Have you ever struggled over a decision – not able to decide if it was in line with your values?
Do you ever look back at things you’ve done and cringe because that behavior simply doesn’t reflect who you are?
It’s easy to get caught up in the shuffle, lead off the path, or lost at sea.
The best thing I’ve found to combat these problems is to establish guiding principles. Write them down. And keep them posted somewhere you’ll see often so that you can always remember what guides you.
A great way to determine your guiding principles is to sit down with a pen and paper and just speed write all the things that are important to you. Then over the next week write down any other ideas that come to mind. Your principles can be as long or short as you’d like, so don’t worry about getting a certain number. Take a look at the list you’ve compiled and delete anything that doesn’t sing true. Is there anything that you included because you think it should be on the list? Scratch it off. Anything that you’d hate to have another person see on the list? Give it the boot. You want these principles to really reflect you and give you joy and power.
As an example, here are my (current) guiding principles:
Let’s break it down.
Ya’ll know I’m passionate about bringing handmade back to life and with that comes the desire to help people increase their self-esteem and happiness.
I also want to stay committed to valuing people over money. Money’s awesome and I’m not saying that I won’t try get more of it as I grow a business, but I want to always put people first.
Maintaining an abundance mindset is so important. I really, truly believe that there is enough out there for everyone. There’s no need to compete over jobs, love, money, ideas or inspiration because there is more than enough to go around. Keeping this in mind helps me stay open and willing to help everyone get ahead, because I’m not worried that someone is my competition.
To me, empathy is one of the most important qualities to cultivate. When we’re able to see where the other person is coming from, we’re suddenly blessed with much more compassion and kindness. And this leads to helping others, too.
Each of us are talented in so many different arenas, but we really need to follow our genius. It’s easy to get sucked into a job that pays well or one that your good at, but if it’s not inline with your genius – if it doesn’t light you and make you jump for joy – it’s just not worth doing.
This planet is amazing and the only one we’ve got, so I want to be sure to treat it with care. From decisions about food, transportation, or consumerism I can make a difference by thinking about the earth before proceeding. I’m not radical nor extreme, but I try to do my part.
Create. Grow. Savor. Live. These are my passions and lights to guide me down the path during emergency. Just four simple words, but they keep me on track.
What are you’re guiding principles? I’d love to see what you’ve come up – leave a comment sharing some, or all, of your principles. Thanks!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Mallory – I love your site! So funny that I stumbled across this blog post today of all days, as I’m finalizing my own set of guiding principles that I’ve called the Happy Mama Manifesto. I’m literally online looking for some cool images to add to it, and my google searches led me to your “wake up happy” post (which happens to be one of my guiding principles), and then to this most recent post, which of course is right on point. Some serious alignment going on here! (Love your graphic design too). Keep rocking it girl!
Thank you so much, Stacey! You totally made my day and I’m pumped to hear that we are on the same wavelength. Thanks again for all your positivity and have an awesome day.
Thank you for a very of-the-moment post, Mallory. I am struggling with my current job and it is because I feel I am not being true to myself. I love your poster and will spend some time writing out my own guiding principals then create my own poster!
Yes, feeling out of alignment is a total energy drain. Having guiding principles makes it so much easier to evaluate what’s in or out of alignment, which makes us so much happier and at ease.