In Dare To Lead, Brené Brown shows you this gigantic list of values:
Then she says you get to pick two for your life. Only two.
Try it. It’s tough!
Why only two? Because the point is to use these values to help guide you, and if you have more than two then things get muddy. If you’re focusing on lots of things then you’re focusing on nothing.
For me, getting down to 10 was pretty easy, but trimming that down to 5 was tougher. Then going from 5 to 2 took a day of pondering. I hemmed and hawed and settled on growth and joy. Those are my 2 values. Those are the things that I want to pursue above everything else.
If this sounds kind of woowoo and non-actionable, I thought so too. But I was wrong. I’m surprised at how helpful it is.
For example, my growth value helped me when pondering career goals just the other day. My joy value helps with lots of day to day decisions. Even nitty gritty stuff like – should I browse YouTube? No that won’t bring joy or growth, it’ll bring guilt.
Give it a shot and see if it helps you. What are your two values?
Mike Crittenden 