Your Values

I had never really questioned values, morals, and ethics til participating in this forum for awhile. The words have indepth meanings which can differ widely from person to person. This thread is about values, but wanted to throw them all into the mix. I will talk about values. I will try to focus on "beliefs or standards" as its definition.
"What values do you live by and why?"
The only reason I questioned the use of my values or beliefs is pretty clear on this website. My values may question the morals of others. When questioning another's way of life or selection of choices, there is enmity between the two differing value systems that come out in words and sometimes feelings. One may push hard while the other may refrain from pushing. I have learned a valuable lesson regarding this from such interaction. I have not changed my values but very little. I have changed in my desire to openly discuss them in arenas I feel there is difference. Confrontational discussions may be healthy every now and then, but I have felt the need to try and ease my ship around the stormy waters. There is just too much at risk, though my vessel is strong and was made for such things. I have taken it personally to try and remedy this confrontational climate. My current solution is a form of test within myself that will take time before further evaluation. I may find it less work in throwing out lifelines others may feel are anchors.
What I have endeavored to find is another term or word less abrasive to others without demeaning my own self. The word I have found is "responsibility". I shall be responsible for my own thoughts and actions and others can be responsible for theirs. That was not an easy task, as I found it quite easy to step in and take responsibility for the actions of others. To have let that go was a major milestone for me. It is currently the test I am attempting to analyze. I will question it thoroughly and shall hold no quarter. The only problem I can see so far is that others must take and assume responsibility for their own thoughts and actions, too. As one to have always been able to stand up for others readily, this places me in a somewhat neutral cavity. It feels like a cavity to me, anyway. I do not know if I shall be able to continue down this path. While there is a certain amount of light to follow in its path, I cannot help but to keep looking behind myself. I have lived by these values because they have served me well. I chose them in a feeble and poor attempt to try and emanate the light I was following for others to see by. Watching another's caring about others brought this about.
My values have worked well for me, though I have been vulnerable to getting deeply hurt in the process. This hurt does bring me a strange comfort when I feel it has helped someone in the process. I feel it can be taken advantage of easily, though. One must try and discern the sincerity of those behind us on rare occasion.
Trying to instill my values on others is a bad way of speaking what I feel. My situation is more to be able to share another perspective to others. I like to find choices for those that see no hope. I like to help others to find a crutch when they did not know there was anything that could help them. I like to try and instill hope to those that have none in their vision of things. As someone else pointed out to me about myself quite correctly, I like to warn others of the rocks in the ocean. I firmly believe in the fact it better to show someone how to fish than to give them a fish. I do try to help others help themselves. Psychology is a greater part of healing, I was told last week on the phone in a two hour discussion with a stranger I felt like I knew. If I can help someone to find hope, if I can help someone to have courage, if I can warn someone of the rocks in life I have already wrecked my vessel on.......I have fulfilled the calling inside my heart.
 
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I don't even really get what values are, do I have to hand in my Fi badge now?

Are values things that I perceive to be of value or rules to live by?
 
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I don't even really get what values are, do I have to hand in my Fi badge now?

Are values things that I perceive to be of value or rules to live by?
Pretty much like an internal code of ethics that you live your life according to. For example, maybe you don't toss dirty kleenexes into babystrollers as you're walking through the park because you think that sort of thing is rude.
 
Honesty. It's really the only thing I'd call a value that I believe in. Even there I want to diffentiate between being honest and telling the truth.

Things like love are emotions rather than values, I think. I don't believe in love, not really. It just comes and does whatever it wants without asking me, in that sense it's a lot like, say, a tsunami.
 
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Pretty much like an internal code of ethics that you live your life according to. For example, maybe you don't toss dirty kleenexes into babystrollers as you're walking through the park because you think that sort of thing is rude.

I'm sure I have tons of that stuff but would struggle to put them in words.
 
Never lie, especially to yourself. Dishonesty in general is bad enough; lying to yourself is a killer.

Do what you love, even if it means making less money

Be passionate about your work as well as the people you love.

Be tolerant. Differences are what make life interesting. You may even learn something from someone with a viewpoint different from yours.

I tried to instill these values in my kids by the way I lived my life and I think I succeeded for the most part.
 
again honesty, with myself and others... allowing for a real, true existence and experience
being aware of and accepting my own responsibility in creating circumstances in my own life
to attempt to continually appreciate and fully realise the miracle of life and existence
 
Value #1: Make people laugh, then I can get away with whatever I want.
 
Speaking very broadly, I would say that I value two things that feed into each other.

I value a constant awareness of the ability to be better, both in myself and humanity. I don't measure this objectively, but base it off knowing that I could always do a better job of learning from my experiences, of learning from other's experiences, of serving others rather than having others serve me, etc.

I also think that in order to have this awareness, I really need to value insight, so to recognize the areas in myself/humanity that I could improve, and discipline, so I can actually make said improvements rather than merely dreaming of them.
 
This might sound funny, but simply being a reasonable person is important to me. I don't want people to have to walk on eggshells, avoid certain topics, work around my phobias, stroke my ego, be prepared for crazed outbursts, etc. I want to be able to meet anyone in that somewhat more objective space outside the realm of my experience where we can analyze and agree on the best course of action. I want people to see me as approachable, as someone who can hear the truth and respond in a way that solves problems and simplifies life.
 
Wow...it's been a while since I posted...


Honestly, I don't think I actually have values, unless you can call doing whatever I feel is right at the moment a "value". I don't think about it... I just do whatever is necessary for the present I'm in.
 
-Don't be a liar.
-Don't be a hypocrite.
-Don't be a traitor.
-Don't be a bigot.
-Only physically harm someone if you or another person is in physical danger from that individual.

Those are the things that I live by, and they serve me well; I have a lot of respect for myself. I don't preach my values to others, but I make it obvious that I do not respect individuals that don't follow those rules.
 
1. The Golden Rule.
2. Be honest with yourself.
3. Treat others as human beings, not labels or stereotypes.
4. Don't be a hypocrite.
5. Don't treat others as if they were mere cogs in a machine to be used as means to an end.
6. Never cease to be curious
7. Don't inflict gratuitous harm on others, even in the name of "prankish fun".
 
I value people over material goods; basically I accept the main parts of most popular religions; but tend to gravitate towards Buddhism; I value originality
 
I would say that my basic values boil down to:
  1. Respecting the value of life and the dignity of choice
  2. Self-improvement and objectivity
  3. Unconditional love toward others (or abiding respect, failing that)
  4. Nourishing creativity and optimism over untruths and despair
 
Treat others as I wish to be treated

Treat others back the way they treat me (bastards...)

Never hit a girl (even the giant ones)

Don't pee on a cop (I get tested by this one daily)




Above all else (yet below on the list)- If I am a good person, then good things will happen. Call it karma or whatever, I feel that if I continue to be good no matter what I face, no matter what ideas run through my head, I will allways come out on top of any situation.
 
My number one is the importance of individuality. This main one kind of ties into all my others, which involve art, aesthetics, creativity and imagination.

I also think it's incredibly important to explore our individuality. The world we see around us is just the way our minds interpret it (for example, everything we see is actually light, but everything is not made up of light). To know and understand our own minds is to understand the world that each individual lives in.
 
Forgive and always focus on the other's happiness, no matter the cost of your own.
 
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