Living in Alignment

<p>In last week’s episode I mentioned that I call the process of reflecting on the past year and creating intentions for the new one REVIEW, REFLECT + ALIGN.</p><p>Today we dive into the alignment part, because when we are in alignment, if feels damn good.</p><p>When we are happy, what’s often going on is that our outside world is in alignment with our inside world</p><p>There is consistency, integrity, with what we value and how we are living our lives</p><p>So when we think about what we want to create in the next year, it’s important to first get clear about what our core values are.</p><p>The quintessential self-compassion question I often ask you to ask yourself in difficult times is, “What do I need?” </p><p>But we really can’t fully answer that question unless we also know what we value most. What we want.</p><p>So some of you might ask: Wait - what's the difference between goals and core values?</p><p>First, <strong>goals can be achieved</strong>; whereas <strong>core values guide us</strong> towards and after achieving our goals. </p><p>Goals are destinations; core values are directions.</p><p>Goals are something we “do”; values are something we “are.”</p><p>Goals are set by us; core values are <strong>discovered</strong>. We discover them as we have life experiences and notice, "Oh <i>that</i> - <strong>that</strong> is important to me."</p><p>Some examples of core values are:<br />:: Compassion<br />:: Generosity<br />:: Honesty<br />:: Loyalty<br />:: Courage</p><p>And you may notice that what first comes to mind when we think of core values is having to do with how we treat others, but many also have to do with meeting <strong>personal</strong> needs that are deeply important to us... but may not be so important to others.</p><p>Some examples of personal core values are:</p><p>:: Adventure<br />:: Freedom<br />:: Personal growth<br />:: Creativity<br />:: Peace/tranquility<br />:: Exploration <br />:  Nature</p><p>In this episode I guide you through an activity that helps you get clear about your cor