Values Reflection

Acceptance
Love/Compassion

Vision/Ambition

Diligence

Drive/Determination

Before I go into detail about the process of selecting my final five values, first I want to define each
value in terms of what they mean to me, and then I will explain why each one made it into my final five.
So first is acceptance; acceptance is probably the vaguest value I have on my list, but in the sense I
am using it acceptance boils down to really one thing. And that one thing is open-mindedness. This includes
having an open mind about different cultures, religions, backgrounds, views, opinions, circumstances, and most
importantly different values. I believe that far too many people in the world today reject other people, shut them
out, or condemn them for being different than themselves, and they dont ever stop to think about the reasons
behind the differences. They just have a my way or the highway mindset, and in so they are very narrowminded. This is certainly no way to live. I think one of the greatest things about our world is the diversity: we all
come from different places and upbringings, and everyone has something a little different that they can bring to
the table, and learning and experiencing these differences, in my opinion, is one of the most enriching things
anyone can do.
My second top five value is compassion. Compassion for me is defined as being warm and showing
love to people in light of differing views, circumstances, etc., and is therefore tied to acceptance. I believe one
of the most prevalent things the world is lacking is love and compassion. For one, I think a big player in this is
the aforementioned my way or the highway attitude. People dont grasp the value of taking in values and
attitudes other than their own, and as such they will again put people down for being different. This comes in
many forms, and can be anything from the U.S. government having a foreign affairs dispute to a mother
scolding her son for not agreeing with her views on something. In turn, I think people who are different feel
outcasted and alone, and they sometimes will act out. A simple fix to this is being loving and compassionate to
everyone and treating them the same in light of differences.
My third value is vision and ambition. These can be defined, very simply, as having a path and longterm goal for your life. The majority of people, if you asked what their vision is in life, would probably say
something to the effect of, uhhh I dont know And while its not necessary to have your entire life planned
out, have something youre working for, something you want to achieve, a legacy you want to leave behind

when you die. And this doesnt have to be the most profound thing ever, but come to a realization of what your
own existence can bring to the world, and have a purpose for living.
My fourth value is drive and determination, which are tied to ambition and vision. These to me are
probably the most self-explanatory, but are defined as having goals and dreams, and actually striving with all
your might to make those a reality. Have something that inspires you to wake up in the morning and get to
work, something that you put your heart and soul into and at the end of the day you can say, Im one step
closer to making that happen. There is a word I heard a while ago that has become my credo, and that word is
kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese word that means good change, or continuous change in a general way. For me,
this means always pushing to be better, and not being satisfied until you reach your goals, and then being even
less satisfied once you get there, and wanting to push yourself even more. This is a trait that not very many
people have, but separates somebody as exceptional in my book if they do.
The last of my most important values is diligence. This to me is defined as giving 110%, to be clich,
into everything that you do. If theres something that you need to do, some responsibility upon you, give it
everything you have and dont do a lackluster, lackadaisical half-hearted job. Be able to put your name on what
youve done and be proud of it, and know that you couldnt have done it any better. While this is one of the
hardest of my values to maintain, especially in our fast-paced, go go go go world we live in, I believe it to be
absolutely essential.
The assignment was difficult initially only because of having to think of all the possible values that I
could include. The actual process of narrowing them down to my most important ones, when I really sat back
and got in tune with myself, wasnt as hard as I thought it would be. I have confidence in saying that all these
values are mine and only mine, and neither society nor anybody else had any effect on my selection. Probably
the hardest thing was picking the fifth, because it was somewhat hard to narrow my remaining values into one
last top value, but focused thinking, self-alignment, and honesty helped me pick the last one without losing too
much sleep.