The core of much self help literature is that we can create the 
life you want.  We can consciously decide what you want out of 
life by setting goals and set about achieving them.  This is all 
well and good.  The Law of Attraction states that "you attract 
whatever you give your attention and energy to, whether wanted or 
unwanted".  However, the main stumbling block is knowing what we 
actually want.

Much of what we really want is obscured by cultural and social 
conditioning.  We want what we want because of we "ought to" or 
"should" want it; whether it represents or is aligned with who we 
truly are or what makes our hearts sing is a different matter 
altogether.

So how do we discover what we want?

By becoming explicitly aware of what our values are.


What Are Values? 

Values are about the things in our lives that are most important 
to us.  On a deeper level, they represent who we are and are what 
defines us.  They are our blueprint.  Values are not "should 
haves" or "ought tos" - they are what truly represents us.  When 
we understand what our values are then it is much easier to live 
a life that is truly authentic to us.  Values are what drives us 
and provides us with energy and motivation - whether we are aware 
of them or not.

One reason why we don't achieve our goals is that they are not 
aligned with our core values.  And as long as we are unaware of 
what they are, we set ourselves up to "fail".


How Do You Discover What Your Values Are?

Go back in time...what did you like doing as a child, what games 
did you play, what character traits did you have?  What did you 
dream of doing when you grew up?  What qualities did you think 
this dream career would give you?

Further on in time......when was there a time in your life when 
you were really "you". A time when you had an inner feeling of 
strength and life felt effortless.  Call this a peak moment in 
time.  What were you doing?  Who were you with? 

As you go through these memories you will get a sense of what 
your values are; they will emerge as consistent themes which 
resonate with your experience of being your best self.  If your 
values are not being expressed or honoured, then you may well 
feel restless and discontent with a pervading sense that 
something is missing in your life.

My own core values include: creativity, autonomy, abundance, 
inspiration, intuition, aesthetics, personal growth, well being 
and simplicity.  If they are not being expressed, then I feel 
"off".  Knowing your values makes it much easier to make 
important decisions. 

A  client of mine was having difficulty deciding between two job 
choices, so I asked her which job fitted best with her core 
values (which had already been made explicit).  You could hear 
the bells ringing loudly within her consciousness and the 
decision was instantly made.  Being reminded of her core values 
showed her the tools she needed to use in order to assess which 
job was right for her.  It was much more effective than making a 
list of pros and cons for each position.

When you are aware of your values and they are being fully 
honoured and expressed, then you will feel the tangible benefits 
in the quality of your life;  your self belief, confidence, 
motivation and improved personal and professional relationships. 

Julie Plenty specialises in working with creative people in 
authentic and inspired goal setting using the Law of Attraction.  
She is currently creating vehicles through her ideas and 
inspiration can be more fully expressed and shared.  Read 
more articles on how to make the Law of Attraction work for 
you by visiting: http://lawofattraction.blogharbor.com