While it is absolutely true that you and I are constantly motivated to move toward pleasurable emotional states, it is also true we value some emotions more than others. For example, what are the emotional states that you value most in life? What re the emotions that you thing will give you the most pleasure? Love or success? Freedom or intimacy? adventure or security?
We call these pleasurable states that we value most moving toward values because these are the emotional states we will do the most to attain. What are some of the feelings that are most important to experience in your life on a consistent basis? when asked this question at seminars, my audiences invariably respond with words like:
- Love
- Success
- Freedom
- Intimacy
- Security
- Adventure
- Power
- Passion
- Comfort
- Health
It is certainly true that you probably value all of these emotions and that they are all important for you to feel. But would not it be fair to say that you don't value them all equally? Obviously there are some emotional states that you will do more to achieve then others. In truth, we all have a hierarchy of values. Each person who looks at this list will see some emotional states as being more important to them than others. The hierarchy is controlling the way you make decisions in each moment. Some people value comfort over passion or freedom over security or intimacy over success.
Take a moment right now and discover from this list which of these emotions you value most. Simply rewrite the list in your order of importance, with 1 being the emotional state you hold as most important, and 10 being least important. Please take a moment now and fill in the blanks in your order of importance.
