Craig felt conflicted.

He had experienced considerable success, but worried he wasn’t saving enough for retirement. He had recently moved across the country but, to the amusement of his friends, decided not to sell the house he raised his family in, and chose two mortgages over his dream neighborhood. He felt anxious, financially overextended, and even embarrassed that he hadn’t saved as much as his peers and colleagues.

I helped Craig realize he was having trouble making financial decisions because he didn’t know who he was.

Without clearly identified core values and purpose, how could he know which path to take? It didn’t take long to identify his top core value: Family.

“I find joy in putting my family first so that they have abundant freedom and fun.”

Suddenly his decision made perfect sense. The money others had put towards retirement, he chose to invest in his children’s future. While it may seem crazy to others, moving to the ideal neighborhood was easily trumped by the opportunity to provide his daughter the ability to start a small business without the stress of making rent each month. Because putting family first meant putting family first.

The guilt and self-doubt melted away, and Craig was free to stay the course.

Often people enter a Personal Core Values exercise expecting it to help inspire new habits and behaviors. And that is often the case. But sometimes it helps to see that our current behaviors already are in line with our values, we just need to see the full picture clearly in order to quiet the alarm bells telling us that something’s off.

Have you had a moment of clarity like this? I’d love to hear your story.

Craving more clarity around who you really are and what you value most in the world? Check out my upcoming Personal Core Values Mini Course starting July 18.  Link for more info in the first comment below!