When I was pregnant with my first child, I was faced with a choice: take medicine for a bad cold and potentially harm my unborn son or not take medication but risk getting something worse than a cold.
It was a hard decision, but I decided not to because my top value was my family and I wanted my baby to be as healthy as possible. Also, I found a promising natural remedy for colds that involved a strange protocol I’d never heard of before: hot orange juice & steam baths.
Values are important in life because they not only help us make hard decisions, they influence our behavior, personality, attitude, and thoughts.
In this blog post, I will go over why values are important, what values are, how they benefit you, and how to make your own values.
Why Values Are Important
Values are important because they guide you, help you prioritize what’s most important, and influence your decisions.
When I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed to take medicine, even for painful menstrual cramps. My mom told me I should use medicine for pain as a last resort.
This “tough it out” mentality stuck with me until I started my career. When it became clear that I couldn’t deal with pain & discomfort while treating patients, I began taking over-the-counter medication.
I knew my mom wouldn’t approve, but I needed to get through any ailments as quickly as possible because it just plain sucks when you’re suffering, and I didn’t want to do it for longer than I needed to like I did as a child.
Then I became pregnant with my first child. Being a first time mom, I read about the dangers of medicine to an unborn child, including over-the-counter ones.
I stayed away from it all, even the ones that the doctors said were okay to take while pregnant. Until, that is, I caught a terrible cold.
I was faced with a dilemma because I had a history of developing bad sinus infections from the cold & flu as a child. It always felt like someone hit me between the eyes with a hammer so I couldn’t get up from bed. It was the only time my mom would let me take meds.
I started taking non-prescription meds, when I was no longer under my mom’s watchful eyes, any time I felt the hint of pain or a cold so they could be nipped in the bud before they’d get worse.
It came down to 2 choices: 1) take the OTC meds, feel better, stave off the sinus infection, and potentially harm my child or 2) not take meds, feel awful, keep my baby healthy, get a sinus infection, take stronger meds, potentially harm my child anyway.
I chose not to take the meds, even if it meant me suffering. I quickly made a promise to myself to find a way to heal naturally by scouring the internet for natural remedies.
What Values Are
Before Instagram, TikTok, and wellness influencers, Google was my only internet information source. Facebook and YouTube were fairly new at the time and didn’t have helpful content the way they do now.
After searching for hours, I found what I was looking for. I came across an article for natural home remedies. The article suggested an unconventional approach to help get rid of my cold without any medications.
It was a process that involved drinking hot orange juice and doing 15-minute steam baths several times every day until my cold disappeared.
It sounded weird but I wanted to try it because it seemed like I had no other options and my top value was my family. I wanted to do everything I could to to protect my son’s health.
This is why it’s important to know what your values are. They can help you make decisions when the going gets tough. They can also contribute to your life in other ways.
How Values Benefit You
It took two weeks for the cold to go away. By the end of the orange juice-steam bath protocol, I was so sick of drinking juice and inhaling Vicks steam that I never wanted to use it again, ever. But, I was healed. And, it was all natural.
Though the decision wasn’t easy, me and my son managed to avoid taking meds because I stuck to my values.
We need values because they guide our choices. When we know what they are and stick with them, we are generally happier because they give us a sense of fulfillment & meaning, especially if they’re eudaimonic, or serve our wellbeing.
The key to genuine happiness is in our hands. Â To think this way is to discover the essential values of kindness, brotherly love, and altruism. The more clearly we see the benefits of these values, the more we will seek to reject; anything that opposes them; in this way we will be able to bring about inner transformation. – HH the 14th Dalai Lama
How To Make Your Own Values
Values have always served as a compass for making important decisions in my life. You might be wondering how you can make your own now that you know why they’re important, what they are, and how they’re helpful.
You can use the following list for ideas:
Intrinsic or personal values
Beauty
Artistic expression
Happiness
Peace
Dignity
Value of human life
Human values
Friendly nature
Good behavior
Safety
Religious values
Piety
Faith
Devotion
Moral values
Honesty
Integrity
Loyalty
Spiritual values
Non-violence
Presence
Compassion
Political values
Patriotism
National unity
Democracy
Social values
Worry for others
Care for others
Cooperation
Educational values
Curiosity
Creativity
Open-mindedness
Aesthetic values
Elegance
Art
Music
Scientific values
Knowledge
Objectivity
Meticulousness
Or use the following journal questions to create your own:
What makes me excited? This is the reason why you get up every morning and gives you meaning and purpose in life.
Who do I look up to? This person has qualities that you want to possess or you admire.
Why did I choose my significant other? You may not always agree on everything, but there are some attributes that you share with your life partner.
Why did I choose my career? Your career choice is usually an indicator of your core values.
What would I be doing if time and money were not a factor? This could be something you’ve always dreamed of being or doing; or something that you already know about but don’t have the means right now to pursue.
When did I face adversity or a challenge? This can be something that you overcame and learned from that was difficult and challenging.
Last Thoughts On Values.
I’ll never know what would have happened if I decided to take medications while pregnant with my first son. I do know that I’m glad I stuck to my values because something better came along to help me heal naturally and keep my child safe.
Values are important in life because they help you make decisions. Not only that, they help you prioritize, give your life purpose, and contribute to your happiness & success.
More Articles On Values
If you want to take a deeper dive into values, check out this article on Universal Core Values To Live By.
Thanks for reading until the end. Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments below!
I am very happy with this article and how it was explained.
Thank you Esther. I appreciate you taking the time to read it :).