The Ultimate List of Values

Scott Jeffrey

What’s most important to you in life?

Your core values determine how you answer this question. When you know what you value,
you can live in accord with those values. This leads to greater fulfillment and personal
meaning. When you don’t know your values, you are likely to violate them often. This
creates internal tension, which leads to destructive habits and regressive behavior.

So let’s explore the power of values …

What Are Core Values?

Values are standards of behavior. They are aspirational ideals. Values represent what's
important—that is, what a person, organization, culture, or society emphasizes.

Core values, also called personal values, are specifically what's most important to you. Our
core values highlight what we as individuals stand for. These values guide our behaviors,
decisions, and actions.

Based on a host of factors including personality, temperament, and life experiences, each of
us has a different set of values. Core values examples include beauty, honesty, discipline,
truth, responsibility, and kindness.

A Values Example in Action

Once you identify your values, you can use them to make better decisions and positively
influence your behavior. For example, let's say you value growth. But lately, you've been
very busy and distracted.

Maybe you've been focused on work or dealing with some family drama. As soon as you
become conscious that you're not investing any time and energy in something important to
you, you can make specific decisions and take action. You might, for example, decide to

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carve out extra time for meditation in the morning, or for doing inner work in the evening.
It all depends on what "growth" represents to you.

Instinctively, you'll also begin paying attention to things you're doing that aren't supportive.
You'll start saying "no" to certain distractions that don't support your particular value
structure. In this way, our core values can guide us toward our higher ideals.

How Many Values Should You Have on Your List?

Below you'll find a list of over 200 potential core values. Obviously, if everything is an ideal
standard, then nothing is really important.

In working with clients for over 25 years, I found that the target number of core values
ranges between 5 and 10. Ideally, I would say keep your number of core values as close to
five as possible.

How to Determine Your Core Values

When people first hear about core values, they often want to select them from a list of
values. It seems easier to pick them from a menu.

But as I've noted elsewhere: “Values aren’t selected; they’re discovered. We don’t choose our
values. Our values reveal themselves to us.”

If you exclusively use a list of core values, your conscious mind will evaluate which values
"appear better” than others. You're likely to select values that “sound good” based on your
desired self-image instead of what's intrinsically meaningful to you.

Instead of picking from a list, in the 7-Step Discovery Exercise, I offer a free step-by-step
process to help you define your values.

A List of Over 200 Personal Core Values

However, it is useful to scan a core values list to prime yourself before doing these types of
exercises.

As a reference, here’s a list of 230 values examples:

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 Acceptance Exploration Present
Accomplishment Expressive Productivity
Accountability Fairness Professionalism
Accuracy Family Prosperity
Achievement Famous Purpose
Adaptability Fearless Quality
Alertness Feelings Realistic
Altruism Ferocious Reason
Ambition Fidelity Recognition
Amusement Focus Recreation
Assertiveness Foresight Reflective
Attentive Fortitude Respect
Awareness Freedom Responsibility
Balance Friendship Restraint
Beauty Fun Results-oriented
Boldness Generosity Reverence
Bravery Genius Rigor
Brilliance Giving Risk
Calm Goodness Satisfaction
Candor Grace Security
Capable Gratitude Self-reliance
Careful Greatness Selfless
Certainty Growth Sensitivity
Challenge Happiness Serenity
Charity Hard work Service
Cleanliness Harmony Sharing
Clear Health Significance
Clever Honesty Silence
Comfort Honor Simplicity
Commitment Hope Sincerity
Common sense Humility Skill
Communication Imagination Skillfulness
Community Improvement Smart
Compassion Independence Solitude
Competence Individuality Spirit

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 Concentration Innovation Spirituality
Confidence Inquisitive Spontaneous
Connection Insightful Stability
Consciousness Inspiring Status
Consistency Integrity Stewardship
Contentment Intelligence Strength
Contribution Intensity Structure
Control Intuitive Success
Conviction Irreverent Support
Cooperation Joy Surprise
Courage Justice Sustainability
Courtesy Kindness Talent
Creation Knowledge Teamwork
Creativity Lawful Temperance
Credibility Leadership Thankful
Curiosity Learning Thorough
Decisive Liberty Thoughtful
Decisiveness Logic Timeliness
Dedication Love Tolerance
Dependability Loyalty Toughness
Determination Mastery Traditional
Development Maturity Tranquility
Devotion Meaning Transparency
Dignity Moderation Trust
Discipline Motivation Trustworthy
Discovery Openness Truth
Drive Optimism Understanding
Effectiveness Order Uniqueness
Efficiency Organization Unity
Empathy Originality Valor
Empower Passion Victory
Endurance Patience Vigor
Energy Peace Vision
Enjoyment Performance Vitality
Enthusiasm Persistence Wealth

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 Equality Playfulness Welcoming
Ethical Poise Winning
Excellence Potential Wisdom
Experience Power Wonder

Core Values List by Category

If you go through my 7-Step Discovery Process, it’s helpful to ensure you don’t miss any key
categories that are important to you. As such, I’ve curated the above core values list into
categories for your review. In no particular order:

● Integrity
● Feelings
● Achievement
● Intelligence
● Spirituality
● Creativity
● Freedom
● Courage
● Order
● Enjoyment
● Presence
● Health

But please take these categories loosely. They can change based on the perspective.

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 Integrity Achievement Intelligence
Accountability Accomplishment Brilliance
Candor Capable Clever
Commitment Challenge Common sense
Dependability Challenge Decisiveness
Dignity Competence Foresight
Honesty Credibility Genius
Honor Determination Insightful
Responsibility Development Knowledge
Sincerity Drive Learning
Transparency Effectiveness Logic
Trust Empower Openness
Trustworthy Endurance Realistic
Truth Excellence Reason
Famous Reflective
Feelings Greatness Smart
Acceptance Growth Thoughtful
Comfort Hard work Understanding
Compassion Improvement Vision
Contentment Influence Wisdom
Empathy Intensity
Grace Leadership
Gratitude Mastery Strength
Happiness Motivation Ambition
Hope Performance Assertiveness
Inspiring Persistence Boldness
Irreverent Potential Confidence
Joy Power Dedication
Kindness Productivity Discipline
Love Professionalism Ferocious
Optimism Prosperity Fortitude
Passion Recognition Persistence
Peace Results-oriented Power
Poise Risk Restraint
Respect Significance Rigor

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 Reverence Skill Self-reliance
Satisfaction Skillfulness Temperance
Serenity Status Toughness
Thankful Success Vigor
Tranquility Talent Will
Welcoming Victory
Wealth Freedom
Spirituality Winning Independence
Adaptability Individuality
Altruism Creativity Liberty
Balance Creation
Charity Curiosity Courage
Communication Discovery Bravery
Community Exploration Conviction
Connection Expressive Fearless
Consciousness Imagination Valor
Contribution Innovation
Cooperation Inquisitive Order
Courtesy Intuitive Accuracy
Devotion Openness Careful
Equality Originality Certainty
Ethical Uniqueness Cleanliness
Fairness Wonder Consistency
Family Control
Fidelity Enjoyment Decisive
Friendship Amusement Economy
Generosity Enthusiasm Justice
Giving Experience Lawful
Goodness Fun Moderation
Harmony Playfulness Organization
Humility Recreation Security
Loyalty Spontaneous Stability
Maturity Surprise Structure
Meaning Thorough
Selfless Timeliness

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 Sensitivity Presence
Service Alertness Health
Sharing Attentive Energy
Spirit Awareness Vitality
Stewardship Beauty
Support Calm
Sustainability Clear
Teamwork Concentration
Tolerance Focus
Unity Silence
Simplicity
Solitude

Ready to Define Your Core Values?

Since I published the original version of the 7 Steps to Discover Your Values and this values
list in 2017, over 2.5 million individuals have begun their journey to discover their values.
However, after surveying thousands of subscribers, I learned that many individuals were
still getting stuck in this discovery process.

● How do you know if you've selected the "right" values?

● How do you prioritize and pick only a few values? (3 out of a 200+!?!)
● And how the heck do I live these values each day?

So, after months of development, I refined the 7-step process and crafted it into a concise,
step-by-step course. If you're interested in finding your authentic values and committed to
living your values each day ...

Check out the details here >>

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