Defining Life Values and Principles.
I wrote about Life VALUES in a previous blog article HERE.
But what about Life PRINCIPLES?
Is there any difference between Life VALUES & Life PRINCIPLES?
Isn’t ‘principle’ a synonym for ‘value’?
Yes, it is, up to some point (life value = code of behavior, ethics, (moral) standards, principles), but life principles seem to mean something more …
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, values are ‘principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.’
Values are subjective as each individual has different beliefs, experiences, and preferences.
Principles are fundamental truths that are permanent, unchanging, and universal in nature. For example, Stephen Covey describes a principle as a “natural law like gravity. If you drop something, gravity controls. If I don’t tell you the truth, you won’t trust me; that’s a natural law.”
Navigating through Life using Values & Principles
Values are in tight connection to principles. And we get the best outcomes in life when our values are aligned to the fundamental life principle, to what we know instinctively to be the right thing to do.
Both values and principles are navigational tools towards living a meaningful and fulfilled life!
The life value is the light or the treasure we want to reach. It shines for us like a guiding light and attracts us like a magnet
To get to it, we need to use the right navigational tools, the right map, the right GPS – principles.
Principles lead us to the values we want. They help us find our way through the noise of the hectic world to the value that brings us happiness.
We need to do the right things, to follow the fundamental life principles to reach the destination we want, and to experience fulfillment and lasting happiness.
Life values are internal and subjective and may change over time. As we grow and develop we may change our wants, we may change what is important to us. As young people, we might value and want Success and Wealth. As older, wiser people we might come to value and want Family and Health.
Principles are general truths, they are permanent (they don’t change together with our evolution). They remain the same laws of the universe.
*Always say the truth,
*Never lie,
*Never cheat,
are all principles, standard behavior for values such as Honesty & Ethics, Kindness.
They are and will always be fundamental life principles to guide oneself regardless of one’s beliefs, preferences, choices, or actions. Principles are natural laws that exist and operate in the world we live in whether we know/believe/understand them or not.
We might believe that we live in a world of chance or luck. But is it really like this?
Einstein said:
God does not play dice with the universe. We don’t live in a world of chance, everything is based on principles or laws.
Using Principles to GROW
Principles govern everything we do. They allow us to learn, grow, and improve. We learn from the consequences/results of our actions /choices.
When we don’t get what we want more often than not we don’t change what we want. We change the things we do to get it. If we did something that was wrong or didn’t work then we learn from our mistakes and do better. We try again, we adapt, we revise, we try new things…
For example, you want Health (fit body, good physical condition, energy…) but you try to reach it by unhealthy diets, excessive medication, or excessive physical effort. By observing and feeling the consequences, the results of these actions, you will eventually understand that these are not the right things to do in order to get what you want. You will research, try different things and find out that a healthy diet, a well-balanced life, physical exercising, relaxation, and mindfulness are some of the practices that will get you not only a fit healthy body but also a healthy mind and heart.
Exercising, doing yoga, meditating, walking in nature, eating nourishing food, being present – all these are guidelines for human behavior proven for thousands of years to lead you to the enduring, permanent value you want (health in this case).
Aligning Life Principles to Life Values.
If our values are aligned with the fundamental life principles/laws/behavior guidelines then we experience the outcomes we want.
We may value something because we think that’s going to bring happiness to us but if the way we try to get it is in violation of a principle or a law, it will never result in the desired outcome it will never bring us happiness.
Principles are not values. A gang of thieves can share values but they are in violation of the fundamental principles. – Stephen R Covey.
Thieves might value Loyalty – they are loyal to their friends who do the same illegal things. Is their loyalty manifested in harmony with the laws of life? Does their loyalty go against the life principles? Yes, it does. Fundamental life principles say ‘do not steal, do not cheat. By not taking a stand to first stop themselves stealing and then encouraging their friends to stop too, they act against the fundamental life principles. Are they loyal to the right things? Do they have the right behavior conduct?
What if a thief decides to follow the fundamental life principle that says ‘do not steal’. Then he/she would manifest his love for his friends by trying to persuade them to stop doing the wrong things. In case he fails at persuading them (we don’t have full control over others) then at least he, himself would stop stealing. Would stop violating life principles.
You might value Family and you want to raise a happy and healthy child. But you:
– feed him unhealthy food,
– don’t set clear limits (on screen time, sweets, bedtime, playtime, study time, etc.)
– don’t role model for him healthy life principles such as being considerate to others, being consistent, being honest…
How do you think your child is going to be as an adult? Or even as a child after a while?
He is going to be moody, unhealthy, by no means an independent, balanced, healthy and happy person as you wanted him to be. By not rising him according to fundamental life principles, you failed at achieving your goal (having a happy child).
Or you might value WEALTH (money) and you want it in your life. To get it, you steal, cheat, and get into criminal affairs…You might get the money and material possessions you wanted but will you be really happy? Even if you don’t get caught by the low of justice, in the end, the low of morality will make you pay for the consequences of your actions. The voice of your conscience will start chasing you…and you will pay the toll of your actions.
Let’s build another scenario. You value WEALTH, you want it in your life but this time you apply the correct life principles to get it. You work hard and you are honest. You don’t cheat and you don’t lie. It might take longer but you will make the Wealth you want. Ang guess what? You will experience the happiness of financial freedom as you earned it in harmony with fundamental life principles.
Life Values and Principles in a Nutshell:
You know your values, you know what is important for you and you know what you want to achieve.
But how are you going to achieve it?
Which will be your behavior guidelines?
What are the correct actions to do in order to achieve what you want?
What are the correct tools you need to use?
If you don’t use the right tools you won’t get what you want.
You can have clarity, you can be persistent but by using the wrong tools you still don’t get that valuable thing you want.
If you want to cut down a tree you show up every day and you hit it with an ax, two-three times in the same place every day. You keep doing so for months. Eventually, you will reach your goal – You cut the tree. But what if you keep hitting it with a baseball bat or a broom?
For a deeper dive into Values and Principles, I warmly recommend:
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey
- https://thriveglobal.com/stories/values-and-principles-a-forgotten-life-compass/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W5bfGtXyAo – Nate Woodbury
Do you know what you need to do in order to get what you want?
Do you know what
you need to do in order to
get what you want?
I have prepared for you
a FREE Guide
to help YOU
find out.
