1: Do you want to unlock untapped sources of motivation, energy, and willpower?
The answer is actually quite simple.
You start by identifying your values.
Then you take actions aligned with those values.
“Research shows that when action is guided by values, it’s vastly easier to accomplish feats that would seem impossible otherwise,” Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.
This holds true, Jane says, even if you are experiencing depression, grief, anxiety, addiction, hardship, or pain.
In her book, she outlines seven lessons from game design that you can apply in your life to achieve more.
Yesterday, we looked at the power of “quests,” which Jane defines as “simple, daily actions that help you reach your bigger goals.”
A quest is a purposeful action, not just another to-do item.
2: Which is why knowing your values is so important.
“Your quests—your daily, committed actions—should be driven by your most important values,” Jane writes.
So what exactly is a value? “It’s a strength you want to show, a virtue you want to uphold, a quality you want to embody, or a way of being in service to something bigger than yourself,” she notes.
Jane outlines some examples of values:
- To never stop learning.
- To be the best parent possible.
- To always challenge physical limits and be an inspiration to others.
- To be a loving, caring person and a good friend.
- To connect with and respect nature.
- To enjoy something and never be bored, because life is too short.
- To serve the Lord faithfully and, through actions, be an example to others.
- To explore the whole world and understand as many different cultures as possible.
- To do work that matters, even if it means earning less money.
Values are different from goals. “A value isn’t something you can ever get or achieve, like a degree, a promotion, a ten-pound muscle gain, a romantic partner, or a cure for what ails you,” Jane notes.
“Instead, a value is a way of describing how you want to live,” she explains. “It’s a purpose you can bring to every single day of your life: A will to learn, to love, to be creative, to do things that scare you, to help others, or do whatever else matters to you, deep down, more than anything else.”
Another way to think about values: “Goals come and go. Values stay with you.”
Identifying our values can be straightforward. One strategy, popularized by Steven Covey, is to write your own eulogy. “Begin with the end in mind,” Steven instructs us: What traits would you want others to say about you after you’ve passed away?
Another approach is to review the list below of 12 areas of life that psychologists have identified as the ones people tend to value most.
Then, choose the three areas that are most important to you right now.
Jane writes: “Imagine that you have twenty-seven hours a day, instead of twenty-four like everyone else. Which three of these twelve life domains would you pour those extra hours into?”
- Marriage, romantic partnership, or intimate relations
- Parenting
- Family (other than parenting or romantic partnership)
- Friends and social life
- Work and career
- Education, training, learning
- Recreation and fun
- Spirituality, religion
- Community life (clubs, organizations, activism, volunteering)
- Physical self-care (diet, exercise, sleep)
- The environment, caring for the planet
- Aesthetics (art, music, writing, reading, media, beauty)
The three areas you focus on become your first three values.
With your values identified, it’s time to bring them to life through action by designing your first quest.
Begin by selecting one of your most important values.
Then, Jane recommends you answer this question: “What is the smallest, easiest, simplest action you could take in the next twenty-four hours that would give you a chance to live by this value?
“Think of something so easy, so tiny, that you have no excuse not to do it,” she suggests. “The simpler it is, the better. If it only takes five minutes, or even a single minute, to do it, that’s not only fine—that’s perfect!”
Jane then shares actual examples from SuperBetter players:
- My value: “Always show my family how much I love and cherish them.”
- My quest: “Leave a surprise note under my daughter’s pillow.”
- My value: “Never stop learning.”
- My quest: “Write a post on Facebook asking people to share a link to an article or video that could teach me something interesting.”
- My value: “Be true to my faith and honor God.”
- My quest: “Pray for one minute.”
- My value: “Be a good athlete and always challenge myself physically.”
- My quest: “Instead of my normal five-mile run tomorrow, I’ll run one mile as fast as I can.”
Creating a quest that is aligned with your values is incredibly powerful.
“Values are here and now: in any moment you can choose to act on them or neglect them,” says Dr. Russ Harris. “Even if you’ve totally neglected a core value for years or decades, in this moment right now you can act on it.”
Nor does your quest need to be something brand new.
“Defining it as a quest,” Jane writes, “even if it’s something you do anyway, makes you more aware of the positive actions you take that help you live a life truer to your dreams and full of purpose.”
One key: Complete the quest in the next twenty-four hours.
“The key to good quest design,” she says, “is to make sure you feel capable and optimistic on your quest, with whatever strength, skills, and resources you already have. Quests are all about setting yourself up for success. . .
“They aren’t wild dreams or pie-in-the-sky ambitions,” Jane notes. “They are the simple stepping-stones to a better life.”
More tomorrow!
_______________________
Reflection: Are my daily actions aligned with the values that matter most to me—or am I drifting toward what is merely urgent or expected?
Action: Choose one core value and create one tiny quest you can complete in the next twenty-four hours that reflects that value.
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