One day, I revisited my core values to discern what I want from my life.

Photo by Jigar Panchal on Unsplash

It is essential

Like others, values are at the center of my actions, my efforts, my purpose, my limitations, my intentions, and my deficiencies and accomplishments. 
 
What I did, what I am doing, and where I intend to go were the reasons to regularly reflect on my core values from my 40s onwards. 
Normally core values are static in a person, but I regularly assess them in the light of experiences comprising failures and successes, uselessness and usefulness, as I move forward. 
Let me emphasize that successes and failures are not more than signals in the journey of my life. I take joy and jerk as they are without stopping myself in moving forward. 
All values have long-term meanings, and they are evaluated on the scale of local societal norms and culture and mostly at the wider spectrum of morality, humility, legacy, and security. 
 
All individuals are living with some deep-rooted values, and they are taken as control points in their whole lives. 
In this piece of my assessment, I have selected the top ten values (out of hundreds of species) that are interfering with my decisions, actions, and amendments frequently, and a graph of my status and performance—by now. 
 
1. Transparency in all conditions
Being truthful is never harmful—in the long run. There may be some uneasiness or loss initially, for a while, but the outcomes (mostly delayed) nurture courage and confidence to upgrade life for certain. 
Only genuine individuals can prefer integrity over short-term victory. Being one of them is like climbing a mountain, full of risks, but here lie the secrets of living. 
People are not transparent because they choose to please their friends, relatives, societies, and family and influence others. 
Exactly, transparency rests on integrity. And embracing integrity is a challenge for many of us. 
 
2. Struggle for being a new version
I believe struggling is the best weapon to move forward in life, even though the paths are not outlined clearly and obstacles are waiting for my movements. 
Life is a journey full of uncertainties, chaos, and threats, but the solution to all odds lies in our planned actions. 
 
3. Learning as a part of life.
In childhood, I was under the impression that education and degrees were enough for living happily. In youth, this myth continued. While entering practical life, I learned that learning is as essential as other routines of life. 
Learning every day has now strengthened my other core values. 
Of course, education creates the backbone of learning, but life teaches beyond learning from books, motivational speeches, and media information. 
 
4. Routines to be effective 
I keep changing my routines and habits. I was told that habits are constant. In practice, I found that old habits can be unlearned and new habits can be shaped with genuine and consistent efforts. 
We live in a noisy world, coupled with challenges before natural intelligence, and therefore we urgently need changes so that we can be participants in the ongoing good moves of the human race. 
 
5. Knowing the purpose of what I do
While examining trends and patterns, I was in quest of the whys in many of them. No clear answer. Practices have been continuing for long—was the common perception. 
The purpose of the questioning was to know the roots of the matter so that anything is put in alignment with the fast-advancing world to add many new things to lifestyles. 
 
5. Behaving responsibly
I am responsible because I enjoy it, considering that it feeds my inner peace. 
When the gap is wider between the inner world and outer world, it becomes difficult to decide further courses in life. So, a need arises to minimize the vacuum. 
People talk freely about gain or profits in all their endeavors. It can not be rejected or accepted. However, the motto of profit or loss is tinge before the big picture of the life of a responsible individual. 
I always account for being assertive, not aggressive. This core value is highly relevant, but there are many slips that distort my intentions and create a fresh gap. 
I am in the process of further improving this parameter. 
 
6. Change in all walks of life
It is said that being variable is to remain valuable. I keep moving what I deem fit without bothering how the people are readying to brand my actions. 
I just think it out before my action. 
The majority think they need no correction, and they embrace "hollowness" as holy. In such a situation, I believe at least I can correct myself. 
I know up to a particular temperature ice is ice. When temperature crosses this point, it starts converting into water. I always try to move from freezing life to life like flowing water. 
In our case, the temperature depicts "daring to face.". 
 
 
7. Imagination 
The idea of being radically different came to my mind in my 20s or so, and I am continuing to work on those maps of my mind in many ways. 
I found society is exceedingly vocal on "problems" but clueless on solutions. 
When one route is blocked, people start complaining instead of searching for alternatives. 
Falsehoods are spreading at the speed of sound. The absence of a mechanism to counter these social ills is adding complexity. 
These situations were the breeding grounds for expanding my imagination and being "solution-minded.". 
At least I can drop some drops of water on fire. 
 
8. Uncertainty 
Uncertainty is a paramount reality of human lives. 
I am trying to see myself in a new role in spite of bad experiences and uncertainty ahead too. 
Growth is taking place despite uncertainty probably from the day of human existence.
 
9. In unison with nature 
I have practiced observing the things around us as minutely as possible so as to get what is hidden from the eyes of others. 
Believing that nature has all the answers to all my issues. I search for them in footpaths, waterfalls, bushes, gardens, animals, crops, cold, and heat. 
 
10. Discipline as a central pillar of life. 
I always remember that I cannot be everything for everyone but can certainly be helpful to many around us and even for those whom I am not directly concerned. 
To achieve how I can be a contributor, I find "self-discipline" as the strongest pillar of my life. 
In school, in society, and in new environments, I learned how much power I derived just from one trait—that is, "discipline.".
To me, discipline does not mean taking on many burdens. Rather, it is as simple as leading an organized life every day, like bodily functions do in any living creature. 
Just a few disciplines make a huge difference in my day-to-day life. For example, I have practiced living within my means and not following the glitters of others in my surroundings. 
It is not to demean myself, rather to focus on matters highly relevant, like discipline and transparency, to empower myself, plus empowering all known and unknown—far and wide. 
 
 
Finally, points of view that give essence to ruminate on:

Our behaviors reflect our values. Feedback on our behaviors tells a lot about my values—many real and considerable. 
Nevertheless, our values are neither written on stone nor on sand but lie in between. 
With freshness in my understanding, values are elevated and reshaped and made more effective. 
I keep integrating my actions with values to contribute "on any scale and in any form" as the epitome of my life.