Value

What we value and why can often say a lot about us. Value is not so straight forward as one might think. Value is often measured economically, by money. But, this is really the lowest common denominator. Think about it.

“I value what I can buy.”

But what other ways can value be measured? There are platitudes.

“I love my family”, “I love my kids”, ” love my work”…

These things cannot always be translated into value. They do not necessarily mean “I value…”. Value is a choice. To love one’s family or kids is not a choice. The key word to test value is “why”.

Why do you love to buy things?

Why do you love your family?

Why do you love your kids?

Why do you love your work?

Somewhere in there is value, stuck between the words that we use.

Sometimes we value things that we shouldn’t. We “put a price on…”, we “worry about what others think about…”. So value is something that can change, and perhaps it should. Like most other things in life, value is acquired through experience, through knowledge, through learning. It is not just that we simply have information, we can do something, or we have acquired a skill.

Change yourself by changing what you value.