Do Your Values Determine Your Legacy?

– Dr Nav Ropra. 

What are your values?

Have you stopped to consider what is really important to you?

Do you change what you believe in like the wind?

Is your character really defined by your core beliefs and values?

– Know thyself, be thyself and love thyself –

This is a famous statement and surely would be simple to do as we are with ourselves all of the time?  No!  It is probably one of the hardest things to do to as it equates to a journey of self discovery and self mastery.

We are always discovering new things about ourselves and we are never done with knowing who we really are.  New situations and circumstances provoke us into new actions and bring parts of ourselves (characteristic traits) to the surface which we once thought we had dealt with.

How you are going about your daily activities is a more accurate representation of your values, rather than what you think your values are.  Let me explain.

‘It is probably one of the hardest things to do to as the statement equates to self mastery and a journey of self discovery.’

If a practitioner believes one of his highest values is his family then he may spend all the hours of the day at work, finishing of paperwork after closing time, to come home at the midnight hour.  From his viewpoint, he has a high value on family as he is working hard for them.  However, if we do a values analysis on his life and look at some of the values determinants; How he fills his space, How he spends his time, How he spends his energy, How he spends his money for example, and prioritise them, the chances are that work will be higher on his values list and family will be lower on his values list.

‘How you are going about your daily activities is a more accurate representation of your values, rather than what you think your values are.’

So values clearly are subjective and depend on our own perceptions, but when we actually quantify and prioritise them, they usually are quite different to what we believe they are.

In my workshops I show practitioners how to find their values and then we prioritise them according to what their life is demonstrating.  Once you have found out your list of values you effectively have your blueprint.  If you align and make goals according to your highest values, then you are the most creative, inspired, focused, determined and have the greatest chance of getting those goals completed.  If you make goals according to what is low on your list of values, then you will be uncreative, uninspired, unfocused, undetermined and have little chance of accomplishing those goals.  Therefore it is absolutely essential as a dentist, if you are interested in maximising your awareness and potential and of those around you, to determine your values first so that you can understand what is truly important to you.

‘In my workshops I show practitioners how to find their values list and then we prioritise them according to what their life is demonstrating.’

For those practitioners who would like to change their values, in the same workshop we do a linking and delinking process.  So, in the example above, the dentist will get to understand how occupying space, time, energy and money with his family values will help his business and patients.  Linking your values, your goals, your mission to your purpose in life will give you the greatest chance of getting that purpose accomplished.  See how everything that happens to you is on the way to your purpose, instead of in the way.

‘If you align and make goals according to your highest values, then you are the most creative, inspired, determined and have the greatest chance of getting those goals completed.’

Next comes the hardest part, which is to find out the values of those people around you, especially family and staff members.  By understanding the values of others, you are in a better position to communicate with them and convey what is important to you, to what is important to them.

‘Linking your values, your goals, your mission to your purpose in life will give you the greatest chance of getting that purpose accomplished.’

If you are having relationship issues, or if there is a dispute in the practice and staff can’t seem to agree on something, then look at the values that the individuals have.  Neither one is right or wrong, but individuals are reactive when their values are challenged and close off, or become receptive and open up when their values are supported. Just like you shut down to people around you when your values are challenged, and you open up to people when your values are supported, others do the same.

This is called ‘The Art of Communication’ and is vital to understand when running a successful business.

The legacy you leave behind will be made by your life’s journey, which will be made up of individual goals.  These goals are the destinations you arrive at, and the choices you make to get to those individual destinations will be made by your values.  Hence, your values do really determine your legacy!