When you define your personal values, you discover what's truly important to you - including your travel destinations and how you travel.
Embracing new and unfamiliar environments can lead to a deeper connection and understanding of our values.
Not using your internal compass via values can easily result in frustration, disappointment, and lack of fulfillment - leading with values as your internal compass will give you a sense of clarity, confidence, and self-awareness.
When we just tag along without direction and say yes to things that have no connection to our purpose and passion, we tend to find ourselves stuck and confused. It’s like traveling without an itinerary and constantly wondering where to go next and searching for direction.
WHAT’S THE IMPORTANCE OF VALUES?
Our core values are what get us up in the morning, and can also keep us up at night. Values can act as our inner compass - directing our decision-making and guiding our everyday choices. When our lives are aligned with our values - we’re the happiest.
Without core values - our lives tend to be chaotic and have less meaning behind our decisions and way of life. If we don’t identify our values, it’s hard to be conscious of boundaries, and without our boundaries, we’re more likely to hit burnout.
Your personal values are what align your current self with your future self. Identifying your values and then leading with them will strengthen your inner compass so you can connect the dots going forward to avoid looking back to make sense of things. Your core values become your inner compass.
FOR YOUR NEXT TRAVEL HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR CHOICES - FOR EXAMPLE:
Where do you go and why?
What’s the culture you seek?
How much do you interact with local communities?
What kind of accommodation do you choose?
How important is integrity in the hospitality you choose?
How do you treat the people that are serving you?
Is it important to you to treat people respectfully?
Look out for what makes you feel better, what tears you down, lifts you and what makes you frustrated. Travel teaches us about humanity and gives us an appreciation, understanding, and respect for different points of view and ways of life.
What makes you happy in your travel destination and why?
Are there aspects of that culture that lift you up?
And are there aspects that weigh you down?
How do people live in this part of the world?
And how does it make you feel?
Where does the food come from and is it important to you?
VALUES TO IDENTIFY CAN BE:
Integrity
Flexibility
Authenticity
Sustainability
Curiosity
Creativity
Community
Honesty
Accommodating
Compassion
Respect
Forgiveness
Religion
Ethics
Love
Joy
Justice
Empathy
Kindness
Wellness
Humor
Courage
Beauty
Comfort
Luxury
Peace
Balance
Belonging
Have fun identifying your values and know that you can always redefine them. Write down your top 15 from this list (and/or add your own), then edit down to 10, and at last see if you can do a final edit of 5-8. Once you’ve defined your final shortlist - write them down where you can see them and be reminded of them in all that you do and places you go.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or let me know how this goes for you.
Xo
ARP.