acceptance: to be open to and accept myself, others, and life.
a Q
2. Adventure: to be adventurous; to actively seek, create, or explore novel or stimulating experiences.
a Q
3. Assertiveness: respectfully standing up for my rights and requesting what I want.
a Q
4. Authenticity: to be authentic, genuine, and true to myself.
a Q
5. Beauty: to appreciate, create, nurture, or cultivate beauty in myself, others, and the environment.
a Q
6. Caring: to be caring towards myself, others, and the environment.
a V
7. Challenge: to keep challenging myself to grow, learn, and improve.
a V
8. Compassion: to act with kindness towards those who are suffering.
a Q
9. Connection: fully engaging in whatever I do and being present with others.
a Q
10. Contribution: to contribute, help, assist, or make a positive difference to myself or others.
a Q
11. Conformity: to be respectful and obedient to rules and obligations.
a N
12. Cooperation: to be cooperative and collaborative with others.
a Q
13. Courage: to be courageous or brave; to persist in the face of fear, threat, or difficulty.
a Q
14. Creativity: to be creative or innovative.
a V
15. Curiosity: to be curious, open-minded, and interested; to explore and discover.
a V
16. Encouragement: to encourage and reward behavior that I value in myself or others.
a Q
17. Equality: to treat others as equal to myself.
a V
18. Excitement: to seek, create, and engage in activities that are exciting, stimulating, or thrilling.
a V
19. Fairness: to be fair to myself or others.
a Q
20. Fitness: to maintain or improve my fitness; to look after my physical and mental health and
wellbeing.
a Q
21. Flexibility: to adjust and adapt readily to changing circumstances.
a Q
22. Freedom: to live freely, to choose how I live and behave, or to help others do likewise.
a V
23. Friendliness: to be friendly, companionable, or agreeable towards others.
a V
24. Forgiveness: to be forgiving towards myself or others.
a Q
25. Fun: to be fun-loving; to seek, create, and engage in fun-filled activities.
a V
26. Generosity: to be generous, sharing, and giving to myself or others.
a Q
27. Gratitude: to be grateful for and appreciative of the positive aspects of myself, others, and life.
a V
28. Honesty: to be honest, truthful, and sincere with myself and others.
a Q
29. Humor: to see and appreciate the humorous side of life.
a V
30. Humility: to be humble or modest; to let my achievements speak for themselves.
a V
31. Industry: to be industrious, hard-working, and dedicated.
a N
32. Independence: to be self-supportive and choose my way of doing things.
a V
33. Intimacy: to open, reveal, and share me emotionally or physically in my close personal
relationships.
a N
34. Justice: to uphold justice and fairness.
a Q
35. Kindness: to be kind, compassionate, considerate, nurturing, or caring towards myself or others.
a Q
36. Love: to act lovingly or affectionately towards myself or others.
a N
37. Mindfulness: to be conscious of, open to, and curious about my here-and-now experience.
38. Order: to be orderly and organized.
39. Open-mindedness: to think things through, see things from others’ points of view, and weigh
evidence fairly.
40. Patience: to wait calmly for what I want.
41. Persistence: to continue resolutely despite problems or difficulties.
42. Pleasure: to create and give pleasure to myself or others.
43. Power: to strongly influence or wield authority over others, e.g., taking charge, leading, and
organizing.
44. Reciprocity: to build relationships with a fair balance of giving and taking.
45. Respect: to be respectful towards myself or others; to be polite, considerate, and show positive
regard.
46. Responsibility: to be responsible and accountable for my actions.
47. Romance: to be romantic; to display and express love or strong affection.
48. Safety: to secure, protect, or ensure the safety of myself or others.
49. Self-awareness: to be aware of my thoughts, feelings, and actions.
50. Self-care: to look after my health and well-being and meet my needs.
51. Self-development: to keep growing, advancing, or improving in knowledge, skills, character, or life
experience.
52. Self-control: to act by my ideals.
53. Sensuality: to create, explore, and enjoy experiences that stimulate the five senses.
54. Sexuality: to explore or express my sexuality.
55. Spirituality: to connect with things bigger than myself.
56. Skillfulness: continually practicing and improving my skills and applying myself fully when using
them.
57. Supportiveness: to be supportive, helpful, encouraging, and available to myself or others
58. Trust: to be trustworthy; to be loyal, faithful, sincere, and reliable.
Now, go through the ones you marked as V. Choose 5 (or more) most important to you. Write them out
as a note to remind yourself that this is what you want to stand for as a human being.
My Top 5 Values
1. □...................................................................................................................................................
2. □...................................................................................................................................................
3. □...................................................................................................................................................
4. □...................................................................................................................................................
5. □...................................................................................................................................................
