Episode 13 - Find Your Why: How to Align Your Life with Your Core Values & Purpose with Melissa Crook
By Jessica Garrison
An essential part of who we are is our why, our purpose, our reasoning. This week, Melissa Crook discusses Coming Back to Your Why & Values to Guide Your Choices and asks the hard hitting, necessary question: “What are your values?”
We are given a script from a young age of how we should act or what we should strive for. “Success” meant checking off certain things on a list instead of living through your values and your passions. When you look at certain areas of your life, ask “Is this actually what I care about? Does it include what I’m aligned with? Or what I’m passionate about?” If you have no idea how to answer the question, revisit your boundaries. Why did you set them? What were you protecting? What’s important to you and your time? This can help you identify where you need to make shifts or changes, because it’s only natural for your why to change over time. That’s why it’s so important we visit this regularly to ensure that how we are living out our life is truly aligned with us in that moment of time. Life teaches us lessons, we unlearn and relearn things, and we gain new experiences that can affect our why.
Your why and values gives you a compass, a foundation to operate from. If what you’re doing isn’t in alignment with your why, reassess the situation. We tend to push the uncomfortable feelings down, but we are feeling that way for a reason. Never ignore your feelings, and sit down with yourself to find out what is happening internally. Refer to questions that we ask through the FEEL framework, such as, “What nourishes me? How do I want to FEEL in the next 6 months?”
There are specific core values that will always be a part of us, but the way that we show them might shift or change. Melissa shares examples of travel, loyalty, and her passion for women. Relationships, family dynamics, knowledge, education, or your work environment are just a few things that may affect your why or how you showcase them over time. Around New Year’s, Melissa says that she will evaluate her why and values, along with other subjects of the FEEL framework. She will check in with herself and make sure she is still living through her passions, and that she feels good about her actions. Spring is another great time to start since we are in the Spring Cleaning mood. We can air out our homes and clean our mind, body, and calendars. Check in with yourself this week and see if you are aligned the way you want to be. Be honest with yourself and live through your values.
Ways To Engage: If you’re having trouble identifying your why, revisit what activities and causes nourish you, fill your cup, and make you feel alive. Think about those 5 words that describe how you want to FEEL the next 6 months. Where are your values in relation to those? Use those answers to help narrow this down, retire what is no longer true, and usher in what’s healthiest for you.
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✨ Ready for deeper support? Visit our website to schedule to schedule a complimentary 30 minute session or learn more about Coming Back to Your Why & Your Values with Melissa