“A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.”
Confuscious
“Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit, we become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.”
Aristotle
Every day, every one of us meets life situations which call for thought, opinion-making, decision-making and action. Some of our experiences are familiar, some novel, some are casual, some of extreme importance. Everything we do, every decision we make and course of action we take, are based on our consciously or unconsciously held beliefs, attitudes and values.
Values are one of the top three risk factors for anti-social behavior. The other two are beliefs and attitudes.
Values + Attitudes = Behavior
(Thinking) + (Feelings) = (Behavior)
Values are an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or state of existence is personally and socially preferable. In other words, our values are the things that are most important to us. – Honesty, money, self-respect, excitement, harmony, privacy, security, love, friendship, comfort, image, power, humor.
Values are a cognitive component of human beings that are learned as we grow from childhood to adulthood. In the end, however, what you choose to value is entirely up to you.
Attitudes are the beliefs that represent values in daily events with specific persons or objects.
Generally, your values have been influenced by:
Family
Past experience
Peers
Society (Advertisements, magazines, TV, internet, etc.)
Others (Teachers, coaches, etc.)
Knowing what’s most important to us provides a blueprint and direction in our lives.