Values-Guided Decisions
Week 7
Trying Times and the Value of Values
October 30, 2014
I consider myself someone who has a strong sense of duty and obligation to my values. I definitely have certain ideas that guide my life and shape every decision I make. These ideas are not always conscious or at the top of my mind, but are deeply engrained in me and have become a part of who I am. Of course, it still takes a lot to live up these values and there are times when I feel like my commitment to these values is challenged. I’m sure my time at DBC will be incredibly stressful and trying and there will be times when I’ll want to take the easy way out and discard these values. That’s exactly when these values are most important and helpful: when I need to rely on them to get me through hard times.
Creativity ranks high on my list of values, but it’s something I have mixed feelings about. Some of the most transcendent and powerful moments in my life have come from creativity, whether my own or someone else’s. In my career as a journalist, for example, I would get such a rush of adrenaline when I wrote an article that was especially imaginative. I believe any real-world problem can benefit from experimentation and creativity. But creativity is also the area that I need the most improvement in. I’ve give myself a 3 out of 5 in this area. Sometimes I have a hard time letting go of self-consciousness and doubt to let myself be truly creative. Creativity takes a lot of openness and courage, and I want to improve in this area.
Compassion is is a value that is very important to me but seems extremely under-rated in the world today. Moments of compassion have had a huge impact on my life, whether it’s a simple act of kindness from a friend when I most needed it or a time I was able to lend a friend support by being open to listening. There are so many divisions between people, and compassion and empathy are the only ways to bridge these divisions and work together. I try to be compassionate, but could always improve and be more proactive, so I’d give myself a 4 out of 5 in this area.
Commitment is one of the guiding principles of my life. When I commit to goals, relationships, or ideas, I make a lot of sacrifices to give appropriate attention to them. There’s nothing more unsettling to me than dropping the ball on a responsibility I have. There are just a few things in my life that I give my full commitment to, but I make sure I put all my effort in those few things. Namely, my family and career are my top priorities at this time in my life. I would give myself a 5 out of 5 rating in sticking to this value because I feel like it’s built into who I am. Of course commitment doesn’t mean that I am inflexible or rigid in my beliefs. I see commitment as a long-term promise to give honest attention to something and not let it fall by the wayside.
The most recent piece of advice I gave someone had to do with commitment. A friend of mine was recently going through a rough patch in his job where he had been staying late for weeks and felt like he didn’t have any free time. He was beginning to think the amount of work he was being given was unfair and was getting disillusioned. I explained to him the idea that everything comes in cycles and that he’s just going through a tough time that will end eventually. Soon enough, things will ease up and he’ll get to relax. Later on, he told me that looking at his problems this way gave him a “second wind” to keep going and look forward to a time when things would calm down.
At Dev Bootcamp, I’m sure I’ll have to rely on all of these values -- commitment most of all. A successful web developer needs these three values in particular. For example, as a developer you must be compassionate and listen to your users and customers to be able to address their problems -- you have to deeply understand your audience. Web development can be tedious and frustrating, so finishing your project definitely takes long-term commitment to your final product. Lastly, the best web developers are truly creative in the way the approach problems – they find the approaches that no one else thought of.
When I feel challenged at DBC, I plan to take a moment to be mindful and reaffirm my commitment to these values. When I start question in the importance of creativity, compassion, or commitment, I think it’s best to take the long-term perspective. How will I look back on this challenging moment in a few months? Is it important enough to cause me to want to take the easy way out and discard my values? Pausing for a minute to be mindful and take inventory of how you’re feeling helps reaffirm the importance of values. I’m looking forward to moments of growth like these at Dev Bootcamp.
