I’ve Changed My Values
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer
This is the time of year that I start adjusting my growth plan for the upcoming year. As I enter 2024, I have made a shift in my values. Now, I’m sure that statement has some of you scratching your heads, and some might even be concerned, so let me explain.
My growth plan is built around six values that I hold dear in my life. Once I determine the values, I rank them in priority and then build activities or actions that I can take daily, weekly, monthly, and annually to grow in each of those areas. The activities are things like listening to podcasts, reading books, and attending training. Since I first built a growth plan some nine years ago, I’ve never had a major shift in my top six values…until this year. For 2024 my career value is no longer in my top six.
My first value is my faith. It’s who I am and directs my mindset and the decisions I make in my life. My second value is my marriage. My wife is the most important person in the world to me, and everything else in my life must come after her. My third value is my family. After my wife, they are the most important to me. Now we come to where I made the shift. Growth was always number four, followed by career (which is now out of my top six), and lastly community as my sixth value.
Recently, I have had perhaps the toughest two months of my life, physically. What started as a cold on September 9th became pneumonia in my right lung, followed by me losing my voice. Some may actually think it’s a blessing if I can’t talk, but as someone who makes their living talking, it’s pretty rough. I am thankful to say that it was a mild case of pneumonia, but the constant coughing and trouble speaking was very challenging. This experience motivated me to update my fourth value, health. Career has shifted further down the list and growth has become number five, followed by community as number six. I’ve realized that without my health, many of the other things in my life cannot fall into place. My top six values list for 2024 now reads like this:
- Faith
- Marriage
- Family
- Health
- Growth
- Community
So, why am I sharing this with you? The first reason is so you can hold me accountable. When you see me (or whenever you feel inspired), ask me how I’m doing implementing my newest value. I also want to encourage all of you to review what’s really important to you and build a growth plan around those values.
Once again, have a blessed Thanksgiving, and it is officially The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The Christmas and Holiday season is upon us.