Artifact Two: Values
Objectives:
- Become familiar with the basic relationship of human values to psychological and philoshopical endeavors.
- Understand that values are formed from external and internal drives of an individual.
- Explore one’s own value system.
Artifact: Values
Top 5 Values:
There is an infinite number of “core values” a person can have, but choosing your own core values is what makes each of us unique and special in this world.
1) Family
2) Integrity
3) Friendship
4) Enjoyment
5) Health
Reflecting on the past 24 hours, I think that these five values were definitely top priorities and values that I represented and base my life around. My family is always first, as I would/will drop anything for them, and same goes for friends. The beliefs that I think I inherited from my family would be all of them, because I see both my parents and grandparents putting these same values first in their own lives. Enjoyment is in my top five because my dad drilled into me that working hard and being successful is important, but if you can’t enjoy your success, then what is the point in having it at all if you aren’t having any type of enjoyment along the way?
Besides friends and family which are always a number one priority in my life, I think enjoyment, health and integrity are all things that I can improve on. Eliminating stress and other negative aspects of my life will increase my overall enjoyment, and health! Goals I have for myself that I have not yet fully pursued would definitely be to travel the world. I have gone more places than the average person, but there is an unending list of places I dream and hope to go to someday. Another goal is to someday work in the sports business industry, whether that be for the NBA, NFL or a race company like the Nike Women’s Half Marathon. I wouldn’t say there are things standing in the way of achieving these goals, more like I need to keep pursuing them, and working hard, and never giving up and settling for something less.
Reflection:
Lewis’ article “A Question of Values: Six Ways We Make the Personal Choice That Shape Our Lives” shifted my way of thinking about how I make the choices I do, such as his definitions of external and internal drives of how we become shaped and molded the way we are. I came to the realization that I base many decision off sense experience and emotion. These factors have formed my religious beliefs, for example. Logic not something I tend to heavily rely on, although it does come into play when I am unsure of my value or belief surrounding that particular topic.
Lewis writes “Not only is the very desire to be objective a “value judgement” or bias, so is the desire to define, categorize, compare, and contrast the different ways that we choose values” (17). This spins the whole article in an entire new light, but I think that is why Lewis writes the way he does. He is simply going through all aspect of how values are developed and chosen, not simply saying one way is how it is for each and every individual.
Values are in its entirety individual to whoever is holding them. People may share the same beliefs, but everyone has a varied combination and for varied reasons. In conclusion, I believe that my surroundings and personal experiences have led me to what I consider my belief system. My family, friends, and environment have played significant roles in my life, and I see correlation between my values and theirs. This assignment forced me to dig deeper than I have ever before, and I came away with a new level appreciation for those who I have been able to watch and learn from and now hold similar values.
Future:
I hope to continue prioritizing my top 5 values every single day (Family, Integrity, Friendship, Enjoyment, Health). I like to believe (as I wrote in the main artifact) that those values are always a top priority in my life, but there is always room for improvement. A specific value I hope to really emphasize going forward is enjoyment, as sometimes I stress more then necessary and waste a beautiful day being upset about minuscule things. I also hope to reflect back in a few months or a year, and see if any of my top 5 values have been replaced by new ones as I continue to grow and change.
Bibliography:
Artifact seven: Creative Spirituality