Struggling with identifying your personal core values? Scroll through this website that gives a few examples and explanations of the common core values instilled in our society. Be sure to hit “expand all” underneath all of the terms.
http://blink.ucsd.edu/finance/accountability/ethics/core-values.html
As Mahatma Gandhi said, "Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny." In other words what we believe comes out in our actions and our future. We must be aware of them to understand how we will fit into this world and attempt to make it a better place. During class, we discussed core values and how our values shape our philanthropy. As we talked about the readings we were assigned, I realized that I did not know what my core values were. While I felt I could decipher right and wrong, therefore knowing that it is right to help others, I was unsure how I was supposed to recognize and identify my core values specifically. It seemed like quite a daunting task to label my values, and I was embarrassed to admit that I could not easily come up with my core values. I was asking myself, how am I supposed to develop and act on my values when I cannot even identify them?
Core values are the guiding principles that help us determine what is right and wrong. They help us decide what is important to us, and before we can apply our core values to the our philanthropy we must know how they apply to us and why those specific values are important to us. It took time for me to come up with only three ideas that seem to reflect my feelings and beliefs about the world. After many Google searches and YouTube videos, recognizing my core values became easier. I finally asked myself, what is important to me when I think of human to human relationships? I came up with three words, and defined them in my own words, explained to myself why I felt this way and what situations made me feel this way. What I came up with was not surprising, because they made sense with feelings that I have expressed about issues in the past.
My three most important core values I identified, although I am unsure how I will instill them into my philanthropy, are fairness, justice, and community. For fairness, I want people to be able to have an equal opportunity to succeed no matter where, or who they born to. Vulnerable populations include but are not limited to children, uneducated adults, single parents, pregnant women, mentally or physically disabled, the elderly. While everyone is entitled to equal opportunity, it is also of the utmost importance to take responsibility for their own actions despite the possible outcomes. The idea of justice and responsibility connect with idea of fairness because if justice and responsibility are followed then true fairness can occur. We must not be selfish, and be willing to help others. As the un-vulnerable populations, we must be able to accept the responsibility of ensuring that the vulnerable populations are treated equally. Following that personal core value, I will be able to apply that to my philanthropy efforts and be able to determine what my passion is as well as follow my core values. Also, I value community, because without this I would not be able to grow as person. What I am able and willing to do in my community reflect what I am capable of doing globally. And while I admire all the people that work and support third world countries, because the basic necessities to a decent life are so desperately needed, I also feel America faces many of the same issues here right in our own country that should be addressed and worried about just as much as all the problems in other countries. It is a tough subject that I have a hard time deciding whose lives are more important, a topic that Peter Singer brought up in his book The Life You Can Save. As a nursing student, I am hoping to use my profession to help people in my community while serving vulnerable populations. I am unsure exactly how, but I know it will happen because of the basic core values that I hold will come out in my actions.
- How did you know or come up with your core values?
- What are your core values? Why are those specific values important to you?
- Do you see yourself easily applying your core values to you future career and philanthropy?
I had the same thought process in class as you did, Meredith. When Professor Campbell asked us what our core values were, I had a hard time deciding what mine were, let alone what core values consisted of. After doing my own research as well as using the link that Meredith provided, I discovered my own core values. My own core values are respect, responsibility and caring. All of these values, I believe, pertain to my everyday life, not just my life regarding philanthropy. I strive to accomplish all 3 of those adjectives everyday. These specific values are important to me because, in my opinion, they are values that everyone should be treated with. There is no person that is better than another, and they should be given respect no matter what their stance in society, which ties into caring for one another. In addition, it is extremely important to assume responsibility of one's actions and words. As an aspiring orthodontist, I believe I can use my core values in my profession, such as taking responsibility for helping each patient as well as caring for each patient if they are to encounter hardships through their treatment. In my philanthropy, responsibility plays a key role because I am responsible for where my money goes and who it affects.
ReplyDeleteLike many other students in our class, I struggled to identify my core values and what drives me to want to be philanthropic. Like Meredith, I was embarrassed that I could not pinpoint my core values, even though actions I make everyday are guided by these ideas. However, I questioned the importance of being able to identify these values. At first it seemed meaningless to me...why should I care why I want to make the world a better place? Isn't the important thing that I have this desire, not where it stems from? After listening to the conversations that occurred, though, I decided it is at least somewhat important to be able to articulate why you want to donate, as this can help you make a better and more effective decision about how to help.
ReplyDeleteAfter looking at the website that Meredith provided, I determined that caring, respect and trustworthiness are among my core values. Obviously, anybody who is philanthropic cares to some degree about the well being of others. I want to help basically because it bothers me to see others suffer. I am entering the field of nursing mainly for this reason. Through nursing, I will be able to help eliminate suffering, even if it is only among the limited number of individuals I will have the chance to work with throughout my career. Next is respect. My parents have never tolerated their children being disrespectful. I believe they are the main reason I hold the idea of respect for others so highly. Finally, trustworthiness is important to me because I want my efforts to make a difference and, while I could act alone, I will most likely have to ask others for help in order to be most successful. Being trustworthy, loyal and honest are admirable traits. If we are able to find a nonprofit organization that displays these characteristics, I would be able to confidently donate money to them and believe that it will be used effectively to help their cause.
Overall, I believe my philanthropy is driven by my care and compassion for others. However, respect and trustworthiness also play an important role. I really appreciate this post, Meredith, as it helped me better understand my core values. I would have never thought, for example, of "trustworthiness" as a core value involved in my philanthropy, but after reading the website you suggested and thinking briefly about how each value relates to giving, it makes perfect sense that I value trustworthiness. Thanks for directing me towards this conclusion!
Much like the rest of the class, I too had some difficulty pinpointing my core values at first. The following day or two after class, I really made an attempt to figure myself and my core values out. I found that by recalling past philanthropic experiences I was able to define my personal beliefs with much clarity.
ReplyDeleteMy most fervent belief is that, like Meredith, I understand the necessity of fairness. I feel that I am quite empathetic towards other who are not in the best circumstances and who have no control over their situations. The realization that this was one of my most passionate beliefs came to me when I recounted one of the community service programs I did through my high school. The program was called Leadership Oswego County Youth, or LOCY, and the main goal was for the students to devise a service project to aid some local cause. After much debate, our class decided to assist "at-risk youth" which included kids who don't have stable homes or those who are constantly moving from foster home to foster home. Our class collected gently-used duffel bags and backpacks to distribute to kids in foster care who otherwise would have no means of carrying all of their belongings. All in all, the project was a success, as we collected well over 200 bags for our cause. Of course, the bags did not fix all of their problems but they did help alleviate some issues. The gesture showed the "at-risk youth" of Oswego County that there are lots of people out there that care.
Helping those who cannot help themselves is a cause that I can really get behind. I believe that all people deserve the same opportunities to grow and prosper and the fact that many people are born into circumstances that hinders their growth and prosperity is deeply saddening. It certainly is idealistic to try to rid the world of inequalities based on circumstance but if I could at least assist some people who are unable to help themselves, I feel like I would have accomplished a great and noble fete.