Know your values, Kia mōhio ki ō uara

Values are what you personally believe in and what’s important to you. They can guide how you behave and make decisions in your life. Some examples of personal values are:

• good work-life balance
• supporting my whānau and community
• looking after the whenua (land)
• engaging in my culture and traditions
• having enough money
• being in control of my own life
• challenging myself to do things outside my comfort zone
• having a positive attitude
• animal welfare
• looking after the environment.

Knowing your values is an important part of choosing a career path. It helps you figure out things like:

• what type of work you would enjoy doing
• what sort of people you would enjoy working with
• what kind of environment you would enjoy working in (for example, in an office or outdoors).

You might know straight away what your personal values are, or you might not have given it a lot of thought before now.

If you’re not sure what your values are, don’t worry – we’ve got some tips and a 'What do I value in my work' worksheet to help you figure them out.

Who are your role models?

Who are the people you look up to and admire? What is it about them you admire? Often the things we admire and rate highly in other people are the things that are important to us too, like:

• self-discipline
• confidence
• doing what feels right even if other people disagree
• getting through challenges to achieve a goal
• respecting family cultures and traditions
• supporting whānau and community.

When did you feel great about something you did?

Think about a time when you did something you felt great about, like:

• taking part in a kapa haka performance for the first time
• going to the gym when you really felt like putting your feet up and relaxing.

Often we feel good about things we’ve done because they promote our values. For example, your first kapa kapa performance may have reflected your value of doing things outside your comfort zone. Exercising when you didn’t feel like it may have reflected your value of being self-disciplined.

What motivates you?

Knowing what makes you feel motivated and enthusiastic can help you identify your values. For example, you might feel motivated when you:

• read books about a particular subject
• take part in cultural activities
• spend time with other people who have the same interests as you.

What would others say about you?

Ask your close friends, whānau and work colleagues what they would say about your values. Sometimes other people notice things about us that we’re not aware of ourselves.

Understanding your values, skills and interests can help you decide which job or career might suit you.

You can use our 'What do I value in my work?' and 'Figure out your skills' worksheets to explore these.

How to find your career path

Your values don’t have to stay the same for your whole life. They can change over time as you experience different things. Something that’s important to you now may not be as important in a few years’ time. Something that doesn’t seem at all important to you now may become very important later in your life.

It’s good to keep this in mind and review your values when you make important decisions, whether it’s about your career or something else. This will help you make decisions that fit with what matters to you at any stage in your life.