Tackle What's Next

5Examine Your Core Values

Your values create your internal compass that can navigate how you make decisions in your life. If you compromise your core values, you go nowhere.

—Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Ever have that uneasy feeling that you are totally off course?

You know you're headed in the wrong direction, and maybe you're not even sure how you know that. But you feel it deep in your gut, and that uncomfortable feeling tells you something needs to change.

Compare that to the opposite feeling, when everything seems right. You feel like you have the wind at your back and you're sailing in the right direction. You may have challenges that come up. However, you feel you are entirely equipped to handle them.

The difference between these two vastly different feelings goes to the very essence of your core values and whether you live your life aligned with them.

So, what exactly do I mean by core values? They can be described in any number of ways—your sacred beliefs, the forces that drive you, a personal code of conduct. They are deeply held beliefs that you practice and use to live your everyday life. They define you as a person in the way that you live.

Having a strong, unshakeable sense of your core values dramatically affects how you deal with your pivot point. You will find yourself more resilient and able to withstand the impact of an unexpected emergency or disaster. If you do get knocked off course, it won't be for long because you have such a fundamental ...