Guide for Achieving an Erect Position
In the pursuit of emotional stability and a strong sense of self-worth, a structured approach involves reflection, definition, and intentional living based on personal values. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you discover, define, and align your values.
Step 1: Discover Your Values
To uncover your core values, start by reflecting on past experiences when you felt most alive, fulfilled, and genuine. Identify the values expressed or honoured during those times. These could include compassion, honesty, freedom, among others.
Consider what matters most in key life domains such as relationships, work, hobbies, and your desired personal identity.
Use value card sets, collections of value terms on cards that you can sort or rank, to explore a broad range of values systematically. This can help clarify which resonate strongly versus those that do not.
Examine what you want to stand for—the causes, passions, or contributions that motivate you.
Step 2: Define and Clarify Your Values
Once you've identified your core values, write them down and define what each means to you specifically. This makes them concrete and personal.
Reflect on how your values show up in your daily life and decisions, and identify moments when your behaviour has been out of alignment with your values.
Regularly recommit by setting intentions that describe how you want to embody these values emotionally, helping you create goals to reinforce aligned living.
Step 3: Align Your Actions with Values
Set values-based goals that clearly connect to your core values. For example, if “creativity” is a value, set aside daily time for creative activities.
Develop a values-based action plan outlining specific actions, timelines, and anticipate obstacles to maintain alignment.
Practice mindfulness and self-awareness to notice when you are living according to your values or drifting away, which supports emotional stability by reducing inner conflict.
Step 4: Maintain Flexibility and Authenticity
Hold your values gently rather than rigidly to prevent anxiety or self-judgment. Regularly question if a value still feels true and serves your well-being, approaching this with curiosity and compassion.
Remember that living aligned is an ongoing practice of authenticity—not perfection—which enhances self-worth by connecting you with your “higher self” and personal truth.
Additional resources such as the University of Braunschweig’s PDF and values card sets, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) practices can assist in concretely identifying and committing to personal values to enhance emotional regulation and self-esteem.
The science of personal-growth and mental-health suggests that reflecting on past experiences can help discover your core values, such as compassion, honesty, freedom, and others. Education-and-self-development materials like value card sets can systematically explore a broad range of values to clarify which resonate strongly.
Once discovered, your values should be defined based on personal experiences and beliefs, making them specific and personal to you. This process can help you identify moments when your behaviour is out of alignment with your values, and set intentions to reinforce aligned living.
To maintain alignment and emotional stability, it's important to set values-based goals, develop a clear action plan, practice mindfulness, and regularly question if a value still feels true to you. Embrace authenticity, rather than perfection, to enhance self-worth and connect with your "higher self" and personal truth.
