It’s fall.

It is that time of the year where it gets darker every day until the Winter Solstice. I feel it coming every August, despite the Texas heat. Just the word August evokes that feeling in me that says “Fall is on the way and it’s the dark time again.” And For me this is a period of more introspection. In the past it’s always been a thing of thinking about my current situation and things that have happened within the year. But now there has been a shift. I am working on who I am on the inside. It is something that has puzzled me for years. People always talk about their “values” but what does that really mean? I did not realize you can shift those. That you can change them to better suit what you want to accomplish. This is really the key if you ask me.

I believe that who you are on the inside will reflect on the outside.

That in order to change the outside, you must first change on the inside. Because all your decisions are value-based whether you see it that way or not, you should sit down and see exactly what it is that you value. I took a deep look, and didn’t like everything I saw there so it starts on the inside. It starts with a value shift. If you don’t know exactly what you value, look where you are spending your time, and there you will find what you value. To be honest and blunt, I was placing value on things that don’t matter instead of the things that do, like relationships. For me it was a matter of writing down three core things that are the most important to me and every day I meditate on them.

I call them out one by one. Within each value are goals I have set and I call those out too. I tell myself these are the things that I cherish, it helps to set the focus for the day. It reinforces my goals and pushes me towards the value. If you don’t consciously decide what you value, your unconscious will do it for you.

All decisions are based on your values.

The first place for me that needed work was my health, and it was easy to see I didn’t care for my body. You can tell yourself you value your health but if you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, do you really? Values drive us. You want to create a new habit? Change what you value. Ask yourself why you brush your teeth every day. This is a value that was ingrained a long time ago when you were little, if you are like me. You don’t have to be motivated to brush your teeth do you? No, you just do it because you…value your teeth. Do you have to psych yourself up to go brush your teeth? Get pumped up about it, find the drive to get those pearly whites polished? I daresay no. Why? It’s a value, you do it without thinking.

Your body should be the same way. If you’re like me you have spent a lot of time on diets only to find that the weight comes back. Why? It’s not a value. That first core value for me is my health. If you value your health, you will take care of yourself. You will care about how you look, and the image you show to the world. Shifting those values will cause a change inside you. Then, eating right, and exercising becomes like brushing your teeth. There is always time to brush your teeth. We always find time for what we value.

So I leave you with this question, what do you value? Give it some serious thought, and see, if like me, you don’t like everything you see.

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