On my old blog, I used to do a 10 things on the 10th post each month* for a while there, and I thought I’d resurrect it for my month of blogging. I was going to do a fairly obvious one of “10 things I am currently grateful for” but we all know what those things are; family, health, friends, love, kids etc, and I even wrote one in 2019 that had all of those things (you can read it here!) so I thought I’d go a little deeper, and share this instead. I took a little quiz, for want of a better word a little while ago on one of Brene Brown’s website links and it was a really good exercise for me to complete. The first two are my core values, and the rest are in no particular order.

10 Values I aim to live by

1. Growth and development; I didn’t realise this was a value to be honest, but it’s essential for me to always try to do better, and I surround myself with people who have this same mindset.
2. Connection and Community; this is obvious to anyone who knows me. I was lucky enough to grow up with parents who valued community and friendships and stayed connected to family (and still do). This value definitely came from them and I’m so grateful for it.
3. Vulnerability; I used to think this was one of my core values until I explored more. It’s definitely important for me to practice vulnerability in relationships, and I encourage it in my kids.
4. Authenticity; I’ve always appreciated authenticity in people, but now I find it essential in my relationships. I just don’t have time for fluff or games anymore.
5. Trust and Honesty; most people obviously strive to live by this value, but it’s more than that for me. I try to be someone who can be trusted and I do my best to be honest with myself and those around me. It’s pretty much a deal-breaker if I can’t trust someone or if they are dishonest with me.
6. Generosity; I endeavour to show generosity to those around me, and it always comes back to me in turn and in abundance.
7. Love and Kindness; well yeah, obviously. I freaking love love!!
8. Family; my family are everything to me. Everything. I am so fortunate to have the best parents and brother and sister-in-law and kids and partner and cousins and extended family any person could possibly ask for, and I am grateful for them every damn day.
9. Integrity; this could also be grouped with Authenticity in many ways. I am always impressed when I see people acting with integrity, and most of the time it’s in the most quiet and subtle ways. I suppose that’s what integrity is; quietly going about things in the right way and not expecting any recognition for it.
10. Home; my home is your home. My home feels like home, and I know that’s more than the walls and floors and roof and windows and doors. Although there’s too much stuff in my home currently, it’s always a work in progress and I love tweaking little things that make me smile.

So there you have it. I don’t always get it right, but that ties in to my growth mindset. I can always try again tomorrow.

*I’ve actually linked you to a search I did for the 10 things on the 10th blog posts. There are some good ones in there that I had completely forgotten about!