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Acceptance
Different from you does not mean less than you. You are able to accept and appreciate people who are completely different.
A Free Resource
Not sure what your core values are? Start with this list of 100, with a plain-language meaning for each one. Read through it, mark the ones that feel like you, and narrow it down to your top five. Or print the cards and sort them by hand.
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How to Use It
There are no right or wrong values. Choose what is true for you, not what you think you should choose. Your gut knows before your brain does. Trust it.
Mark every value that resonates with you. Don’t overthink it.
Your first sort. Keep the ones that feel most like you.
Cut those 20 down to your top 10.
The final round. These five are your core values.
The Full List
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Different from you does not mean less than you. You are able to accept and appreciate people who are completely different.
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You value getting things right. Precision reduces error and provides the insight needed to make the very best decisions.
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Accomplishing something noteworthy adds unique meaning to your life and fuels your motivation to keep reaching higher.
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You lead a rich life by seeking new experiences that expand your skills, your story, and your understanding of the world.
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You perform acts of kindness for the sole reason of benefiting someone else. You give freely and without keeping score.
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People feel safe coming to you. This openness is rare and powerful — it builds trust and deepens every relationship you hold.
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You know what you want. You act with clarity and purpose to pursue it without hesitation, apology, or second-guessing.
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You are true to your personality, values, and spirit regardless of pressure. You own your mistakes and your gifts equally.
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No single area of life overtakes the others. Career, family, health, and joy each deserve their fair portion of you.
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You do the right thing even when you are the only person in the room making the difficult choice. That is real courage.
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You stay relatively relaxed and think clearly in high-pressure moments. Calm is a gift you give to every room you enter.
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You tell it like it is. Many people shy from hard truths. You understand that honest clarity is a profound act of respect.
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You continually seek new ways to challenge yourself. The more you are willing to face, the richer your life becomes.
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Together is always better. Working with others, combining ideas, and building something greater than one person could alone energizes you.
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You are dependable in relationships and responsibilities. You handle conflict with maturity and build trust by following through.
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Being truly heard — and truly hearing others. You value receiving information clearly and ensuring your own thoughts are understood.
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You strive to create belonging in your surroundings and give back to the places and people that have shaped who you are.
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Rivalry sharpens you. You gain energy through healthy competition, striving to be respected and excellent in a domain you care about.
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You respect direction and agreed-upon guidelines, understanding that structure keeps teams and communities healthy.
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You remain calm in adversity. Your ability to manage your response helps others trust you and feel safe in your presence.
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Earned through action, visible through presence. Being confident helps others trust you and signals competence and quiet inner strength.
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Being true to your authentic self. What you say and do on the outside matches what you think and feel on the inside.
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Being content with enough. You value protecting what matters and do not constantly seek more resources to consume.
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You keep others in mind even when they are not present. You leave places and people better than you found them.
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Consistency creates reliability. You find reassurance in dependable patterns, and others find safety and trust in yours.
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You are committed to growing your knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis throughout every season and chapter of your life.
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Courage makes all other great qualities possible. It demonstrates confidence and the willingness to lead and serve.
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You see possibilities where others see limits. Using imagination to solve problems and generate new ideas is how you make a meaningful difference.
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Taking personal responsibility for initiating action is fulfilling to you. You act from your own conscience, not from outside pressure.
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You refuse to give up when things get hard. Every difficult situation becomes an opportunity for triumph and growth.
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You actively seek out people with varied backgrounds to broaden your perspective and enrich your understanding of humanity.
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Beyond any certificate, you value the lifelong process of learning and continuously growing in knowledge and understanding.
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You work smarter, not just harder. When energy is well-directed and people work in balance, great things flow naturally.
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You feel what others feel. That quiet power to understand another person’s experience is one of your greatest gifts.
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You strive to make things right, even when life is not fair. Fairness builds trust and restores equal dignity for all people.
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Your beliefs guide your decisions, even in seasons of deep uncertainty. You trust that things unfold as they are meant to.
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Whoever you consider family provides support and companionship. Family shapes where you live, how you celebrate, and who you become.
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A healthy body supports everything else. Movement and physical well-being form the foundation upon which a full life is built.
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You hold freedom close, both your own and others’. You advocate for it whenever and wherever you see the opportunity.
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Spending wisely is thinking about the future. You are not chasing immediate satisfaction — you are building something lasting.
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Generosity goes beyond money. You give your time, compassion, attention, and energy freely to those who genuinely need it.
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You live with unconditional love and genuine gratitude. Grace offers healing to others, and quietly, deeply, to yourself.
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Becoming more is always the point. You value the ongoing improvement of skills, knowledge, wisdom, and habits.
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You take time to genuinely understand what makes you happy, then deliberately design your life around those things.
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Telling the truth and keeping your word are the foundations of your reputation, and you guard both of them fiercely.
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Laughter is how you connect and lighten heavy loads. When used with care, humor is one of the most powerful tools for human connection.
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You see things before they exist. The ability to envision new possibilities is one of your greatest gifts.
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You believe in creating real opportunities for all people to belong, contribute, and be genuinely valued for who they are.
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Your independence makes you a creator, not a consumer. You take full ownership of your own life and your own choices.
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The alignment of your values, actions, and relationships into a life that feels coherent, meaningful, and unmistakably yours.
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Being at ease with yourself, with the people around you, and with the life you are living is a treasure you protect daily.
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You think forward. You advance the world by solving collective problems in ways that are sustainable and built to last.
