Personal Values

by Aaliyah Sese-Khalid

I believe that possessing good values is important. Values are important because they make up a part of me. I gained this belief from observing my parents throughout my life. My parents are very hardworking people and they work a lot so that they can support me. I’m very fortunate to have them because they continue to motivate and inspire me to work hard. I consider them to have played a big role in shaping my beliefs and values today because they taught, and continue to teach me, valuable life lessons and skills that I use today.

Occasionally, my parents would sit me down and tell me their life stories. They would use different examples to explain why possessing good values are important. My mother shared a story with me about when she was a younger woman attending college. She explained that she didn’t have anyone to financially support her so she worked many hours while attending her classes. She explained to me how the stress from overworking and her busy schedule made her get sick. When she fell ill she realized that she should value herself more by taking care of her health. So when my mother decided to take a half a year off from college and change her work hours, she was able to understand the value of dedicating time to focus on herself and her health. Through my mother’s story I was able to learn that valuing yourself and dedicating time for yourself is important. It’s good that I am able to reach my goals, but my health and my well being should come first. I always apply these lessons when I’m planning my schedules and routines. I make sure to leave some time for myself, because it allows me to have time to sort my thoughts so that I can work more efficiently and have a clearer mind while I attend school. I am also given the chance to focus on myself and grow as a person by understanding my strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, learning to manage my time and sticking to healthy routines truly showed me how important it is for my mental health.

I believe that good values start by valuing yourself. When I am able to regard myself as important, I feel that I am able to grow as a person. Though this is an obvious saying, I had to learn how to apply this to myself. During the peak of the pandemic, my mental health wasn’t so good. When I took the time to talk to my therapist she would teach me about valuing one’s self. She told me to rethink the way I would talk to myself and pay attention to the type of connotations I would use in my head. When I did this, I realized that I would put myself down subconsciously, which would take away my self confidence and motivation to do activities. When I was able to acknowledge my problems, I learned to practice being kinder and more forgiving to myself when I made mistakes. By learning to value myself more, it made me realize how important it is to be kind and have respect for myself. This allowed me to grow past my negative thoughts and acknowledge what my core values are and how they affect my personality. It also helped me to further develop positive characteristics, regain my confidence, and motivate myself to do the things that I love. I believe that maintaining a positive attitude allows me to have a positive mindset, which is important for my mental health overall.

Furthermore, I believe that it’s also important to have and maintain good values because it also defines my character and determines who I am as a person. The values that I hold for myself affect the decisions I make in my everyday life. It can determine what I want to do in my life and affects the choices I make. This is why I believe that healthy values are important.

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(Read all the pieces in This I Believe; featured image from Flickr user Christopher Morris, used under CC BY-SA 2.0)