In our modern, high-pressure society, we are frequently led to believe that success follows a straight path. We are presented with milestones—prestigious titles, financial rewards, and societal accolades—that define the “right” path. But here’s a truth that many fail to tell us: Success is deeply personal.
It’s not just about climbing a ladder; it’s about understanding who you are, what drives you, and how you can integrate those values into your work and life. When we operate disconnected from our core values, we may achieve the world’s definition of success, yet feel a sense of emptiness or dissatisfaction. Real success comes when your professional journey aligns seamlessly with your personal values.
If you are questioning your career direction or feeling unfulfilled despite external achievements, then perhaps it’s time to redefine success on your own terms. It’s time to explore how you can integrate your personal values with your professional goals, ensuring that your journey reflects both your ambitions and your inner truth.
Discovering Your Personal Values
Before we can talk about alignment, let’s address the foundation of this entire conversation: your values. Your values are the principles that guide your life—your North Star. These values form the blueprint of how you interact with the world, make decisions, and find meaning. But in the hustle of daily life, it’s easy to lose sight of these guiding principles.
So, how do you discover your personal values? I believe it starts with pausing, reflecting, and asking yourself some deeply personal questions.
- Reflection and Self-Awareness: Begin with your most powerful tool—self-awareness. Reflect on the moments in your life when you felt most energized, alive, and fulfilled. What were you doing? Who were you with? What values were being honored in those moments? Were you creating, connecting, leading, or serving? By revisiting these experiences, you can identify the recurring themes that signal your values.
- Acknowledge What Doesn’t Feel Right: Equally important is paying attention to moments of frustration or dissatisfaction. When did you feel discontented or uneasy in your career or life? Often, these negative emotions point directly to misalignment with your values. For example, if autonomy is a core value for you, working in a restrictive environment where you lack creative freedom will leave you feeling constrained and unmotivated.
- Use Tools for Deeper Clarity: There are tools available to help you clarify your values. For example, taking assessments like the Values in Action (VIA) survey or engaging in reflective exercises can shed light on what’s truly important to you. However, the answers don’t always come from a test—they come from introspection, asking, “What kind of impact do I want to leave behind?”
Once you have clarity on your values, the next question becomes: How do you make sure they’re at the core of your professional life?
Connecting Personal Values to Career Choices
When I work with professionals and leaders, I often hear about the disconnect between what they want internally and the path they’ve pursued externally. This misalignment can lead to burnout, dissatisfaction, and a feeling of being “stuck.” But the good news is that this disconnection is an opportunity for recalibration.
The secret to long-term fulfillment is to make intentional choices that reflect your values, not just your aspirations. Here’s how you can begin to align your career with what matters most to you:
- Assess Your Current Role: Start by taking an honest look at your current position. Does your work reflect your values? Is there space for the things that are most important to you? For instance, if you value creativity and you’re in a highly structured, rule-bound environment, you may feel boxed in. If collaboration is a core value and you work in isolation, you will feel disconnected from your purpose.
This isn’t to suggest that every role will be a perfect fit. But it’s important to recognize where your values are supported and where they are neglected. From there, you can make conscious choices about your next steps.
- Find Opportunities for Alignment: Alignment doesn’t always mean making dramatic career shifts. Sometimes, it’s about making smaller, strategic changes. For example, if you value learning, find opportunities within your current job to develop new skills or mentor others. If you value community, look for ways to engage more meaningfully with your team, or consider taking on projects that foster connection.
- Look Beyond the Job Description: One thing I always emphasize is this: Your career is more than a job description. It’s about who you are and how you show up in the world. If your current role doesn’t fully align with your values, ask yourself, “How can I bring more of myself into this work?” It might mean finding creative solutions, taking on side projects, or advocating for changes in your team’s culture.
- When Necessary, Make the Shift: Sometimes, true alignment requires a change. If you’ve done the reflection and find that your current path is in direct opposition to your values, it might be time to consider a career shift. This doesn’t mean abandoning your goals; it means moving towards a career that honors who you are at the deepest level.
I once worked with a client who had achieved tremendous success in a high-paying corporate role but felt unfulfilled. Through our sessions, we discovered that her core value was service. She eventually transitioned into social entrepreneurship—something that allowed her to use her skills for the greater good. This move not only aligned with her values but brought her a sense of meaning and purpose she had never experienced before.
Balancing Ambition with Well-Being
Ambition and well-being don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, I believe that sustainable success requires a healthy balance of both. Too often, we chase professional achievement at the expense of our health, relationships, and personal fulfillment.
This is where values come into play. When you are clear about what matters most to you, it becomes easier to set boundaries, prioritize self-care, and pursue goals that energize rather than deplete you. Here are a few principles to keep in mind:
- Set Boundaries Based on Your Values: If you value family, make sure your career choices allow you to spend quality time with your loved ones. If you value health, ensure that your work schedule accommodates time for physical well-being. Boundaries are not about limiting your growth; they are about ensuring that your growth is holistic and grounded in what matters most.
- Redefine Ambition: For many, ambition is tied to external achievements—titles, financial success, recognition. But what if ambition was about creating a life that’s aligned with your highest values? Imagine the energy you could bring to your work if it truly reflected who you are. Redefining ambition through the lens of your values not only brings fulfillment but also allows for sustained success.
- Prioritize Self-Care as a Success Strategy: In our drive to succeed, we often neglect the most important resource—ourselves. Success is not just about reaching the top; it’s about thriving along the journey. When you prioritize self-care—whether through rest, hobbies, or simply being present with loved ones—you cultivate the energy, clarity, and resilience needed for long-term success.
- Turning Challenges into Opportunities for Growth
Challenges are an inevitable part of any professional journey. However, when you are grounded in your values, challenges become opportunities for growth and self-discovery. Values give you a framework for decision-making, helping you navigate uncertainty with confidence.
- Resilience Through Alignment: When you face setbacks, your values can provide strength. If you value perseverance or integrity, those principles will guide your actions, helping you stay true to yourself, even in difficult times.
- Making Values-Based Decisions: When confronted with a tough decision, ask yourself, “What aligns with my core values?” This clarity will help you make choices that may be challenging in the short term but fulfilling in the long run. I often say, “Success is not just what you achieve; it’s how you achieve it.”
True success is not a destination; it’s a journey that reflects who you are, not just what you do. When you align your personal values with your professional growth, you create a life that is not only successful in the traditional sense but meaningful at its core.
It’s time to move beyond society’s definition of success and craft your own. Take the time to reflect on what matters to you, make intentional career choices, and embrace the version of success that resonates with your soul. That’s where fulfillment lies.
Success is, and always will be, a deeply personal experience. So let’s make it meaningful. Let’s make it yours.
Are you ready for TRANSFORMATION?
Dzigbordi Kwaku-Dosoo is a Ghanaian multi-disciplinary Business Leader, Entrepreneur,
Consultant, Certified High-Performance Coach (CHPC™) and global Speaker.
She is the Founder and CEO of The DCG Consulting Group.
She is the trusted coach to top executives, managers, teams, and entrepreneurs helping
them reach their highest level of performance through the integration of technical skills
with human (soft)skills for personal development and professional growth, a recipe for
success she has perfected over the years.
Her coaching, seminars and training has helped many organizations and individuals to
transform their image and impact, elevate their engagement and establish networks
leading to improved and inspired teams, growth and productivity.
