The Nerves Of The Spirit. An Article About Values

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

If one could see "values" in the architecture of Man, they would be similar to "nerves of the spirit" - force fields that connect the spirit, soul and body, determining reactions, decisions and forms. Values are the key in human life, its causal and organizing factor; the realization of values is meaningful. I would venture to say that values and the possibility of their evolution are, in fact, what defines “humanity”

What are "values"?

There are many interpretations around this concept, and mine is just one of them. Firstly, this word is just a metaphor, which everyone reveals in his own way. There is a lot of confusion regarding this concept in the Russian-speaking space, for example, an enchanting article from Wikipedia (the author is not to blame, and the truth is, everything is complicated), from which it is clear that the concept of "value" is used in several senses in different disciplines and contexts, for example, in the second article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation … For clarity, it is useful for us to separate "material values" and "spiritual values". In this article I will devote all my attention to the "spiritual", since this is the group that is of interest to us. At the same time, we will replace the word “spiritual” with the word “non-material”, since there is a lot of unnecessary pathos around “spirituality”.

It is quite obvious that what people call "values" has many layers. We need the deepest layer in which values are the essence of the states that our soul strives for (for agnostics - the psyche), making certain decisions - usually and not suspecting that he is realizing "some values there." My personal experience and the practice of my clients show that the realization of the values of this layer - let's call them "deep" - fills us with energy, gives meaning to life, "drives" professional development, provides psychological, professional, material "stability". An important point: there are no “bad” values, but there are “non-optimal” ways to implement them. There are imposed, that is, "not our" values. The phenomenon of values also lies in the fact that they "work" both inside a person, determining his decisions, and "outside" - "regulating" relations with the environment - we see and interpret the world and the actions of other people through the prism of our values. The deep values cannot be shown by the question “name your values” - our values are “dissolved” in real situations, from which they can, nevertheless, be manifested. I have favorite identifiers for these situations - money, time, conflict, energy.

Values are more valuable than money

Anton [1] wants to resign from a good position in the staff of the "fashionable" company, despite the high salaries, overseas business trips and the stability of the international company. Desire arises periodically and intensifies more and more; technically, because of a disagreement with the boss. But the reason for the disagreement is that Anton is not allowed to implement the necessary, in his opinion, changes that will bring the company to a new level of efficiency. Let's omit the struggle for influence, cockroaches in the boss's head and other important, but insignificant for us nuances (although we "pulled out" a couple more useful insights from them). The most important was the realization that the value that Anton could not realize in this company was what he called “the state of creation”.

Values are something that you do not mind your time for

"When I believe, then I do not save resources, I am uncompromising, I invest in the project entirely …". Ekaterina and I researched projects for which she spares no time. It turned out that these are the projects in which she believes. Katya received both an indicator of success and a source of energy for her personal version of project management - faith. Which means "not to start a project without faith in him and the team."

Values are what you go into conflict for

True, authenticity is a value that Dinara and I “pulled out” and confirmed by recalling several conflict situations in which this strong woman in a country with a patriarchal culture allowed herself to disagree with the owners of client companies. The second value that played a role in these situations was love - to oneself, to people. Such a value pair made it possible to be very sincere, holistic, and … convincing inside the most complex conflicts.

Values and energy

We are full of energy when we realize our values. Sometimes the lack of energy, its sudden disappearance, helps to show values. So it was with me with the book "The Meaning of Life and Its Marketing" - there are materials, it remains to collect, supplement, edit and publish for print - and there is no energy. What's the matter? It turns out that for me a book is a routine, a challenge too weak for me - and I complicate my task, making not only the book, but also the course "The meaning of life and its marketing" - real people are "more dangerous and more beautiful" distant readers). Here's another interesting point - values are a natural "motivator", so people driven by values less often use "willpower" - switching this type of motivation to more "hygienic" tasks - sports, nutrition, daily routine.

Values are what connects you with customers and simply with people

The modern world is like a "puff cake", where people are divided not so much by national or economic factor as by value - in any country you will find "like-minded" people, traveling through thousands of kilometers, but at the same time staying in the same social group.

But back to professional implementation. You can be a private entrepreneur, freelancer, employee of a large corporation - each of you has clients, internal or external. Your customers (namely, the core of your target audience) are similar to you in terms of values.

If you are an employee / employee of a corporation. The corporate culture of the company, which is 70% shaped by the values of its owners, “displaces” people with alien values, and “attracts its own” - therefore you feel uncomfortable in a culture with alien values, and joyfully in a culture whose values you share. That is, the first question that you ask yourself when agreeing to an interview in a new company for you is how will I feel in this environment? Knowing your values, you will be able to formulate counter-questions to HR, turning the interview into a two-way process - you evaluate the company, the company evaluates you.

