Personal values serve to guide ones decision-making process and help navigate the mine-field of moral dilemmas one will encounter throughout their life. They provide the foundation of how one understands and fits into the world around them.

Guidance

The world is full of distraction and it is easy to be sucked in to things that may take one down a path never intended. If one is not focused it can be easy to drift astray. Personal values guide decisions that will help ensure that one stays the person they want to be. Often times it seems that the problem is not having personal values since everyone does. Instead the problem lies in the discipline to listening to that inter voice. A little compromise here or there seems like no big deal, but over the course of years one may look back and not like the person they have become. Values held dear ensure that we have an internal guide with us as they shape our conscious providing guidance during ethical dilemmas. It’s the hard choices that define who one is and that is why personal values are so important to developing good character.

Purpose

Personal values give one a sense of purpose and understanding of how they fit into the world. Each person at some point has to discover who they are and what they want. Self-discovery is the first step in development and no one can do that for us. Instead the reliance upon personal values is how one finds their purpose,

Decision-making

Like it or not everyone makes decisions and reacts to the world around them by filtering information and going with those that most align with the personal values and beliefs. Politics and religion are great examples. There is a reason that these two invoke the most passion from people as they are often the most personal in nature. Generally, ones value system will have a profound impact on their political, spiritual, and personal decisions. Of course people can and do change how they behave but this is the result of changing world view and values.

Definition of success

Not everyone wants to live the millionaire lifestyle. Some people value personal satisfaction and helping others. Some look at material gain as the definition of success. Others look at happiness as the measure of success. The point is there is a wide spectrum of views on what determines a successful person and that is determined by personal values. These values often remind us that it is the journey and not the destination that makes one a success. One can gain the world and have compromised everything they were along the way. Is it really success at all if looking at the mirror invokes disappointment?

The main point to remember is that each person has values that are personal to them and that defines who they are and guides them. Businesses, society, and individual values all coming together create the culture of society. While each person is unique, it is the collective conscience that creates cultures of organizations. As a result, society can and does change over time while ones personal values may stay the same.