LIFE COMPASS

Day 2 — Values

Time: ~65 min · Goal: name what you stand for.

Values are not aspirations. They’re the principles you actually use to evaluate whether a life feels right. Today you’ll narrow a long list down to 5 ranked, operationalized values.

1. Brainstorm from the list (15 min)

Circle (or copy below) every word that feels like you — not who you wish you were, who you actually are at your best. Add your own.

Adventure · Authenticity · Autonomy · Beauty · Belonging · Boldness · Calm · Challenge · Citizenship · Community · Competence · Connection · Contribution · Courage · Craftsmanship · Creativity · Curiosity · Discipline · Discovery · Excellence · Fairness · Family · Freedom · Friendship · Fun · Generosity · Growth · Health · Honesty · Humility · Humor · Independence · Integrity · Justice · Kindness · Knowledge · Leadership · Learning · Legacy · Love · Loyalty · Mastery · Nature · Openness · Order · Patience · Peace · Persistence · Play · Pragmatism · Privacy · Purpose · Reliability · Resilience · Respect · Responsibility · Risk · Self-reliance · Service · Simplicity · Solitude · Spirituality · Stability · Stewardship · Strength · Tradition · Truth · Vitality · Wisdom · Wonder

Words that feel like me:

______

The same list has a page of its own if you would rather work from it there, and it is where your own additions are kept.

2. Narrow to 10 (10 min)

From your circled list, pick the 10 that feel most non-negotiable.

The test: if a value were taken from your life, would it feel like a loss of self?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______
  6. ______
  7. ______
  8. ______
  9. ______
  10. ______

3. Narrow to 5 (15 min)

The hardest step. Force-rank down to 5. When two compete, ask: which one, if I had to give it up, would hurt more?

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______

4. Operationalize (15 min)

For each of your 5, write a one-sentence definition in your own words (not the dictionary’s), what it looks like when you’re living it, and what it looks like when you’re betraying it.

Value 1 — ______

  • My definition: ______
  • Living it looks like: ______
  • Betraying it looks like: ______

Value 2 — ______

  • My definition: ______
  • Living it looks like: ______
  • Betraying it looks like: ______

Value 3 — ______

  • My definition: ______
  • Living it looks like: ______
  • Betraying it looks like: ______

Value 4 — ______

  • My definition: ______
  • Living it looks like: ______
  • Betraying it looks like: ______

Value 5 — ______

  • My definition: ______
  • Living it looks like: ______
  • Betraying it looks like: ______

5. Conflict test (10 min)

Values clash in real decisions. Take your ranking from step 3 and test it against 3 recent hard decisions you made. Does your stated ranking match how you actually chose? If not, your stated ranking is wrong — adjust it.

  1. ______
    • The value I actually chose by: ______
  2. ______
    • The value I actually chose by: ______
  3. ______
    • The value I actually chose by: ______

Adjusted ranking (if it changed):

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______

✓ End of Day 2 deliverable

Your 5 core values, ranked, each with a personal definition. → Continue to Day 3 — Passions.