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Your word is your bond. Always. In big moments and small ones, your actions and your promises are the same thing.
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Curiosity is a fire you never let go out. You value the constant yearning to learn more, not just relying on what you already know.
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You feel a personal responsibility to work toward equality and to speak up for those who are not being treated fairly.
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You live well because you want to stay longer with the people and purposes you love most.
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You find greater fulfillment from everyday things by avoiding excess. Balance in all things is a lasting superpower.
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You let your actions speak for themselves. You avoid boasting and allow your results to make the introduction.
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New ideas energize you. Status quo bores you. You are drawn to the untested and the idea that things can always improve.
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You look at facts when confronted with conflict and can set your emotions aside long enough to see the full picture clearly.
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A better argument can change your mind. You genuinely consider new ideas, even when you expect to disagree.
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You appreciate things arranged neatly, logically, and with intention. Organization is how you honor your commitments.
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You walk your own path and that is exactly right. Your unique perspective comes naturally in how you live and create.
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Whether personal or professional, two perspectives aligned toward a shared goal create something truly extraordinary.
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Enthusiasm for living life on your own terms gives you the determination and energy needed to succeed and inspire others.
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You recognize that sometimes the only thing that makes something work out in your favor is time — and you trust that fully.
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You feel genuine fellowship for your fellow citizens and do your part to make the place you live better for everyone.
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You keep going despite difficulty or delay because you know the destination is worth every step of the journey.
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You keep going regardless of how you feel. Success does not arrive without sustained effort, and effort is your identity.
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You appreciate a genuine break from hard work. Letting your mind relax with joy makes you far more effective when it counts.
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The silver lining is not naivety — it is practiced courage. You look for it in every challenge, every setback, every day.
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You stay ready. When others are caught off guard by life, your preparation becomes your greatest advantage.
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Beyond any workplace, this means being polite, dependable, and trustworthy in how you carry yourself every day.
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Being on time is a form of deep respect. You honor other people’s time as carefully as you value your own.
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You know the importance of your work and want others to recognize its value. Acknowledgment validates purposeful effort.
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Pressure does not break you. It shapes you. You adapt, and when life knocks you down, you find a way to rise, sometimes stronger than before.
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Giving and receiving respect fosters connection, safety, and trust. It is the currency of every lasting relationship.
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You value personal accountability for what matters most. That accountability builds your confidence and deepens your sense of purpose.
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You respond to others promptly and thoughtfully. This simple act is a form of deep respect that too many people have forgotten.
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Knowing when to stop is a mark of wisdom, not weakness. You honor your body and mind by allowing them to recover and renew.
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The ability to pause before acting helps you make decisions from a deeper state of awareness, wisdom, and intentionality.
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You know that meaningful rewards require courage. You are willing to face failure in sincere pursuit of something great.
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You value the state of feeling safe and free from fear, anxiety, or doubt in the areas of life that matter most to you.
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You understand why you react the way you do. You know your triggers, patterns, and emotional landscape.
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You recognize your skills are making a positive contribution, and that recognition fuels your continued growth and sense of purpose.
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You know your worth. You say no to what is emotionally, mentally, or financially unhealthy, without guilt or apology.
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You find deep fulfillment in sharing your talents with others in ways that benefit their lives, expecting nothing in return.
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You prefer the straightforward path. Clarity and ease are not signs of laziness — they are genuine expressions of wisdom.
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You say what you mean. You avoid performing for others and remain genuinely authentic in every interaction.
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You know when to speak and when to simply listen. Embracing silence is one of the rarest and deepest strengths a person can have.
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Order and discipline give you freedom to focus. A clear framework helps you stay grounded, consistent, and effective in all you do.
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You protect the earth for future generations, understanding that how we treat the planet reflects deeply who we are as people.
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You develop your gifts over time with a growth mindset, knowing that your abilities deserve to be fully realized and used.
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You hold a genuinely positive view toward people who differ from you — real and active appreciation, not mere tolerance.
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You find enrichment in ritualizing meaningful history and passing that legacy forward with love to the next generation.
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A top priority is expressing yourself in a mutually trusting environment where integrity is shared and honored.
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Everyone on your team is respected. Unity breeds cooperation, enthusiasm, and an atmosphere where all can genuinely thrive.
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You adapt easily to many different functions, environments, and challenges. Flexibility is your strength in a changing world.
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Whether to provide for family or create freedom, this value is purposeful and forward-thinking, not selfish.
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Knowledge tested by time and shaped by experience. You reflect on what you have lived and draw truth that genuinely lasts.
Print the full deck and sort it at the kitchen table. Choose the format that fits how you want to print.
Card descriptions developed by Denise Cole with AI assistance. Values card sorting is a widely used exercise. Free to print and share.
Questions
Core values are the principles that matter most to you. They are foundational: they shape your decisions, your relationships, and how you spend your time.
This process narrows the list to five. Five is enough to guide your decisions and few enough to remember.
Read through the list and mark every value that feels like you. Then narrow those to about 20, then your top 10, then your final five. Trust your first reaction and don’t overthink it.
No. There are no right or wrong values. Choose what is true for you, not what you think you should choose.
Yes. A list of 100 is a starting point. If a word that matters to you is missing, write it on a blank card and include it in your sort.
Yes. There are resources for teachers and counselors and six-week courses for homeschool families and co-ops. See the links below.
What’s Next
Print the cards, try the free app, or read the story of how one card sort changed everything.
Teaching others? See the resources for teachers and counselors or the homeschool courses. Want updates? Get new resources by email.