What are values in reality?
Were you lucky enough to win a big pot of money or did your boss at work give you a bonus? What do you do? Do you save for later, for your last minute, do you go on a long-awaited trip or buy something expensive for yourself?
You promised to come to a friend’s wedding, but your daughter needs attention and help due to her bad health condition. Will you look for someone to watch the child, or will you stay home yourself?
You have plans to meet with friends in a pub, however, a pretty girl invites you to go for a walk by the sea. Will you give up spending time with your friends?
Life consists of endless dilemmas and decisions. When making important or less important decisions, we are guided by assimilated values. We may be inclined to values that differ from each other at the same time. We may not even be fully aware of which ones we prioritize.
The sooner you identify what is truly important, the more effectively your life will continue. By identifying the value hierarchy that is most relevant to you, you can easily set goals and match them with the right actions to create the life you want.
Do you realize why you make such choices and not others? Your right values influence the decisions you make. These values are an indication of what kind of person you are or want to become, how you want to live your life and what is most important to you.
Values are a reflection of our identity
Values are a fundamental component of our identity. If you prefer to tell the truth, it looks like you are characterized by honesty and sincerity. If you follow your inner voice, it means you trust your own intuition. If you don’t post photos or videos of your personal life on social media, you probably value your privacy
From the results of the World Values Survey, it appears that the values that characterize a particular individual can change over time. The main tool for such changes is communication.
This has a direct impact on building a culture that is based on equality, as well as on creating a culture of dialogue in general. This topic is relevant to media workers, speakers, and to the “ordinary person” who occasionally has a conversation with a colleague who has different views from yours.
How do values create impact? How powerful can the message be?
1. Understanding
This is of great importance. Not only because of the desire to convey information but also because of who our recipient is, what will happen to them and how eventually they will perceive our words as a result.
2. Emotions
The vast majority of decisions made by people are based on emotions. Only later do they turn to rational thinking to justify these decisions. Emotions, which have been shaped by experience and environment, act as a filter. They filter the information that reaches us and form the basis of understandable concepts of the world around us. We make decisions to cooperate with others because of the emotional background we feel when communicating with them.
3. Messages
Different messages activate different cognitive frameworks. To give an example: in a monocultural society, there are no accepted boundaries in relation to refugees. A negative message (“crisis” or “wave of refugees”) generates corresponding emotions, while a positive message (solidarity with those in need) consequently generates positive emotions, such as compassion and responsibility.
When communicating with others, try to avoid manipulative language. As a rule, impose values that we ourselves sincerely believe in. In conversations, stick to messages based on absolute truth, so you will have an extremely positive impact on the person you are talking to. The most important aspect of human interaction is respect for the recipient. We all have a certain system of values that organizes our world. We have the right to disagree with someone’s system, but not to devalue or dehumanize it.
Recommended literature:
- https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/ (World Values Survey), viewed: January 5, 2023
- Mieczysław Łobocki – “Pedagogika wobec wartości”, wyd. Kontestacje pedagogiczne, Kraków 1993, red. Bogusław Śliwerski (Pedagogy towards Values)
- Maria Misztal – “Problematyka wartości w socjologii”, wyd. Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warszawa 1980 (The Problem of Values in Sociology)
- Bogusław Mróz – “W poszukiwaniu nowych wartości. Badania hierarchii wartości u młodzieży liceum prywatnego”, wyd. Kontestacje pedagogiczne, Kraków 1993, red. Bogusław Śliwerski (Pedagogy towards Values)
Translated by: Nadia Listopadska