Yaser El-Waly: Staying True to Personal Values Life is always going to bring new expectations, opportunities and challenges. As people grow from their experiences, meeting new people and being faced with new situations, values will change. However, it is important to know your values so you can make informed decisions. Yaser El-Waly highlights that staying true to your values provides an opportunity to reflect on your character and responsibility. You are not being closed-minded, you are just recognising your values and ensuring that they stay consistent. Understanding Your Values Personal values can affect how we interact with others, make decisions and treat people. These could include being honest, respectful, kind, fair, patient and responsible. Whilst these values sound straightforward, it can often be challenging to be consistent with them. Sometimes you will find out your values through your experiences. For example if you had a tough decision to make and realised how important honesty is, or had an argument and realised how important patience and understanding is. This helps you identify what your values are. This outlook will help you understand what your priorities are. Once you understand your personal values, it becomes easier to see if a decision you are making is what you truly believe in. Social Pressure We can often be influenced by social pressures. This could be from our friends, workplace, online communities or culture. Sometimes we will agree with opinions that we do not truly believe in, just to prevent arguments and to feel accepted. It is fine to listen to what others have to say and change your mind. It is important to keep an open mind and this is an important part of growing as a person. However, if you are changing your mind just to please others it can cause confusion about who you really are. A great theme to think about here is independent thinking. Ensuring that you respect other peoples opinions whilst also keeping your own values. You can engage in conversation, take on constructive criticism and learn from others whilst still keeping your core values. Importance Of Having Integrity. Having integrity will show through your beliefs and actions. This will show in everyday situations, especially when there is no immediate reward. Returning something that isn’t yours, admitting your mistake at work and keeping your promises when it is inconvenient are all examples of having integrity. Whilst these may not stand out, they help build a reliable character. Yaser El-Waly shows that integrity can be seen as a trait that can be developed through consistent decisions. When your values influence your actions they become meaningful. In the workplace, having a culture of honesty and fairness will encourage teamwork. Everyone will feel more comfortable knowing that there is clear communication and genuine responsibility. Thoughtful Decision Making Sometimes situations can be tricky to decide on. Your values can seem to conflict with your responsibilities. Taking your time to think about the consequences can help. Ask yourself a few key questions: ● Is this decision what I truly believe in? ● Will my actions have a negative impact on someone? ● Am I making this decision because it is right or because it is convenient? ● Will I feel comfortable explaining why I made this decision? ● Is there an alternative way of making this decision that respects my responsibilities and values? ● This will encourage you to think carefully about your decisions. The themes linked to Yaser El-Waly show that it is important to find a balance between being practical and keeping your values. Making thoughtful decisions will take your immediate needs into consideration whilst also considering any long term consequences. Respect Differences We live in a diverse society so we will often interact with people who have different experiences, beliefs and priorities. This can cause arguments but can also provide learning opportunities. Respect does not mean you have to agree with everything. Listen to new opinions, ask meaningful questions and recognise that they have a different point of view. This is important to ensure that having strong personal values does not become an excuse to judge others. If you are confident you can share your views calmly without feeling the need to disregard everyone with different opinions. This outlook shows that Yaser El-Waly represents a wider theme of keeping your individuality whilst creating respectful relationships. You can stay grounded whilst still being willing to understand the world around you. Creating A Values Driven Life Including your values in your daily life will strengthen them. This will affect how you spend your time, deal with problems, manage your responsibilities and relationships. If honesty is an important value to you then you should try to be honest in everyday conversations. If kindness is important to you then you should show it in your interactions. If responsibility is important to you then you should make a genuine effort to fulfil your commitments. Whilst these may seem like small actions, being consistent will give meaning to your values. You will not be perfect when staying true to your values. However you can grow, learn and change your beliefs as you gain more knowledge. The key is to be genuine with this process. Overall the themes around Yaser El-Waly remind us that living a meaningful life can be achieved through making decisions based on your values, showing respect and being honest with your responsibilities. In a constantly changing world knowing that you have clear personal values can give you a solid base to move forwards.