This week I was tasked with discovering what my core values are. The context around this was that I needed to understand what my core values are so that I can understand how they are being violated, in the hopes that I can understand how a disagreement was created with someone else. That got me thinking: what are core values? It’s nothing I’ve ever really thought about before. Sure, I know about honesty and timeliness, but I wasn’t aware of the full suite of core values. Where do I begin?

ChatGPT, of course. I asked it what the list of common core values are for an individual. It came up with a list of 31 values.

  1. Honesty: Being truthful and transparent in words and actions
  2. Accountability: Taking responsibility for one’s actions and commitments
  3. Authenticity: Being genuine and true to oneself
  4. Fairness: Treating all people justly and equitably
  5. Curiosity: Seeking to learn and understand new things
  6. Mastery: Pursuing excellence and deep expertise
  7. Open-Mindedness: Being receptive to new ideas and perspectives
  8. Discipline: Maintaining focus and consistent effort
  9. Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others
  10. Kindness: Showing care and compassion to others
  11. Respect: Valuing the dignity and worth of all people
  12. Humility: Having a modest view of one’s importance
  13. Gratitude: Appreciating what one has and expressing thanks
  14. Ambition: Striving to accomplish significant goals
  15. Perseverance: Persisting despite obstacles and setbacks
  16. Competence: Developing and demonstrating capability
  17. Innovation: Creating novel solutions and approaches
  18. Professionalism: Maintaining high standards in work and conduct
  19. Autonomy: Having independence and self-determination
  20. Creativity: Expressing originality and imagination
  21. Simplicity: Embracing clarity and minimalism
  22. Adventure: Seeking new experiences and exploration
  23. Generosity: Giving freely of time, resources, and support
  24. Justice: Advocating for what is right and fair
  25. Community: Building and contributing to collective wellbeing
  26. Leadership: Guiding and empowering others toward shared goals
  27. Health: Prioritizing physical and mental wellbeing
  28. Peace: Cultivating inner calm and harmony
  29. Presence: Being fully engaged in the current moment
  30. Sustainability: Making choices that can be maintained long-term
  31. Stability: Creating consistent and reliable foundations

From this list I short-listed 12 of the values that spoke the most to me. With the short list I then rated each of these values on two dimensions: identity fit and whether the value is non-negotiable. Each dimension was given a score from 1 to 5.

  • The values with the highest scores were deemed Core Values. These are high identity fit and non-negotiable.
  • The values with a mid-range score were deemed Supporting Values. These are important but more flexible in trade-offs.
  • The values with a low-range score were deemed Peripheral Values. These are present but less central to your identity.

Once I scored all of my short-listed values I came up with my core values.

Core Values:

  • Accountability
  • Open-mindedness
  • Competence
  • Autonomy

Supporting Values:

  • Kindness
  • Authenticity
  • Simplicity
  • Health
  • Professionalism
  • Stability
  • Respect

Peripheral Values:

  • Fairness

The interesting thing is that the four core values I ended up with definitely sound like me. And it should. If you figure out your core values, the result should be a no-brainer for you. In addition, the supporting values also make sense, but are situation-specific so they may seem like you but sometimes you may not display them. That’s totally fine.

My theme, based on my Core Values, ended up being:

Doing things well, owning my impact, staying open and free to work in my own way.

It blends autonomy (freedom), competence (mastery), and accountability (responsibility) — a classic signature of builders, architects, and creators who thrive when trusted to execute independently but hold themselves to high standards.

I was so happy with the result and the discovery process that I created an interative HTML page that you can use to help discover your Core Values. It is located at:

https://typicalrunt.me/corevalues

Enjoy!