Priorities Exercise
My mission over the last 30 years has been helping people learn how to put money into their lives meaningfully. The process does not start with money. It starts with each person identifying what they value most in their lives. To facilitate that process, we developed an exercise to help “clarify life values.” We are offering this valuable resource as an absolutely “free gift” with no strings attached. It is the key to “Putting Money in its Place” in your life. Complete the exercise and you will experience a “breakthrough” in your understanding of how to manage your life and your money. To explore all the creative ways of translating your personal life values into your financial decisions , complete the Priorities Exercise below, and “submit” the results for your FREE COPY of the book “Putting Money In Its Place”.
Life Values — A Clarifying Exercise
Here are sixteen key life values people typically want to experience for themselves. Some people will experience more of these values than others, but one cannot realize all sixteen, since some are rather contradictory. Although you may not have to do this in real life, assume that you could only experience five of these life values. Which would they be? Rank the five you choose in order from 1 (highest) to the 5th ranking value.
Note: If you would like to use this exercise with a life partner, make a new blank copy and invite your life partner to use the appropriate column for completing the same exercise. You can then use the results to facilitate your communication with each other.
VALUE——– -YOU———PARTNER—–DESCRIPTION OF VALUE
Achievement _______ * _______ Accomplish something significant in my life.
Adventure _______ * _______ Respond to challenging opportunities.
Aesthetics _______ * _______ Appreciate beauty and be artistically creative.
Authority _______ * _______ Be able to direct the activities of other people.
Autonomy _______ * _______ Be independent with freedom to do what I want.
Generosity _______ * _______ Give time and/or money to benefit others.
Health _______ * _______ Maintain an overall sense of well-being.
Integrity _______ * _______ Be honest and straightforward — just and fair.
Intimacy _______ * _______ Have close personal relationships, sharing life.
Pleasure _______ * _______ Experience personal satisfaction in what I do.
Recognition _______ * _______ Be seen as successful, with acknowledgements.
Security _______ * _______ Feel stable and comfortable with few anxieties.
Service _______ * _______ Contribute to the quality of life for other people.
Spiritual _______ * _______ Be in harmony with myself & the Source of Life.
Wealth _______ * _______ Acquire an abundance of money and possessions.
Wisdom _______ * _______ Have insight and enlightened clear judgement.
*Copyrighted material: This is the original exercise created in 1986 and revised in 2010 in cooperation with Kathleen Rehl, PH.D, CFP, author of the book “Moving Forward On Your Own: A Financial Guide Book for Widows.”