Life values (VVs) are what define a person. Thanks to these beacons, it becomes possible to move in the right direction, fulfill your dreams and realize your plans. The concept of value is formed from childhood. The child absorbs the beliefs and views that his parents have. Depending on the attitudes formed at a conscious age, an individual worldview and personal aspirations begin to appear. Priority is given to those aspects of life that seem most significant.
What are life values
By definition, life values are a hierarchy of importance for a person of certain things in life. Psychologists believe that life values are fundamentally formed in childhood by the example of parents:
- Business parents can instill in their children a love of money and its importance.
- Animal advocates will explain why it is necessary to protect nature and help homeless cats.
- A single father who has lost his wife will easily explain that the most important thing is love and relationships.
But is it right to instill your own values in children? After all, they are separate units. Initially, you can’t do without this. One way or another, the child will be like his parents and will take from them what they give him. The value system is on this list. Remember what is important for parents? Are your beliefs similar?
We begin to live with the values of our parents. Perestroika begins at school. Here a person already understands what he wants, what is most important to him. Values change over the years, they are changed by circumstances.
How do worldviews and life values relate?
A person's values are determined by his worldview. Take, for example, a person who grew up in a religious family. He looks at the world from the position of a believer. His values in life will be appropriate.
It is worth noting that worldview is a very multifaceted concept. There are cases when both it and human values are alien to internal sensations. A person suffers from doubts about the correctness of his life attitudes and loses spiritual harmony. These circumstances can trigger a complete personality change. Goals, priorities, values will become different.
There is the same connection between life values and guidelines that every person sets for himself. The first ones determine what the second ones will be like. We can say that these are two components of the worldview.
The most important thing in everyone's life
Regardless of the level of education, cultural and personal potential, it is worth noting something common to all people. There are traditional universal human values that determine comprehensive development. It should be noted that the list of human priorities does not change over time. At all times they remain significant and important, no matter what external events occur. It is worth looking at them in more detail to draw some conclusions.
Self-development
Without self-development, personality formation is impossible. No matter what norms society dictates, everyone's individual reality will inevitably be different. Absolute happiness does not exist because personality is constantly changing. Needs increase, but do not remain at the same level.
The opportunity to achieve new heights inevitably leads to the formation of specific life goals and attitudes. Self-development makes you move forward, start thinking about the future, and make plans. In some cases, people make big decisions based on a belief in success and the need for self-development.
Love and family
Family values are difficult to overestimate. They play an important role in the development of personality. These aspirations push us to realize our plans and help us not to turn aside halfway, but to continue to act in the given direction. If at the right age it is not possible to realize them, the person will be completely disappointed. In the end, you will still have to change your lifestyle and adapt to the circumstances. Love and family are what unite people, make them move towards their own goals and overcome obstacles. Who, if not close people, will support you in difficult times and create the necessary space to restore mental balance. They come home to “lick their wounds” and learn to determine for themselves what is useful for personal growth and what is not.
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Education
An important life value that should not be forgotten. If a person does not take care to stock up on the necessary knowledge in time, then in the future he will not be able to count on a prestigious job. This is where self-doubt comes from, the inability to understand in which direction it is necessary to move to achieve a satisfactory result. Education is a priority for reasonable people striving for stability and a harmonious, fulfilling life.
Forming a broad view of the world is impossible if a person does not have basic knowledge and does not understand how everything works around him. Otherwise, new disappointments and unexpected problems will endlessly await him. Modern parents are already coming to the conclusion that it is not so much high grades that are important, but the ability to analyze information and draw appropriate conclusions. All this will allow you to easily adapt to constantly changing conditions in the future.
Honesty
A characteristic without which it is difficult to imagine a person’s life. Being sensitive to the feelings of others will help to form sincere and open relationships. Honesty is important in all forms of interaction. It indicates ingenuousness, a lack of desire to profit at the expense of others. Many successful individuals associate honesty with a kind of “donation.” And indeed, you have to give a lot and make an effort so as not to be disappointed in your interlocutors. Restoring mental strength after communication is also not always easy or pleasant. In other words, honesty is essential in everyday life.
Not everyone has the ability to always tell the truth: personal barriers, inability to listen, and fear of facing outright criticism get in the way. But honesty also brings positive aspects: responsibility is fostered, self-confidence grows, and personal needs are brought to the fore. Decency should not be confused with the position of a victim, when a person constantly gives up his opinion to please someone else.
Help those in need
A point that many people forget because of the fear of being deceived, of losing trust in life and the world as a whole. Meanwhile, timely support can transform the soul and make you look at everyday reality differently. Pure altruism is difficult to even define. It manifests itself only in special circumstances, when a person is ready to open his heart to those who are close to him.
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Helping those in need can include moral and financial support. Timely advice is also highly appreciated. The main thing is not to get hung up on what is happening. You should not consider yourself a hero to whom other people owe and should thank in every possible way. An even attitude towards what is happening and emerging problems is the most correct position.
Good mood
For some people this is one of their top priorities. It’s hard not to agree with someone who has a cheerful personality who spreads goodness everywhere, while gloominess and eternal discontent only scare away those around him. Even if we conditionally divide all people into two groups, the classification will be incomplete. All why? Because mood depends on several factors: physical and emotional health, degree of satisfaction with life, existing aspirations and views on the world.
Mood is influenced by everyday events that influence the emotional component.
Why is a value system important?
Prioritizing our value system makes us who we are. Two siblings could differ from each other in that they put different things first in life. Remember Cain and Abel. Their values were different.
Differences in value systems influence who we choose as friends and who becomes our chosen one. If love and attention are important to a woman, and money comes first for a man, how long will their union last?
Years later, this woman may realize that money is not so bad, and feelings are just chemistry in the blood. And the man will understand that money will not make him happy. At this point, these two may come together. Their value systems will not be so radically different.
Soul
Each person has his own concept of values. This is neither bad nor good. This is a given. How and where do they come from? The very first source is the soul. Even small children who do not yet have social experience react completely differently to what is happening around them. These invisible strings of the soul give birth to a constant piece of music that guides us through life. Growing up, the soul gives birth to conscience. They are the most important duet, which defines our life guidelines.
What are life values?
Let's look at life values using examples from life. For most people this is:
- health and self-development;
- career and favorite thing;
- money;
- love and relationships;
- honor, recognition, popularity;
- entertainment and relaxation.
In different sources you can find different interpretations of these points, but the essence is always the same.
Health and self-development are what is inside a person. His inner world. Mental balance, confidence in safety. Body health. Here is the intellect: development, knowledge of the world, curiosity.
Career and money are two different things. And there is often a choice between them. Do what you like and get pennies or work for results, but do not enjoy it. Favorite business or work that generates income. Money opens up opportunities, satisfies needs, and allows you to increase your status. But is this really important if you don’t like the job? Everyone will have their own answer here.
Love and relationships are a wide sphere. There are also contradictions within it. A man may be torn between his mother and his wife, who do not like each other. A woman will feel that she has moved away from her friends after she got married and became a mother. All connections with people are important, but they are all different. We love our parents differently than we love our friends, and we love our spouse very differently.
Honor and recognition are how your neighbors, friends evaluate you, and how many followers you have on social networks. Are you ashamed to come to a class reunion? Do you try not to see them to avoid questions?
Entertainment and relaxation may come first for teenagers, but are completely absent for adults who are trying to provide for their family. This item cannot be excluded from the list; it is as important as the rest. Do you disagree with this? This is normal, because everyone has their own value system.
Features of the formation of a system of life values
What is an adult’s value system and how was it formed? There are so many influencing factors that it is impossible to predict how a person’s worldview will change in a year or ten years.
For example, a child grew up in a religious family. From childhood he was taught that the main thing is not to offend a person. But, growing up, these prohibitions were erased. His easy-going nature caused him to be ridiculed by other children. I had to defend myself. Under this influence, values changed, the child put honor and respect among friends first. Now he can offend a person in order to avoid ridicule. This is protection.
An example of how priorities change dramatically. This is not uncommon. Often the most popular children at school cannot realize themselves in adulthood. Quiet people become criminals. The principle of the pendulum applies here: how kind you are now, you can be just as rude and cruel. This is your range. That’s why they say: “Fear the wrath of a calm person.”
How to determine your own life values
What human values are your priority?
Think about why you get up every morning and do your business? What do you work for: for pleasure or to get money? Why did you decide to lose weight: for the sake of your wife, to become popular among friends, to improve your health? What are the motives for your actions?
By answering these questions, you will understand what is your priority now.
Quotes about life values: “Be willing to change your goals, but never change your values” - The fourteenth Dalai Lama.
“The life of an individual has meaning only to the extent that it helps to make the lives of other people more beautiful and noble. Life is sacred; it is, so to speak, the supreme value to which all other values are subordinated” - Albert Einstein.
The main values of life according to the author
You cannot keep the same things as a priority since childhood. Sometimes you have to put love first. Sometimes it’s health. Sometimes it’s money. We must not forget about career and entertainment. But all this must exist harmoniously within a person’s personality.
At the same time, there must be clear basic values and moral qualities:
- Regardless of your mood, you won't kick the cat.
- Don't offend a loved one, friend, neighbor or stranger on the bus.
- Do not respond to aggression with aggression.
- Give up your seat in transport.
- You won't kill, you won't steal.
- Don't take away your friend's girlfriend (friend's husband).
Everyone has their own values. But the basics our parents give us must sometimes change our priorities.
Life and health are the most important. But did the soldiers think about this during the war? They died for their homeland, for their loved ones.
Also, a husband who supports a wife and three children will not primarily think about health, not about relationships, not about entertainment. He will earn money to raise his children and provide for his wife.
The most important thing is people. The ones we love. And our values will always revolve around them, change their location depending on what they need now. And their values will also change to suit us. This is the most important thing in life.
It is equally important to remain human in any situation. You can shout at a friend for an hour, but you must help him and not turn away in difficult times. You can be as irritated as you like, but not offend your colleague. And if someone yells at you, do not respond with aggression, but get into the situation, calm the person down, try to help. This is humanity. This is what distinguishes us from animals.
Inconstancy of goals and priorities
At the beginning of humanity as such, instincts were the only guide for people. This mechanism worked stably; there simply could not be other principles. Existence was reduced to the preservation and continuation of the family, protecting the hearth and obtaining food.
During the development of society, instincts and reflexes were not forgotten, but traditions were added to them. Violating the foundations of a family or an entire society was considered obscene. An individual who renounced the heritage of his ancestors was condemned or even expelled.
The life goals of modern people are inconsistent. This is due to a loss of orientation towards traditions, customs, and social principles. The person received maximum freedom of action and speech. Now there is no need to think about getting food, and procreation as a goal has lost its power.
