John Gafford explains how to test your core values by imagining their opposite and noticing your gut reaction. If the idea of stagnation makes you deeply uncomfortable, continuous growth is genuinely one of your values. The technique works because real values trigger visceral discomfort when violated.
I learned something about core values today that was really fascinating. We were talking about core values and they said the best way to really analyze your core values, and he brought up integrity as one of them. And he said, everybody says integrity is a core value. I love a value, but it's like, do they really? How much? Is it okay to cheat on your diet and grab a cookie? Is that breaking integrity? Is cheating on your wife? Where's the line? And he says, the best way to test your core values is look at the inverse of
them?
Like, what's the inverse of that? Give me one of your core values. Continuous growth. Continuous growth. Okay. So what would be the exact opposite of continuous growth? If you had to verbalize what the polar opposite of that core value would be, what would it be? Declining. Declining growth, where you're not learning anything and you're staying stagnant. Does the thought of you in that type of situation just absolutely make your skin crawl? Yeah. It does. So that core value is probably real.