Unit 02

Today, first and foremost I completed a good amount of homework, some of which allowed me the opportunity to use creativity and therefore fulfilled my enjoyment value as well as my value for creativity. Since I completed the work on my own and toward my own personal advancement it fulfilled both my value for independence and for personal development. Today I also spent time speaking with my family via Skype as they are at home in China while I am here in the United States completing my studies. By keeping a close contact with my family throughout the various ups and downs in my life, I am fulfilling that value which I had listed as number five on my list of values in the ranking exercise. Family for me has always been a critical part of who I am and a support system for me at all times.

My creativity was the most notable value I inherited from my family and incidentally, the one I ranked highest in my assessment. My father and mother are both very creative and encouraged me to express myself in various creative outlets since I was a young child. My enjoyment of creativity came as the result of experience and the sense of accomplishment that came as a direct result of having been able make something entirely on my own. My value of ranking family high on my list of priorities was also inevitably a part of growing up in a tightly knit family that put a lot of emphasis on spending time together and the bond that happens when a family chooses to stay in touch despite physical distance and busy schedules. Although I am now very much my own independent person, I still see family as a very important and defining portion of who I am today. I honestly cannot think of any values that I had as a child that I no longer feel are valid, as unusual as that may seem to many people. I still think that personal development is an important goal and this is my driving force in gaining a college degree. Nothing particularly is standing in the way, but the process itself takes a good deal of time but is worth it because it will result in my ability to have a good job and achieve security and wealth.

Values Ranking:

1) Creativity

2) Enjoyment

3) Independence

4) Personal Development

5) Family

6) Friendship

7) Loyalty

8) Security

9) Wealth

10) Wisdom

11) Personal Accomplishment

12) Integrity

13) Expertness

14) Service

15) Prestige

16) Location

17) Health

18) Community

19) Power

20) Leadership

Having never really taken the time to sit down and think about what values I hold and why I believe the things I do, Lewis’ writing, “A Question of Values: Six Ways We Make the Personal Choices that Shape Our Lives,” sent me on a fascinating psychological journey. Values are something that many of us simply take for granted and we simply assume that we believe and think the way that we do because it has simply always been that way or because we’ve grown up thinking in a certain manner. Lewis discusses the concept of an objective viewpoint or opinion stating that, “Ultimately, of course, nobody can ever be objective” (17). At first this concept caught me off guard because although it made sense, it seems contrary to how most of us live our lives. We defer to those that we consider to be “objective” about a given situation in our lives for advice on how to act or what decision to make. When I was trying to decide what to do about a crumbling relationship in my life, the immediate response that I had was to go to someone who knew both me and my significant other to determine what to do because they would be able to give me helpful advice without taking sides. In hindsight, that idea does not function within reality because all of us view the world through our own experiences and perspectives. Lewis stated the absurdity in the idea of being truly objective stating that because we are human, true objectivity will never be possible. “The author of this book may not be a specialist, he may not be committed in a professional sense to any of the six mental modes, but he is a human being: he has personal evaluations and beliefs of his own, and these will inevitably color what he writes” (Lewis 17).