Your Inner Compass: Values, Roles, and Relationships

Compass and a Map

When it comes to building a meaningful mission and vision, the foundation starts with understanding your core values, the roles you play in life, and the relationships that shape you. These three elements guide your decisions, provide direction, and define the legacy you want to leave behind. Let’s take a deep dive into each of these foundational aspects and explore how they shape the mission and vision that will serve as your life’s compass.

Core Values: Your Compass for Decision-Making and Purpose

Core values are the internal principles that guide your thoughts, actions, and decisions. They are deeply ingrained beliefs about what is important to you and reflect what truly drives you in life. When you live in alignment with your values, you feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

Values are personal, unique to each individual, and often evolve over time. Think about the most important qualities you cherish and how they influence your daily decisions. Are you someone who values honesty, integrity, creativity, or compassion? Your values are the pillars that support your long-term goals, so it’s important to define them clearly.

Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Values: A timeless example of core values is found in Benjamin Franklin’s list of personal virtues, which he believed were crucial for leading a virtuous life. Franklin’s 13 virtues include:

Temperance – Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
Silence – Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself.
Order – Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
Resolution – Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
Frugality – Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
Industry – Lose no time; be always employed in something useful.
Sincerity – Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
Justice – Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
Moderation – Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
Cleanliness – Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
Tranquility – Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
Chastity – Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
Humility – Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

For further reflection on values, check out the article on Values and Relationships, which dives deeper into how understanding your values can shape your personal and professional life.

Exercise 1: Core Values Reflection

Reflect on your own core values. Write down the top five values that resonate most with you. For each value, think about how it influences your decision-making and the type of person you strive to be.

For example: If you value integrity, how does this influence the way you handle difficult situations at work or in your relationships?

Roles: Identifying the Different Hats You Wear

We all play various roles in life, both personal and professional. These roles—whether as a parent, spouse, colleague, friend, or community member—are deeply connected to our sense of self and purpose. Understanding the roles you play can help you see where your energy and focus should go, and how they contribute to your larger mission and vision.

Ask yourself:

What roles do you take on in your daily life?
How do these roles impact your relationships and sense of fulfillment?

Your professional life and personal commitments often shape the way you approach your mission and vision. Are you a teacher, a manager, a volunteer, or an entrepreneur? Your roles affect the goals you set and the values you prioritize.

For more on understanding your roles and how they tie into your larger life direction, check out Roles or learn more about how to Set Goals.

Exercise 2: Mapping Your Roles

List the key roles you currently play in your life (e.g., parent, partner, colleague, volunteer, etc.).
For each role, write a brief description of the responsibilities and values tied to it. How do these roles align with your overall purpose and mission?

Relationships: Honoring the Connections that Shape You

Relationships are one of the most significant aspects of a fulfilling life. They influence how we think, what we value, and how we feel about ourselves. Relationships with family, friends, mentors, and colleagues impact our personal growth and the clarity of our mission and vision.

Strong, positive relationships are often built on shared values and mutual respect. Take a moment to consider the relationships that matter most in your life. How do they align with your values? How do they influence the goals you set for yourself?

For more on how to align your relationships with your purpose, you may find value in revisiting New Year, New Goals.

Exercise 3: Honoring Relationships

Think of three people in your life who have had a significant impact on you. Write about how each of them has influenced your values, roles, or sense of purpose.
Consider how you can nurture these relationships to continue growing in alignment with your values.

Exercise 4: The Legacy Reflection

Imagine a big life milestone—perhaps your 80th birthday, a retirement celebration, or a moment of reflection at the end of your career. Now, picture people from every part of your life—family, close friends, colleagues, mentors—speaking about you and your impact. What would you like them to say?

Write down what you hope these people will reflect on, emphasizing:

Your values and how they shaped your decisions.
The roles you played and how you contributed to those around you.
The relationships you nurtured and the mark you left on others.

This exercise helps bring clarity to the legacy you wish to create and ensures that your actions, values, and relationships are aligned with the kind of person you want to be remembered as.

Final Thoughts: Building Your Mission and Vision on Solid Ground

By defining your core values, identifying your key roles, and reflecting on the relationships that matter most, you set a strong foundation for your mission and vision. These exercises are a critical part of discovering what drives you, what you want to accomplish, and how you want to impact others.

Your mission and vision will not only give you clarity and direction but will also help you remain grounded in your values and purpose as you move forward.

Next, we’ll explore how to craft your mission and vision statements in the next article in this series, turning your insights from today’s reflection into clear, actionable goals.