What are your values?

My friend Bethany works at an HR consulting firm in Philadelphia, where it is unfortunately not always sunny. Recently she e-mailed me and described her latest assignments as re-writing leadership information. She sent me a list of 60 values and challenged me to pick my top ten; five; one.

The timing was perfect as I had just finished speaking with another friend who is working at a law firm and disheartened with her position. She'd recently watched the teen romantic comedy "Say Anything" with John Cusack and it had inspired her to re-examine what her values were before taking the passionless path of practicality. ***Note: I may be describing her situation as more dire than it is in favor of using alliteration.

It was interesting to read over values I'd never considered before (fast living, helping others) and found myself spending more time deciding what new values I wanted to add to my repertoire and scheming how to cheat to get around Bethany's numeric limitation, than actually choosing five. However, when I did set my mind to it, I was surprised at how quickly I identified my values and how little editing I did after my initial selections.

So, I challenge you with the same task of selecting your top five. Write your answers down and keep them in a safe place. Revisit them in ten, or even five years. Or every day if the situation calls for it. And if you really find yourself down, feel free to call John Cusack dumb names for acting in horrible movies like 2012. My top five are after the jump.

Caroline

PS I was kidding about the helping others part.

ACHIEVEMENT

ADVANCEMENT

ADVENTURE

AFFECTION

ARTS

CHALLENGING PROBLEMS

CHANGE &VARIETY

CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS

COMMUNITY

COMPETENCE

DECISIVENESS

ECOLOGICALAWARENESS

ECONOMIC SECURITY

EFFECTIVENESS

EFFICIENCY

EXCELLENCE

EXCITEMENT

FAME

FAMILY

FAST LIVING

FREEDOM

FRIENDSHIP

FUN

HARMONY

HEALTH

HELPINGOTHERS

HELPING SOCIETY

HONESTY

INDEPENDENCE

INFLUENCING

INTEGRITY

INTELLECTUAL STATUS

INVOLVEMENT

JOB TRANQUILITY

KNOWLEDGE

LEADERSHIP

LOCATION

LOYALTY

MEANINGFUL WORK

MONEY

NATURE

ORDER

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

PHYSICAL CHALLENGE

PLEASURE

POWER & AUTHORITY

PRIVACY

PROMOTION

RECOGNITION

RELIGION

REPUTATION

RESPECT

RESPONSIBILITY

SELF SUFFICIENCY

TRUTH

WEALTH

WISDOM

WORK UNDER PRESSURE

WORK WITH OTHERS

WORKING ALONE

My list:

1. Adventure
2. Close relationships
3. Meaningful work
4. Self-sufficiency
5. Arts