“Unless you live consistent with your deepest values, you’ll achieve but still lack the ultimate fulfillment you truly deserve.”
– Anthony Robbins

“The secret to success and happiness is to translate your values into everyday life.”
– Hyrum Smith

Everybody has a set of deep core values that governs a person’s actions and a person can never ignore his core values. When confronted with emergencies, pressure, important decisions, or challenging situations, the actions he invariably takes will directly stem from his personal set of values.

Wayne Dyer said, “If you cut an orange and squeeze it, all you will get is orange juice, not apple juice.” When a person is under pressure, what will come out will be without exception consistent with his deepest values; and this, no matter what a person wants or how that person acts under normal circumstances.

Therefore, working on goals that do not answer to your values or their specific order is like “going against the grain.” It’s like trying to maneuver your car when your wheels are out of alignment or pointing you in a different direction. In the end, you will lose control of your car and become prone to accidents along the way.

In the same sense, if you’re aligned with your values, you will have greater control over your life. As the Law of Control says, “People are happiest to the degree to which they are (or feel they are) in control of their lives.”

Ed Bernd, co-author of The Silva Method, once wrote: “When you know where you’re going, you can take shortcuts. Or at the very least, you can stay on the right path and not be distracted by unproductive activities.” This is what the system I will teach you will do. It is called the GOAL method, which is an acronym that stands for Guides, Objectives, Actions, and Livelines.

The first step in the GOAL system is to set your values and develop goals from them. (That’s why I prefer to call them your priorities. They are your “guides” rather than your “goals.” They guide you along your journey rather than become targets to reach.)

If you already have goals, then it would be to align your goals with your priorities. If your goals are not aligned with your prioritized values (or, worst yet, if they are improperly aligned), you will end up reaching a destination you might have never wanted or none at all.

As well, stress, procrastination, hard work, poor relationships, and unhappiness often results from the lack of proper alignment. Always remember that your values are more important than your goals because they are helping you to understand the value behind your goals.

To understand the importance of alignment, let’s illustrate with the example Brian Tracy uses in his seminars. Let’s say you meet persons “A” and “B.” They both have the same three core values, which are family, health, and career.

However, person “A’s” values are in the following order of priority: Career first, family second, and health last. Person “B’s” priorities, however, are: Family first, health second, and then career. Now tell me, even if both have the same three values, would you notice a difference between the two? The answer is invariably yes.

While one places career above all else, the other values his family first and he would sacrifice his career for his family if the need ever rose. While the other’s career is more important to him, even if family values are important, urgencies at work will take precedence. One’s higher value-oriented activities inherently dominate over all others. If goals do not correspond to one’s uppermost values, it can threaten the entire process.

Misalignment can be dangerous. Very dangerous. For example, person “A” has goals in the following specific order: 1) To spend more time with spouse, 2) get promoted, and 3) to improve cardiovascular condition. His number one goal, according to the preceding order, is a family goal when his number one priority, if you recall, is career. By placing career as a secondary priority, this will cause challenges along the way and he will feel that something’s wrong, which may indirectly cause distress on his family and thus defeat the purpose.

Another scenario is that he will probably have a tendency to procrastinate in the process and not feel as motivated as he should be. He will be unhappy, frustrated, neglect his family or deviate from any of his family goals when confronted with urgencies in his career. His wheels are pointing his car in a totally different direction and he is trying to maneuver against it. He must unnecessarily work harder to reach his goal. He might even abandon his family goals altogether without ever knowing why. Frustration, unhappiness, and guilt often ensue.

So, to manage your life effectively, you must start by setting your values, prioritize them, and then set your goals. This will prompt you to create goals that have more meaning, sometimes goals you may have never realized you wanted to achieve. Oftentimes, it will also create an entirely new vision for your life.

However, it may not be as easy as you think. Setting and prioritizing your values may take a while. It may take some time to think them over and it may require serious reflection. And, as you go along the road of life, you may have reshaped your thinking and need to reset your values altogether. Don’t fret if this happens to you. It’s all part of the process of growing that I mentioned earlier.

As well, this new vision created by your personal values may cause you to eliminate some of your goals or misconceptions. In reality, these goals were never meant to be accomplished in the first place. Either you would have never reached them in the first place or they would have deviated you from the accomplishment of other, more important goals.

About the Author

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker, consultant, and CEO of The Success Doctor, Inc. Visit his blog and signup free to get tested conversion strategies and response-boosting tips by email, along with blog updates, news, and more! Go now to http://www.michelfortin.com.

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