There’s a lot of talk about living life in alignment. But what does it actually mean to live your life in alignment? What are you aligning it to? Resident writer and coach Aislinn Kelly puts on her coaching hat and delves into your true values.
Alignment – it’s a bit of a buzz word. Everyone wants to live their life ‘in alignment’ but it begs the question, what are they aligning their life to? And how?
We all have values, but we may not be aware of what those values are. Some of us have idealistic values we think we should uphold but, in reality, we don’t actually live by them at all. Take the person who says they value kindness because, you know, everyone loves a kind person, but then goes around yelling at their teammates/friends/family when things don’t go their way.
And then there are the values we shy away from, which could actually be useful to uphold at certain times in our life. One such value could be money – for many of us, holding money as a core value can be icky. We’ve grown up seeing people lacking money and living in dire need, which can make some of us feel guilty for desiring money. We’ve also perhaps grown up with the idea that people with lots of money can be ruthless, something we don’t want to be seen as. But, if we’re busy setting up a new business, wealth is probably a value we want to place reasonably highly on our list for now. If we’re not open to receiving money, then there’s an internal fight going on between the part of us that wants to make the business a success and the part that’s afraid of appreciating – or being seen to appreciate – money.
Getting clear on your true values
Your true values will change depending on what’s important to you in your life at the time. Values can be seen as a compass for life – they can give you direction when you’re making decisions and can be used to measure how life is going whenever you want to check in with yourself.
A quick google will bring up lists of core values you can look through to begin to pull out the ones that resonate with you. For example, freedom, joy, growth, courage, confidence, playfulness … the list is endless. Be clear on why you’re choosing each value – what does each one mean for you? Not what the dictionary tells you it ought to mean, but what it means for you. Write it down.
Once you know what your top values are – say, five or six – you can begin to dive deep into how you are aligning with those values right now and how you can begin to live those values more fully right now. Even the smallest change to begin with can have a big impact.
If you’re a PT and playfulness is in your top five to 10, for instance, how much are you embodying that playfulness in your work? Go ahead and give yourself a mark out of 10. If the score is low, there’s your red flag. Perhaps it’s time to revisit how you work with your clients and how you can bring more playfulness into your sessions. Once you get the balance right and playfulness is a core part of your working day, two things happen. The first is that work becomes more fulfilling for you and you gain more enjoyment; the second is that you begin to niche your offering and appeal to those clients who want to work out but who want to experience some of that childlike joy while they’re ticking off their burpees. It’s not only making you feel good but it’s setting you apart too.
Let’s look at another example. If you’re a group X instructor and growth is one of your top values, how are you embodying it? First of all, what does growth mean to you? Does it mean growing your business or does it mean personal development? Get really clear on what you mean by your value. If by growth you mean personal development but there’s been a distinct lack of movement on this score lately, perhaps it’s time to carve out space to read a new book, listen to some podcasts, go on a training course, get a coach (wink wink!). If it’s growth in your business you desire, start to look at how you can step outside of your existing client bubble and take action. If one of your other values is authenticity, while you’re taking steps to grow you can align your action towards growth with authenticity – is this the method of growth that aligns to my authenticity? Am I being authentic in my insta posts? Am I showing who I really am?
Aligning to your values
So, once we’ve got clear on our values and how we’re living them, we can also begin to use them as a benchmark when we have decisions we need to make. Am I showing up as the playful PT and therefore attracting the clients who will enjoy this style of workout? Is this business decision I’m making now actually moving me towards growth in an authentic way, or is sliding into people’s DMs when they least expect it not sitting well with my authentic self at all? If you’re the PT who is setting up your own business, is wealth on your list? Should it be? It doesn’t have to stay there forever, but perhaps it makes sense for right now.
So, next time you find yourself wondering which direction you should be going in or whether or not you should say yes to something, how about checking in with your true values? Is that yes in alignment with your values? You may find the insight surprising.
Author Bio:
Aislinn Kelly is our resident writer and a coach, guiding clients towards their personal power so they can step into the best version of themselves. Find her on insta at aislinnclare_powerpeacecoach and slide into her DMs if you want help diving deep into your true values.
