Core values are the enduring beliefs and ideals that guide your decisions, behavior, and sense of identity— the fundamental principles you hold most important in how you live your life. Unlike passing preferences or situational opinions, core values remain relatively stable over time and serve as an internal compass when you face difficult choices. Research consistently shows that living in alignment with your core values is strongly correlated with psychological wellbeing, life satisfaction, and lower rates of anxiety and depression.
Key Takeaways:
- Core values are your internal compass: They’re the enduring beliefs that guide how you make decisions and define who you are— not what you aspire to, but what actually drives your behavior.
- Values differ from beliefs and principles: Beliefs are what you think is true, values are what you consider most important, and principles are the rules you derive from your values.
- Living aligned with values improves wellbeing: Research consistently shows that value congruence— matching your life to your values— correlates with higher life satisfaction and lower anxiety.
- Your real values are revealed through action: The best way to identify your core values isn’t picking from a list— it’s examining what you actually do when choices get hard.
What Are Core Values?
Core values are the enduring beliefs and ideals that guide your decisions and shape your identity. They’re not just things you care about— they’re the principles you consider so fundamental that they influence how you spend your time, energy, and attention, often without conscious thought.
Here’s the thing about values— they’re not what you say matters. They’re what your calendar and bank statement say matters.
According to Psychology Today, core values are “guiding principles that shape our attitudes, actions, and decisions.” But that definition only scratches the surface. Values involve multiple dimensions— what you think and believe about what matters, what you feel strongly about, and ultimately, what you do with your time and resources. These aspects work together.
Values are learned. They form through formative relationships— parents, mentors, communities— and through lived experiences that shape what you believe matters most. The research of Milton Rokeach, a foundational figure in values psychology, established that values are more stable than beliefs or attitudes. They’re durable. But they’re not immutable.
Core values function as an internal compass— they don’t tell you exactly where to go, but they tell you when you’re heading in the wrong direction.
And here’s where many people get tripped up: they confuse aspirational values with actual values. You might say you value health. But if you look at how you actually live, you might discover you value comfort more. That’s not a judgment— it’s information. The work isn’t to shame yourself. It’s to get honest about what’s really driving your decisions.
Values vs. Beliefs vs. Principles
The difference comes down to function: beliefs are what you think is true, values are what you consider most important, and principles are the rules you derive from your values to govern behavior.
Most people use these terms interchangeably. And honestly, in casual conversation, that’s fine. But when you’re doing the work of understanding yourself— really understanding what drives you— these distinctions start to matter.
| Term | What It Is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Belief | A conviction about what’s true or false | “Hard work leads to success” |
| Value | What you consider most important | “Achievement” or “Freedom” |
| Principle | A behavioral rule derived from values | “Always meet your deadlines” |
GILD Coaching puts it this way: beliefs inform your understanding of reality, values guide your priorities, and principles govern your actions.
Values are the foundation; principles are the application.
Let me make this concrete. Say you believe hard work leads to success. That’s a belief— a conviction about how the world works. If you also value achievement, that’s your priority— what matters most to you. And if you follow a principle of always meeting deadlines, even when it’s inconvenient, that’s the rule you’ve derived from your value to guide your behavior.
All three work together. But the value is what sits at the center.
Terminal vs. Instrumental Values
Psychologist Milton Rokeach identified two types of core values: terminal values (the end-states you want to achieve in life) and instrumental values (the behaviors you use to get there).
This distinction might feel academic. I get it. But it actually solves a common problem. When people try to identify their values, they often end up with a jumbled list that mixes goals with methods. Rokeach’s framework helps you see which is which.
| Terminal Values (End-States) | Instrumental Values (Behaviors) |
|---|---|
| Freedom | Independence |
| Happiness | Cheerfulness |
| Wisdom | Open-mindedness |
| Security | Responsibility |
| Inner harmony | Self-control |
Terminal values are your destination— what you ultimately want your life to be. Instrumental values are how you travel— the character traits and behaviors you use to get there.
If freedom is your terminal value, independence might be your instrumental value. If wisdom is what you’re after, open-mindedness might be the behavior that gets you there.
