Feeling Stuck? How Learning About Your Priority Values Can Help

November 2025

Many people come to coaching because they feel stuck. They sense a need for change – perhaps in their work, relationships, lifestyle or direction – but they don’t yet know what needs to change, or how to begin.

If you’ve ever felt this way, you are absolutely not alone.

One powerful tool in getting unstuck can be taking the time to understand your priority values. These are the deeply-held principles and ways of being that feel most meaningful to you – not the ones you were taught should matter to you, but the ones that genuinely do.

Why Values Matter

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Your values act like an inner compass. When we make decisions that align with our values, life feels energising, purposeful and authentic. When we don’t, we often feel drained, resentful or off-course (even if everything looks perfectly fine from the outside).

Yet many of us go through life without ever consciously exploring our values. We inherit expectations from family, culture, school, society… and somewhere along the way, it’s easy to lose touch with what actually matters to us.

Understanding your values can give you clarity, and clarity can make big decisions easier. And importantly, decisions aligned with our values can create genuine, sustainable change.

Questions That Can Help You Discover Your Priority Values

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If you’re unsure what your real priority values are, start by asking yourself questions that bypass conditioning and go straight to your inner truth.

For example:

• What is really important to me?

Not to anyone else, just me

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• If nobody judged me, what would I choose?

Imagine releasing the pressure of expectations. What becomes possible?

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• I have one life, how do I genuinely want to live it?

How do you want to spend your time? What do you want life to feel like?

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• What would I do if I stopped caring what people think?

Often, our real desires sit just on the other side of “fear about what people might think”.

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• What actually makes me feel good, alive, fulfilled or happy?

Think of moments when you felt like the best version of yourself.

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• What’s the worst that could happen if I make this change?

And what’s the cost of not making it?

These questions help you strip away layers of “shoulds”, duties and inherited beliefs, revealing the values that truly drive you.

When You Know Your Values, Decisions Become Clearer

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Imagine you’re deciding whether to change careers, end a relationship, start a new project, move to a new place or shift your lifestyle.

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When you know your priority values (whether it’s freedom, connection, balance, creativity, contribution, growth or something else), you suddenly have a framework for decision-making.

A decision becomes less about “Is this right or wrong?” and more about:

“Does this align with who I am and what matters most to me?”

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Priority Values Bring You Back to Yourself

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When you reconnect with your values, you start making decisions from a place of authenticity instead of fear or expectation. You stop chasing what you think you should want and start choosing what genuinely supports your wellbeing, joy and purpose.

Values-based living isn’t about making perfect decisions – it’s about making aligned ones.

And alignment is where real change begins.

Ready to Explore Your Priority Values More Deeply?

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If you’re feeling stuck, uncertain or ready for a change but don’t know where to start, exploring your values with the support of a coach can be transformational. 

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Together we can uncover what truly matters to you and use that to create meaningful, grounded and confident decisions for your life going forward.