DISCOVER
YOUR
INNER COMPASS
Workbook
IDENTIFYING & LIVING YOUR CORE VALUES
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
Hi there gorgeous!
Congratulations on taking the time to discover your Inner Compass
by identifying your core values and learning how you can use them
to live an intentional life that brings you satisfaction and happiness.
This work is really important because knowing your Inner Compass
and core values gives you incredibly valuable insights that allow you
to know more about who you truly are and give you guidance on how
you can act in alignment with your values.
Personally, doing this work allowed me to act with intention and
purpose and this played a big role in me getting out of severe
depression and self-hatred. Nowadays, I'm happier than ever and
I'm proud of who I am.
So, who am I to be talking about this stuff?
I'm Sarah, an empowerment coach and
self-love blogger who helps you to
reclaim your power by reconnecting with
who you truly are and living life on your
own terms.
I have battled severe depression and
anxiety and "won" - I'm now happier and
more fulfilled because I'm living my life
with love and intention and I'm now
passionate about helping others to do
the same.
Proud Happy Brave was started as a way to share the lessons I have
learnt along the way that have helped me to be proud of who I am,
create more happiness in my life, and be brave enough to go after
my scariest, most audacious goals!
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N | P R O U D H A P P Y B R A V E . C O M | P A G E 2
What are core values?
Core values are qualities or aspects of life that we see as being
crucial priorities or beliefs about how we want to act and behave.
They can anchor you into who you are and be your guideposts
for how you act.
How to work out your core values
1
Use the prompts in this workbook to think about what's
important to you and why
2
Reflect on your answers and use these to choose relevant core
values - listen to your gut and intuition here
3
Group and refine your list of core values into something really
meaningful to you
What core values should I have?
Your core values should be unique to
you, so there aren't any "must-have"
core values you need. Let yourself feel
what core values are meaningful to you
rather than trying to reason it out too
much.
For me, I know I've hit on a core value
when the thought of acting in alignment
with that value makes my soul "sing".
For example, when I'm kind to others, it
gives me a sense of rightness at my
core.
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 3
Examples of Core Values
If needed, use the following examples of core values as inspiration for
your own - but don't be limited by these, feel free to create your own!
fairness
faith
family
financial security
forgiveness
freedom
friends
fulfilment
fun
gratitude
growth
happiness
hard work
harmony
health
history
hope
honesty
humility
humour
independence
individuality
inclusion
influence
innovation
insight
integrity
intelligence
joy
kindness
knowledge
lifestyle
leadership
love
loyalty
making a difference
marriage
open-minded
optimism
acceptance
achievement
adventure
altruism
ambition
authenticity
authority
balance
beauty
being the best
belonging
bravery
calm
caring
challenge
charity
comfort
communication
commitment
compassion
confidence
cooperation
control
creativity
dependability
dignity
discipline
duty
education
efficiency
empowerment
encouragement
energy
engagement
enthusiasm
environmental
equality
ethical
expertise
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
order
originality
organised
passion
patience
patriotism
peace
positivity
power
practicality
progress
quiet
realistic
reliability
religion
resilience
respect
security
self-expression
self-reliance
simplicity
spirituality
spontaneity
stability
strength
success
support
sustainability
teamwork
tradition
travel
trust
truth
uniqueness
unity
vision
warmth
wealth
wisdom
|
PAGE 4
Questions to ask yourself
Q1. What areas of my life do I value most?
Q2. What qualities do I value in myself and others?
Q3. What makes me feel fulfilled and satisfied in life?
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 5
Questions to ask yourself
Q4. What decisions have I made that I am most proud of?
Q5. What news stories make me really happy? Which ones make me
really angry or sad? Why is this?
Here are some links to platforms that share good news stories:
The Happy Newspaper
Good News Movement
Good News Dog
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 6
Questions to ask yourself
Q6. How do I want to feel in my day-to-day life? (It might help to
think about different aspects of your life, eg. how do you want to feel
in your body, your relationships, your career, at home etc...)
