I suppose I never understood what it really meant to have my values correspond with my actions until I started becoming politically active. In that arena, I realized, I could meet and work with people from varied walks of life, ethnicities and social strata-all while sharing the very same goal: To get this one guy into political office!
But, beneath that goal lay a foundation of reasons why we were all spending so many countless hours and (very often!) thankless weekends and weekday nights doing this sort of volunteer work-because we all gave an incredible sh*t about what we thought would make the country into a much better place. Our reasons were intrinsically different, but broadly the same.
These "reasons" resulted in our collective values banding together and forming a great force, which resulted in the core phenomenon that became the very grass-roots and highly effective movement known as the Obama for America campaign. (Now called "Organizing for America")
And the important thing I have come to realize, often times in a very hard way, is that you can run your life as a political campaign, in a sense! You can collect and bring together like-minded people who believe in the same things as you do, yet who also challenge and help execute and create the how, what, when and why you do them. You can fill your life with the activities that will push forward your "Ultimate Agenda." (more on the Ultimate Agenda next week) and you can also inspire others to work for your "cause."
In effect, your values and life goals can merge into a working thing of beauty.
You just have to identify what those goals are, and what values rest beneath them.
If you are very goal-driven, but feel inauthentic, stuck and/or unhappy, perhaps your values are not lining up, or aligning, properly. If you have developed values upon values within your mind and thoughts, but your reality, your work and daily existence and day-to-day life, are not appropriately expressing them well (or at all), it is perhaps time to get off Facebook and Instagram and put your walk into your talk!
What are values?
They are the things you truly care about. They go gut-wide, from “family,” “friendship,” and “doing honest work,” to smaller yet intrinsic personal and soulful concepts- such as when you insist on being true to your word, really showing up for your friends and family, and understanding and breaking down what “good work” really means to you.
I think it’s a HUGE discussion to have with yourself: Right now, at this very moment, ask yourself: What are my genuine values? And how may I somehow start putting them into action, much more effectively, and in my daily life?
It matters now, so much more than ever…xo