If you are an entrepreneur / entrepreneur with your clients and partners. Everything is very connected here. Over the years of work in sales, marketing, branding, I have received confirmation of this thesis dozens of times - our beloved, regular, and recommending clients (the core of our audience) share our values. Those who do not coincide with us tend to devalue, overestimate or underestimate your product, service, service, approach. There is a direct marketing sense and logic in working with those whose worldview is similar to ours, who will adequately assess our contribution. This “pool” of clients can be separated into a “social group [2]” and named, and this understanding can be used in the construction of marketing adequate to the social group. This approach will greatly facilitate, reduce the cost and make your product and pricing policy and your communications much more effective. If only simply because you speak the same language with your “friends”. You are intuitively predictable for them (remember - values are the basis of decision-making) and therefore the index of trust in you is greater than in those who “value otherwise”. With this understanding, you can work with other groups, realizing that they have different values - and therefore a different way of life, authorities, “language”.

How to show values?

Not alone. Even a philosopher with high discipline and abstract thinking needs an interlocutor - the mind tends to "run away" from existential questions, and someone needs to bring the "fugitive" back - with lively, critical, attentive, active listening. Nowadays, the best conversationalist is a good coach. The mind runs away into metaphors, patterns, stereotypes … and often I ask “don't think, feel first, only name it later”. Sometimes I compare the magic of the manifestation of values with the process of peeling an onion - at first the husk is removed easily, then it becomes more difficult, and at the very end there are sometimes tears.

Value pairs

For greater sustainability of decision-making, I practice the manifestation of a "value pair" to the already manifested value. Above, in the example with Dinara, I easily touched on this topic. The fact is that as the personality matures, the picture of the world becomes more complex, which requires the skill of stability - that is, the ability to foresee and resolve an internal conflict within oneself, without waiting for its aggravation. That internal conflicts are inevitable is due to the complexity of human nature. Since the approach is completely non-academic, here I will only mention it, but I will not disclose it now, I will write about it over time.

How to understand that this is a value, and not something else? Indeed, values are often confused with “strategies” (in the context of our topic, strategy is HOW you realize your value), which are at another, subordinate link in the chain of cause and effect. Moreover, one and the same word may be a value for one person, and a strategy for another. For example, "order" as a value means that order is so important to a person that he cannot imagine life without it; he is annoyed, disoriented by the lack of order; he is willing to "pay" for the order with money or time. "Order" at the level of strategies means that it is nothing more than a mode of action, a style of communication, a stable scenario (no mania), or just a habit. It often happens that in the course of a person's maturation, value passes into the rank of “strategy”. The moment when you "got" to the deepest values is felt even by the body - breathing, posture, energy change.

Values and religions, values and group norms

We "start" with the values that live in our families, the immediate environment. It often turns out that these are not values at all, but behavioral habits that work until the moment they "squeeze." Sometimes the system of one's own values is "masked" by the behavioral forms adopted in a particular religion or group. If you have a religious experience, then you have probably encountered situations of conflict between expected and real states … Some open in themselves dissonance encourages to work on themselves, others - to search for more "convenient" religions, and still others - to false "humility."

Do values change over the course of life?

I'm sure they are changing. In addition, the speed of change depends on the environment that supports or prevents them from changing. About this - known to everyone from childhood, "With whom you lead, from that you will gain", and the modern "surround yourself with successful people." You can read about this very well, “tasty” and reasonably in the “Theory of Spiral Dynamics”, which describes the evolution of values within the process of personality maturation, including under the influence of the environment.

Finally

When you ask people "what state you are aiming for," the most common answer is "comfort." It is important to "push through" this obvious answer, since "comfort" is nothing more than a formulaic answer that a lazy mind throws up at us. There is no person without values, but the overwhelming majority of people (including those with higher education:)) are not aware of their values. A person with “out of date” values is more inert, less consistent in making decisions, often unable to go to a conscious conflict, looking for compromises … his life is first “comfort”, then stagnation. If you have shown (realized, named, actualized) your values, you seem to be “connected to the sky”, “in harmony with yourself” (yes, this is what this expression imposed on your teeth means), it is easier to make difficult decisions, which means quickly and consciously, consistently progress through life. A person who realizes his values knows what he wants, and therefore easily cooperates with other people. It is holistic, therefore it inspires confidence, and as a result, it is successful. It is obvious that a person who has shown his values reduces the amount of chaos in his life by an order of magnitude, and … significantly saves time. The Spanish Catholic saint Josemaría de Balanger said beautifully: "Time is money for which we must buy Eternity."

[1] Names and areas of activity have been changed to avoid recognition.

[2] Social groups are a separate topic, one of the most important for us, I will cover it later.

Author: Tatiana Zhdanova

Entrepreneur, specialist in branding, including personal branding.