No matter how fast you travel, you’ll never reach your destination if you’re headed in the wrong direction.
careen
Note: “Move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way in a specified direction.” “An electric golf cart careened around the corner.”
ephemeral pleasure often gets in the way of lasting joy.
it’s important to know your values—they illuminate the direction in which you must travel to experience a fulfilling life.
There are at least two reasons people don’t understand their values: First, we don’t stop to question what they are, and so our values are shaped by pop culture, the media, and the influence of others. Second, we don’t understand that some values are more important than others.
Foundational Values
Note: The first type of values, according to Joshua Fields Millburn.
Every home must be built on a sturdy foundation. You can own a beautiful house, but it will sink into the ground if its foundation isn’t solid. The same is true with your values. While most people have different values overall, we tend to share similar Foundational Values:
Note: These values are as follows: 1) Health, 2) Relationships, 3) Creativity, 4) Growth, and 5) Contribution.
Structural Values
Note: The second type of values.
Once a foundation is established, a framework is erected. While every house has a framework, each home is different: some are made with steel and bolts; some are built with wood or brick; others are formed with concrete or cement. The same is true with your values. Your Structural Values make you who you are—they are your personal values.
Character: living congruently with one’s values.
Communication: clear exchange and expression of information.
Curiosity: desire to question anything.
Focus: sustained concentration on creative tasks.
Quality: better but fewer; the result of intention.
Resources: skills, time, energy, attention, and money last.
Responsibility: willingness to make things better.
Your structure is very important, second only to your foundation. As you gain experience, your Structural Values may change slightly over time, but much like your home, the structure tends to remain the same once it’s built.
After your foundation is set and your frame is in place, your home is beautified by its exterior. While this facade is not as critical as the structure itself, what’s on the surface makes your house interesting and unique and enjoyable. The same is true with your Surface Values.
As your interests change, your Surface Values may shift dramatically from month to month, year to year, decade to decade. Just as you might keep your house feeling fresh by repainting or incorporating new plants, you can keep your life feeling fresh by making sure your minor values match your current interests and desires.
If one stops adding value, it’s no longer of value, so let it go with abandon.
Note: The word abandon here is used with the following context: “Complete lack of inhibition or restraint.”
Say you’ve built a magnificent home on a solid foundation with a sturdy structure and even a beautiful facade. That’s the equivalent of living a meaningful life. Unfortunately, that’s not what usually happens. If we spend any time at all contemplating our values, we usually obsess over our Imaginary Values, which aren’t even part of our value hierarchy. Imaginary Values are merely obstacles that get in our way. They are like a fence around the home we’ve constructed; we can’t get in unless we eliminate the barrier.
We build well-decorated prison cells adorned with epherma and then complain about our self-imposed incarceration.
Note: This is supposed to be “ephemera.” Or “Things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time.”
It was Ryan Holiday who showed us that the obstacle is the way, and if I were to append his message, I’d say this: the only way to live a meaningful life is to get our Imaginary Values out of the way and then prioritize our higher-order values accordingly.
Everyone is different. My Structural Values might qualify as your Surface Values, or even your Imaginary Values—and vice versa. And that’s okay—ideal even. Our differences make life interesting.