I believe that our personal values are a guide-post throughout life. Everyone has their own unique values that they uphold. I believe these values help to not only guide our behaviors, but help to guide our actions and decision making as well. Individuals who do not uphold their own set of personal values are also more likely to endorse in destructive habits and immoral behaviors. Many people typically share similar values to one another but may interpret these values in different aspects. Five of my personal values include: Respect, responsibility, empathy/compassion, optimism, and courage/fearlessness.

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RESPECT

Respect is one of the major key values I uphold. I believe that it is important to show respect towards everyone you meet in life. As a child, I was taught to show as much respect to the janitor as I would towards the principal. I believe that if everyone in the world treated each other the same and showed equal respect no matter the race, religion, gender, or age, the world could be a much more loving and peaceful place. I also believe it is important to not only show respect towards others, but to show respect towards yourself and the land as well. To me, self-respect means having confidence and pride in yourself, which is critical to self-esteem. Respecting the land is also vital because I believe the land provides us with everything we need to survive and thrive. I believe It is important to leave the Earth in a better place than how we found it.

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RESPONSIBILITY

Responsibility is to be accountable for your own actions, decisions, and mistakes or consequences. I believe that responsibility comes hand in hand in knowing what is in control of your life. If there is something you find unpleasant, uncomfortable, or distressing that affects you, it should be your own responsibility to take care of the situation and eliminate or discard anyone or anything that makes you feel that way. However, I do believe that responsibility should only account for yourself. What other people are doing with their lives should not be of your own concern or your own responsibility.

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EMPATHY/COMPASSION

Empathy and compassion are important in building deep lifelong relationships with other individuals. These values are rarely seen in the world today, which make it that much more essential to convey. Having the ability to understand and share feelings with one another allows people to connect around the world. If you see an elder woman walking across the street alone, help her. If you see a child lost in the store, help them. Human beings are capable of selfish and destructive behaviors. By showing a bit of empathy and compassion, I believe it will help lead to a better world where people exhibit more helpful, positive behaviors and greater social relationships.

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OPTIMISM

Optimism is the quality of being full of hope and emphasizing the “good” of any situation. It is also having the quality of being hopeful and confident about the future or the successful outcome of something yet to happen. I believe that optimism is an important core value because it allows me to move forward, despite the hardships and difficulties. I believe it can also affect a person physically, spiritually, and mentally. Winston Churchill once said “a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” By having an optimistic mindset, it allows us to see new opportunities, learn from difficult situations, and allows us to keep moving and growing further.

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COURAGE/FEARLESSNESS

Finally, the last personal value I hold is courage and fearlessness. I believe it is important to not fear the future, but look forward to it. It is important to be unafraid of not only what will happen, but be unafraid in how others may think about you as well. I believe it is important to be courageous and unafraid to do the right thing, even if others may doubt your decisions and actions. Being courageous allows you to feel not only more confident, but more successful and happy too. Having courage allows yourself to discover new opportunities you never would have imagined. For example, a worker who has the courage to ask their boss for a raise might have the opportunity to receive greater pay, whereas the opportunity would never have risen if he/she did not have the courage to ask. Never be discouraged or afraid of what others may think of you and only focus on yourself and your own goals.