Pages to Keep · Your own compass
What I Stand For
Start with your life. Put what matters into your own words.
Take some time to work out what you stand for, why it matters to you, and how you want to act on it. These three pages begin with your own experiences, give you room to name your values, and help you consider them in a real decision. You can work through them over more than one sitting.
Read the prompts
Take some time to work out what you stand for, why it matters to you, and how you want to act on it. These three pages begin with your own experiences, give you room to name your values, and help you consider them in a real decision. You can work through them over more than one sitting.
Page 1: What I Stand For
Start with your life. Put what matters into your own words.
It is easy to name qualities you admire. Take a little time to work out why they matter to you and how you want to live by them. Start with examples; you can come back to an unfinished answer.
Something I did that I still feel good about
What did I do? What made that response worth repeating?
A quality I admire in someone else
Describe something they actually did. What quality do you see in it?
What I want more of in the world around me
Think about your home, friendships, work, or community. How would people treat one another?
Page 2: Put Your Values into Practice
Choose words you mean, then describe what they ask of you.
Look back over your answers. Choose up to three values or qualities you want to guide you: perhaps honesty, kindness, courage, fairness, curiosity, or loyalty. Name what matters to you, why you care, and what you would do because of it.
Each of the three panels has space for:
- What matters to me…
- Why I care about this…
- One way I could live by this, even when it is inconvenient…
Page 3: A Compass for a Hard Choice
Use what you have written on a decision that is actually yours to make.
The decision in front of me
What are my real options? What do I still need to find out?
What would my values lead me to do?
Look back at the values you chose. For example, honesty might mean saying something difficult, while kindness means choosing your words carefully. What would acting on your values look like here?
A step I can stand behind
What can I do within my circumstances? What cost or tradeoff comes with it?
Words to come back to
I want to be someone who…
Keep this somewhere useful. Revisit it as your understanding grows.
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