The Most Valuable Work
Right now, our world appears more chaotic and filled with more uncertainty than many of us have experienced in our entire lifetime. The pressure to make good decisions in unchartered territory for our families and businesses is significant.
The power of quiet and how it’s made me think about values
Even in the midst of this intensity, I have found an unusual and unfamiliar stillness. Events and plans, both personal and professional, were cancelled. My calendar was empty. Sure, it was hectic and unnerving—working from home with an energetic three-year-old is not for the faint of heart. Once I settled in, though, things seemed to get quiet. It was in the midst of that quietness that I found myself confronted with ideas and decisions that pushed strongly against my values.
At Milestone Leadership we define values as principles that guide decisions and actions. They serve as guardrails, or boundary lines, that help me stay on the path that I’ve determined is most important to me. Over the last several weeks, I have found myself considering what personal values actually are, what they mean for my everyday life, and questioning if I’ve identified the right ones.
My top five values are: Connection, Truth, Action, Growth, and Joy. Nearly everything about this new and unfamiliar world has made actually living those values difficult for me. However, after much thought, I still believe these are the values that are most important to me.
Important doesn’t mean easy
Over the last few months we have been faced with large-scale confrontations like racial injustice, a virus causing harm across the world but specifically amongst the impoverished and marginalized in my community, and intense political disagreements. There have been personal confrontations like confused priorities and fear. I don’t know about you, but during this unprecedented time of stillness and without the noise of a hectic schedule, I’ve found that I can’t just push those confrontations to the side and fill my mind with other things. I have to face them and the tension that comes along with it.
The confrontations I’m facing aren’t just about my opinion, or what I think about the situation. They’re more about what I value. If I value things like truth (seeking to understand), action (putting that understanding to work), and growth (always be learning), I have to get uncomfortable. I have to do the hard work of digging in, learning more, and making myself vulnerable.
What’s interesting to me about values is that the times in life when they are most important for us—when challenges arise or we’re faced with difficult decisions—values tend to be the hardest to actually live by. I’ve discovered my unchecked, initial thoughts focus on what’s easy; if I act on that alone, what I’m really valuing is comfort. Let’s be honest: valuing comfort often means ignoring truth or any other intentional value.
Leaders worth following learn that living within the guardrails of our values requires intentionality and diligence. That commitment is harder when times are difficult. A life lived with values isn’t a complacent life, it’s a hard and challenging life. And it’s also a life worth fighting for.
Do you know what your values are? How are they holding up? What can you do today to fight for them?
Written by: Stephanie Brown—Operations Manager, Milestone Leadership
