Would you accept receiving one million dollars if it meant you'd never see your family again? How about ten million?
Or what about an opportunity to make a crap ton of money, doing very little work, but the company the project involves human trafficking.
These are extreme examples, but your life is fleeting if you don't know what's important to you.
So is your career.
Without values, you become a pawn, easily manipulated and persuaded by someones else's agenda.
Not all values are created equal.
Humans are hierarchal creatures, so values get distorted when there's no hierarchy.
When you lump your values into a list of what's most important to you, Luke Burgis points out that "the one that wins—especially at a time of crisis—is the one that is most mimetic."
You can't just name them; you must rank them of importance.
"When all values are the same, nothing is being valued at all. It's like highlighting every single word in a book."
Create a value system with a clear hierarchy.
If you know what's important to you, then this is easy.
You'll move your values around in a hierarchal list, from the most important to the least important.
For me, these are my top three out of eleven of my life values:
Health Optimization: "Without me, I'm nothing so in order to give my best to the people that mean the most to me means I must first take care of my mind, body, and soul."
Family is Everything: "I am a devoted husband, father, son and brother and my #1 priority is always supporting and being present with my family."
Return On Time: "Am I rotting away today? I live a life where I focus intently on my Return On Time, striving to always live in the present moment while I maximize every second on the things that fuel my passions, motivate me, make me stronger, happy, and prolong my life."
If you don't have a list of values, that's okay; spend thirty minutes making a list of your top five values. Then, rank them of importance.
Filter every decision you make through your value system, starting from the top.
When you live a life based on a hierarchy of values, your life will instantly improve.
