A POINT3 Journal by Nicky Morgan, April 2025
The Value of Values
I recently went to see Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s Thrive tour – with a friend, on a Saturday night. It rather surprised me when she turned to me and asked: “Does this feel like work for you?”.
Given what I do for work, of course the question was a valid one. However, my honest answer was “No! This is fun :)” … and yet as the evening progressed, I realised this was every bit as much “work” as it was “play”.
A large part of the evening was spent exploring our internal and external “values” – and I was transported to our Raise Your Human Game (RYHG) leadership programme where we spend time inviting our learners to explore their values – what matters to them, what they want their life to be about.
It was reassuring to hear a world renowned, best selling author and speaker like Dr Rangan Chatterjee advocate for the importance of understanding our “values” – and it has given me extra impetus to explore my own, and to really feel even more deeply the value (‘scuse the pun) in this module of RYHG.
It’s taken me a while to know – in my bones – that the 3 internal values I have identified are ones that are deeply meaningful and important to me. They are (in no particular order!):
- Wholehearted
- Belonging
- Playfulness
And here’s what I’m learning about my values:
- When I’m lacking, or out of alignment, with any one of my 3 values – I feel “off”. I often use the analogy of a 3-legged stool to help illustrate that if 1 of our 3 values is not being harnessed – we can quite quickly feel unbalanced.
- My values are my superpower. You give me a project that aligns with my passion and values – and you’re going to get my wholehearted, all-in effort. Have a new starter joining? I’ll do whatever I can to help them feel safe and comfortable. Things feeling a bit intense? You can count on me to throw in something playful to help diffuse the situation.
- And when I’m not harnessing my values as my superpower – perhaps when I don’t feel safe to do so, or I’m in a scenario that doesn’t permit me too – I feel down and drained.
- There are times when I betray my own values – e.g. I’m playing half hearted on a task, or I dwell in a place of disconnection for too long. This doesn’t feel good.
- There are times when my values are dismissed or not important to others. This feels triggering.
- And then there are times when I’m swimming in a pool of all my own values – and this is a feeling of flow, joy, energy and ease.
I’m learning how important it is to be true to my values – to support my health, wellbeing, relationships, productivity and performance.
I’m learning how denying my values feels like losing myself. And how re-connecting with my values feels like coming home.
I’m learning how values have the ability to change over time – so keeping up a regular relationship with them is important.
And I’m learning that when all of your values are in balance and harmony – like they were on the evening of Dr Rangan’s Thrive Tour, that Saturday night with my friend – it doesn’t really matter if you call it “work” or “play” – it’s a place I would like to dwell as often and as consciously as possible.