Use these prompts to help uncover desirable feelings you want to
embody.
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 7
Group & Refine
Reflect on your answers and find common threads. What elements
of your answers felt really important to you? Are there values that
overlap or can be grouped together? Note your groupings below.
Try to come up with no more than 5 groups.
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 8
Choose your Core Values
Now that you have your groupings, choose an "umbrella" value or
term for each group that feels like it represents what that group
means to you. Eg. The value "wellbeing" could encompass physical
health, mental health, being resilient, good relationships, fun,
creativity, mindfulness, positivity, wealth etc...
Note: Don't worry about getting this 100% right! Your core values are
fluid and can be changed as needed so don't get caught in
overthinking here. Pick something that feels aligned and empowering
then run with it!
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 9
Living your Core Values
The next step is to think about what living your core values looks like for
you. To help you do this, think about behaviours and actions that are
in alignment with that value (aka supportive behaviours) as well as
those that don't align (unsupportive behaviours).
Doing this exercise gives you a framework for living your life
intentionally using your core values. Thinking about this now means
that when you are right in the middle of a situation where you need to
make a choice about how to act, you have this framework to guide you
in making an aligned, values-based decision.
This might not always save you from acting out of alignment, (for
example, if you're dead tired after a long day's work and you can't be
bothered working out even if good health is one of your top core
values!) but it does help most of the time.
Here's an example of how to do this exercise, straight from my own
journal...
Core Value: Kindness - for me, this is about always treating others
with respect, no matter who they are.
Supportive behaviours:
1. Being open-minded and non-judgmental
2. Being mindful of how my words and actions impact others
3. Using kind words and thoughtful actions with others
4. Speaking up when someone is being cruel/mean to others
5. Disengaging with people who aren't being kind to me or others
Unsupportive behaviours:
1. Being inconsiderate of others
2. Mindlessly imposing my desires or judgments onto others
3. Speaking rudely to others
4. Giving unhelpful feedback just because I want to rant
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 10
1. My Core Value:
What does this value mean to me?
Supportive behaviours include:
Unsupportive behaviours include:
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 11
2. My Core Value:
What does this value mean to me?
Supportive behaviours include:
Unsupportive behaviours include:
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 12
3. My Core Value:
What does this value mean to me?
Supportive behaviours include:
Unsupportive behaviours include:
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 13
4. My Core Value:
What does this value mean to me?
Supportive behaviours include:
Unsupportive behaviours include:
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
| PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 14
5. My Core Value:
What does this value mean to me?
Supportive behaviours include:
Unsupportive behaviours include:
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
| PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 15
My Top Core Values
1
2
3
4
5
Keep your core values top of
mind...
Here are some ideas of how to keep your core values top of mind
so that you remember what they are and how to act in alignment
with them!
1
Use the template on page 16 to list out your top values & stick it
somewhere you see regularly
2
Tag your answers in your journal and then look over your
values during your morning routine
3
Set up reminders on your phone to prompt you to think about
your values throughout the day
What's next?
Well done on working out your core values and creating a
framework for living in alignment with them! I really hope you
find this process as impactful as I have and that you feel
incredibly proud of yourself as you start to live your life with more
intention and purpose!
I'd love to know how you get on - send me an email at
hello@proudhappybrave.com or message via my social media
channels by clicking the icons below.
Much love,
Sarah xo
©️ S A R A H M C L E A N
|
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM
|
PAGE 17
C o p y r i g h t ©️ 2 0 2 3
Sarah McLean of Proud Happy Brave
All rights reserved. This workbook and related
trainings or any portion thereof may not be
reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the
publisher except for the use of brief quotations
in a review.
We acknowledge and deeply respect the
traditional custodians of the land we operate
our business on, the Gundungurra people. We
are grateful for the privilege of living and
working on your land every day. We
acknowledge and pay our respects to elders,
those who have come before us, are with us
today, and those who lead into the future.
Proud Happy Brave
PO Box 225
Marulan NSW 2579
AUSTRALIA
PROUDHAPPYBRAVE.COM