Life skills course

Purpose and values

Find what really matters to you, and use it to choose work, friends, and a life that feels like yours.

5 parts19 lessonsAbout 7 minutes a lessonFirst 3 lessons free
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After this course you will be able to

  • Name 3-5 personal values in behavioral language grounded in life patterns
  • Trace where your values came from and separate inherited from chosen ones
  • Use values as a decision filter and run a structured alignment audit
  • Navigate values conflicts, set boundaries, and handle values evolution
  • Notice emerging purpose from consistent valued action without forcing a final answer

Myths this course clears up

Values and goals are the same thing

If you can finish it, it is a goal, not a value

You need a quiz or test to discover your values instead of looking at how you already spend your time
Finding your purpose is something you do before you start living

Purpose emerges from valued action

Once you identify your values they should never change

Values naturally shift with experience

A values-behavior gap means something is wrong with you

Gaps are neutral data about where to adjust

The ikigai Venn diagram is a Japanese concept

It is a Western invention and real ikigai is about daily meaning

Lesson plan

5 parts, 19 lessons of about 7 minutes, with a short review at the end of each part.

PART 1 Knowing What You Value

  1. 1Values Versus Goals FREE7 min
  2. 2Finding Your Values in Life Patterns FREE7 min
  3. 3Turning Values into Action and Putting Them in Order FREE7 min
  4. 4Reviewing Your Values Card REVIEW10 min

PART 2 Where Your Values Come From

  1. 5Inherited Versus Chosen Values 7 min
  2. 6Spotting Values You Absorbed from Content 7 min
  3. 7Acting on Values When Purpose Feels Unclear 7 min
  4. 8Finding Meaning Beyond Career 7 min
  5. 9Reviewing Where Your Values Come From REVIEW10 min

PART 3 Using Your Values to Decide and Check

  1. 10Using Values as a Decision Filter 7 min
  2. 11Running a Values-Alignment Audit 7 min
  3. 12Closing One Alignment Gap 7 min
  4. 13Reviewing Your Decision and Alignment Tools REVIEW10 min

PART 4 Handling Conflicts and Keeping Values Current

  1. 14Handling a Values Conflict 7 min
  2. 15Navigating Clashes and Setting Boundaries 7 min
  3. 16When Your Values Change 7 min
  4. 17Turning Your Values into Statements You Can Remember 7 min
  5. 18Letting Purpose Show Up REVIEW10 min

PART 5 Course Summary

  1. 19What You Learned About Your Values REVIEW10 min

A look inside

Read the first lesson

Values Versus Goals

7 min

A student lists "be successful" as a personal value for a class assignment. When the teacher asks what that looks like day to day, they go blank. They copied the phrase from an online list without questioning it.

What is the difference?

In ACT values clarification (a framework from behavioral psychology) a value is a desired quality of ongoing action. Think of it as a direction you keep walking in, like "north." You never arrive at north. A goal, on the other hand, is a specific destination you can reach, check off, and finish. "Walk to the lake" is a goal. "Keep heading north" is a value.

The one-sentence test: if you can finish it, it is a goal. If you can only keep doing it, it is a value.

Why the mix-up matters

Most people were never taught this distinction. So they write down goals ("get into a good university," "save enough for a flat," "run a marathon") and call them values. That feels fine until the goal is met or abandoned. Then they feel lost, because they never named the direction underneath.

When you know the value underneath a goal, two things change. First, one finished goal does not leave you empty. You still have a direction to walk in. Second, if a goal fails or becomes impossible, you can find another path toward the same value instead of giving up entirely.

How to use the test

Take any item on your list and ask: can I complete this and be done?

  • "Graduate with honors": Yes, you can finish it. It is a goal. The value underneath might be growth or dedication to learning.
  • "Keep learning new things": No finish line. It is a value.
  • "Get promoted": Finishable. Goal. The value might be contribution or mastery.

Some items sound tricky. "Stay close with good friends" feels like it has no finish line, so it is probably a value: an ongoing direction of connection. But "organise a reunion dinner" is a goal that serves that same value.

One rule to remember: Whenever you catch yourself saying "my value is to ___" and the sentence has an endpoint, pause.

Name the goal, then ask: what is the value underneath? That small step keeps your direction clear even after the goal is done.

Check your understanding

Mia writes "become a published author" as her top value. What is the best next step?

Try it yourself

Priya lists four items: (A) Get a design internship, (B) Keep learning creative skills, (C) Save for a deposit, (D) Stay close with friends who matter. Use the can-I-finish-this test.

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The first three lessons are free. About 7 minutes each.

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