Understanding this distinction prevents a common mistake: confusing means with ends. Sometimes we cling to instrumental values (how we work) even when they stop serving our terminal values (what we actually want). A person might value “hard work” as an instrumental value in service of “security.” But if the hard work is destroying their health, it’s actually undermining the deeper goal.
Most values exercises skip this distinction entirely. And that’s why they often leave people with lists that feel vague or disconnected from real life.
Why Core Values Matter
Living in alignment with your values isn’t just philosophically satisfying— research consistently shows it’s connected to measurable psychological wellbeing, including higher life satisfaction and lower rates of anxiety and depression.
Here’s what most people get wrong— they think values are soft, fuzzy stuff. Personal development fluff. They’re not. They’re predictive.
Research on value congruence shows that alignment between your personal values and your daily life predicts wellbeing, reduces burnout, and increases your sense of accomplishment at work. ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) research has found that values clarification is a core process for promoting meaning, wellbeing, and quality of life.
The benefits are tangible:
- Greater life satisfaction and positive emotions
- Lower rates of anxiety and depression
- Reduced burnout and exhaustion
- Stronger sense of meaning and purpose
- Higher resilience when facing challenges
You know that feeling? Sunday evening dread. The creeping sense that something’s off, even when nothing’s technically wrong. The exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix. That’s often what value misalignment feels like. It’s not that you’re broken. It’s that there’s a gap between what matters to you and how you’re actually living.
Amy Wrzesniewski’s research at Yale found that people with a “calling orientation”— those who experience work as aligned with their values and identity— report higher satisfaction with their work, their lives, and even their health. This wasn’t about the type of job. People across all kinds of work can experience it as a calling. What matters is alignment.
Value congruence— the alignment between your values and your daily life— predicts psychological wellbeing, reduced burnout, and a stronger sense of accomplishment at work.
How Many Core Values Should You Have?
Most experts recommend identifying 5-10 core values, though Brene Brown takes a more radical approach: she suggests narrowing to just two.
“We can’t live into values we can’t name.”
Her logic is simple. If you have twenty values, you don’t really have values— you have a list. And you can’t focus on everything. Two values forces clarity. It forces you to choose what’s most essential.
I think there’s wisdom in both approaches.
Starting with 5-10 makes sense. It gives you room to explore and notice patterns. But over time, narrowing down has real benefits. Better to have 2 values you actually live than 10 you forget by February.
The right number depends on you. Some people thrive with simplicity. Others need more nuance to feel like the picture is complete. What matters isn’t hitting a magic number. What matters is whether you can remember your values without looking them up— and whether they actually influence how you make decisions.
Can Core Values Change?
Yes, but slowly. Core values tend to be stable over time, but they can evolve through significant life experiences, major transitions, or intentional personal growth.
Values are more durable than preferences but not written in stone. A health scare, a loss, or a major life change can shift what matters most.
This stability is actually a feature, not a bug. Values provide consistency. They’re the steady anchor that helps you navigate changing circumstances. But they’re not so rigid that they can’t grow.
Common triggers for value shifts:
- Becoming a parent
- Facing a health crisis
- Major career failure or success
- Significant loss or grief
- Cross-cultural experiences
- Deep reflection or therapy
Some people worry that their values changing means they were somehow “wrong” before. That’s not how it works. Values evolving is healthy— a sign that you’re growing and integrating new experiences. It’s not a sign of weakness or inconsistency.
How to Identify Your Core Values
The best way to identify your core values isn’t picking favorites from a list— it’s examining what you actually do, especially when choices get hard.
Your real values aren’t what you wish you cared about. They’re what your calendar, your bank account, and your decisions under pressure reveal.
Most values exercises have you pick from a list. And lists can be helpful as a starting point— they give you vocabulary. But your real values aren’t chosen. They’re discovered.
Here’s a process that actually works:
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Examine peak experiences. Think about moments when you felt most fully alive, most like yourself. What values were being honored in those moments?
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Notice what frustrates you. Frustration often signals a values violation. When something really bothers you— not just annoys you, but genuinely upsets you— ask what value is being trampled.
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Look at who you admire. The people you respect most often embody values you hold. What do they represent to you?
