137 A L I G N W I T H Y OU R C O R E - E S S E N T I A L VA L U E S • He knows the time he puts in and the things he does at the community food pantry make a difference to people. • He really enjoys the people he sees and meets there each month. • He enjoys getting to know the interns he works with and can feel their freshness and curiosity. • He really loves to see his shadow interns realize the skills and talents they have as he shows them the ropes and watches them get excited by the possibilities of what they can do. When we compare all three of the experiences Kevin mentioned, the summer camp, the community food pantry, and working with shadow interns, we begin to see a pattern emerge. There are distinct similarities of what is happening for Kevin in these situations: • He is contributing towards something positive in some way in each situation. • He is connecting with others in a deep and real way. • He is inspiring others to see greater possibilities for themselves than they previously had. If this is what Kevin were to share with us, we could conclude that Kevin’s core-essential values are: • Contribution • Connecting • Inspiring Identifying our core-essential values can be the single most powerful thing we can do to be our best self and play our biggest game. Why? Because when we orient our lives around our core-essential values we tap into everything that makes us feel most alive and most authentic. It is almost as if we tap into our very purpose for being here. Identifying these things can become a decision-making filter for you as you think about what you want and make choices for just about anything. When each desire you have and each choice you make for yourself is aligned with your core-essential values, you build your vitality to a level you may never have thought possible. On the other hand, when you have desires and make choices that are not aligned with your core-essential values it costs you dearly and you pay with your very life essence. For Kevin, his experience at the summer camp was a complete synthesis of all three of his core-essential values. The community food pantry was as well, but it was only once a month and did not sustain the feeling he got during two continuous weeks
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTMxNTEyNA==