Do you know what your core values are?

Last week was coincidentally filled with a lot of personal development. I took a personal branding workshop with Jena Booher, had my first meeting with my exec coach to review my 360 degree feedback report, and went to the Rise Together couples conference in Austin.

One of my key takeaways from the week was around values and how important they are. How do you show up in your life personally? At work? With your partner? As a family?

While they can overlap, your values likely differ depending on the situation.

How I came up with mine

During the personal branding workshop, in one exercise I had to tell someone else about a few experiences where I felt particularly happy, proud, accomplished, etc. The other person wrote down values they heard through my story (mine were accomplishment, hard work, growth, mentorship, and creativity).

We also took this VIA Survey to see what our top strengths were (mine were curiosity, judgment, love, humor and creativity).

The last portion of the workshop was to figure out what other people think of you. Three people talked about me "behind my back" as I sat there with my back literally facing them (mine were responsive, impact, getting things done, personable, and knowledgeable).

Then you're supposed to take all 15 values and create your own personal brand. I landed on:

1. Curiosity
2. Getting things done
3. Hard work
4. Humor
5. Growth

During the couples conference, my husband and I separately wrote down what is important to us as a couple. Then we compared and circled the ones that overlapped. We came up with the below core values for our relationship:

1. Growth
2. Family
3. Silliness
4. Self care

After you create your values, you also need to figure out how to be intentional about how you live them. How do you continually check yourself to make sure you're living your values every day? How do you promote your values or personal brand in the workplace?

One thing my co-worker does to keep his top of mind is repeat them like a mantra every morning, either in the shower or on the way to work. Another co-worker keeps them in a starred email at the top of her inbox so it's easily accessible. She pulls it up before going into a tough meeting to remind herself of her strengths and who she is.

Something I'm going to try to do with my husband is continually check ourselves against ours. If we prioritize growth in our relationship, what have we done that quarter or what have we planned for the next one to reflect that?

I'm going to try these values on and see how they feel in a few weeks.