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Consider decisions under pressure. When you’re exhausted at the end of a long day and someone asks for help— do you give it? When you could cut a corner and nobody would know— do you? These moments reveal what you actually prioritize.
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Check your calendar and spending. Abstract values become concrete when you look at how you actually allocate your limited time and money.
Brene Brown adds an important step: once you’ve identified your values, translate them into observable behaviors. A value like “integrity” is abstract. But “I do what I say I will do, even when it’s inconvenient” is concrete and actionable.
The work isn’t comfortable. It reveals gaps between who you want to be and who you are right now. But that gap isn’t failure— it’s information. And information is where change starts.
Examples of Core Values
While everyone’s core values are personal, certain values show up consistently across research and practice. Here are some common categories to consider.
| Category | Terminal Values | Instrumental Values |
|---|---|---|
| Achievement | Success, Accomplishment | Ambition, Hard work |
| Connection | Belonging, Love | Loyalty, Compassion |
| Growth | Wisdom, Self-improvement | Curiosity, Open-mindedness |
| Freedom | Independence, Autonomy | Self-reliance, Courage |
| Contribution | Service, Impact | Generosity, Responsibility |
| Integrity | Honesty, Authenticity | Truthfulness, Consistency |
Seeing a list of values can help you find the words for what you already know matters— just don’t confuse recognition with identification.
Recognizing a value on a list isn’t the same as doing the work to understand how it actually shows up in your life. These are starting points, not prescriptions.
For a deeper exploration, check out our comprehensive list of core values which includes 150+ values organized by category, along with a 6-step identification process.
Values and Meaning— The Bigger Picture
Core values don’t exist in isolation— they’re foundational to living a meaningful life and finding work that matters.
If you’re asking about core values meaning, you’re probably asking about meaning more broadly. And that’s exactly the right instinct.
Amy Wrzesniewski’s research at Yale shows that people who experience their work as a calling— work aligned with their values and identity— report higher satisfaction with their work, their lives, and even their health.
This isn’t about finding the perfect job. It’s about alignment. You can build your personal value system in a way that shapes every domain of your life— work, relationships, how you spend your time.
James Clear puts it simply: “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” Your values inform that identity. And your behavior either reinforces or undermines it.
Many people sense a disconnect between their values and their daily life. That gap is uncomfortable. But it’s also important information. It points toward the places where change is needed.
Knowing your values is step one. Living them is the real work.
If you’re looking to discover your life purpose, values are where you start. They’re the foundation that everything else builds on.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are core values?
Core values are the enduring beliefs and ideals that guide your decisions and behavior— the fundamental principles you consider most important in how you live. They’re more stable than preferences and serve as an internal compass for difficult choices.
What’s the difference between values and beliefs?
Beliefs are convictions about what’s true or false. Values are what you consider most important. You might believe hard work leads to success (belief) while valuing freedom and autonomy (value). Values guide priorities; beliefs inform understanding.
How many core values should I have?
Most experts recommend 5-10 core values, though Brene Brown suggests narrowing to just 2 for maximum clarity. The right number depends on your ability to remember and act on them— better to have 3 values you live than 10 you forget.
Can core values change over time?
Yes, though slowly. Core values tend to remain stable but can evolve through significant life experiences like becoming a parent, facing a health crisis, or major career changes. This evolution is natural, not a sign of inconsistency.
How do I identify my core values?
Examine your actions, not just your aspirations. Look at peak experiences where you felt fully alive, notice what frustrates you (values violations), consider who you admire, and observe how you make decisions under pressure. Your values are revealed in behavior.
Your Values, Your Compass
Understanding the meaning of core values is the first step. The real work is discovering yours and building a life that honors them.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need a perfect list. You need direction. And direction matters more than destinations.
The work of identifying your values— really identifying them, not just picking from a list— can feel overwhelming. But it’s worth doing. Because once you know what matters, decisions get clearer. Not easier, but clearer.
Start where you are. Examine what your life already reveals about what you value. And then ask: is that what I want to keep voting for?
If you’re ready to go deeper, check out our printable list of core values for a complete guide to discovering and articulating your values. Or explore how to live a meaningful life with your values as your foundation.
I believe in you.
