Free interactive worksheet
Sort Your Compass Values
In this exercise, you'll identify your current personal compass values.
Compass values are the ones we find most important and point the direction for how we want to live. While nearly all values can sound appealing, your true values are the ones you prioritize when life forces you to make a choice. They're the things you do and prioritize even if nobody is watching.
First, go through the list of 50+ values and do a quick rating of each, adding your own if needed. The strongest you'll then reflect on to see how they show up in your life. And the final steps will then have you narrow it down and order into your top five. This exercise takes about 10 minutes.
Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere. Your answers live in the browser tab and disappear when you close it. Print them or save as a PDF to keep.
Sort Your Compass Values
Step 1 — Sort the values
Go down the list and ask: How strongly does this value resonate with you?
Acceptance
To be open to myself, others, and life as they are.
Adventure
To seek, create, or explore novel and stimulating experiences.
Authenticity
To be genuine and true to who I am.
Autonomy
To make my own choices and steer my own life.
Beauty
To appreciate, create, and care for beauty around me.
Challenge
To stretch myself so I can grow, learn, and improve.
Citizenship
To participate responsibly in the communities I belong to.
Compassion
To act with kindness toward those who are suffering.
Connection
To be fully present and engaged with others.
Courage
To act bravely and persist in the face of fear or difficulty.
Craftsmanship
To practice my skills carefully and take pride in the work.
Creativity
To make and express things in ways that are my own.
Curiosity
To explore, ask questions, and stay interested in learning.
Encouragement
To support and reinforce behavior I value in myself and others.
Equality
To treat others as equal to myself, and myself as equal to others.
Excellence
To pursue high standards and do work I can stand behind.
Fitness
To care for my physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Flexibility
To adjust thoughtfully when circumstances change.
Forgiveness
To release resentment and make room for repair.
Fun
To seek, create, and enjoy playful, lighthearted experiences.
Generosity
To share freely and give to myself and others.
Gratitude
To appreciate the good in myself, others, and life.
Honesty
To be truthful and sincere with myself and others.
Humor
To notice and appreciate the funny side of life.
Impact
To make a meaningful difference through what I do.
Intimacy
To open up and share myself in close relationships.
Justice
To uphold what is right, fair, and humane.
Kindness
To be warm, considerate, and caring toward myself and others.
Leadership
To guide, organize, and positively influence others.
Love
To act lovingly and affectionately toward myself and others.
Loyalty
To be faithful, reliable, and steadfast in my relationships.
Mindfulness
To be present, open, and aware of my here-and-now experience.
Nourishment
To sustain myself with food, care, and what helps me thrive.
Nurturing
To care for growth, safety, and wellbeing in my family.
Open-mindedness
To consider other perspectives and weigh evidence fairly.
Patience
To wait calmly and respond thoughtfully when things take time.
Pleasure
To create and enjoy experiences that feel good.
Presence
To show up reliably and be emotionally available for my family.
Purpose
To connect my actions to meaning and what matters most.
Resilience
To recover, adapt, and continue through setbacks.
Respect
To show consideration, positive regard, and care for boundaries.
Responsibility
To be accountable for my commitments and actions.
Rest
To make space for sleep, recovery, and renewal.
Safety
To protect the wellbeing and security of myself and others.
Self-awareness
To notice my thoughts, feelings, choices, and patterns.
Self-care
To look after my wellbeing and make sure my needs are met.
Self-control
To act in line with my values and ideals.
Service
To help, contribute, and make a positive difference.
Simplicity
To keep life uncluttered and give my attention to what matters.
Spirituality
To connect with something larger than myself.
Support
To help, encourage, and be available to family members.
Sustainability
To care for the environment and use shared resources responsibly.
Tradition
To honor meaningful rituals, heritage, and continuity.
Wisdom
To apply good judgment from reflection, learning, and experience.
Wonder
To stay open to awe, mystery, and what is bigger than me.
Add your own
Looking for a value not on the list? Add it here.
Step 2 — The evidence test
Step 2 opens once you select "Strongly" for any value.
In this step, you'll narrow down your list of values down to 5 or less by reflecting on how each value shows up in your life.
With each, try to remember a specific moment in the last month when you put that value into practice. You may optionally write it down in the provided text area.
If nothing comes to mind, tap the "Remove" button.
These values could be aspirational values we admire in others or ones we want to get back to. While you may remove them from your list for now, you can always pick them up again.
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Acceptance
To be open to myself, others, and life as they are.
-
Adventure
To seek, create, or explore novel and stimulating experiences.
-
Authenticity
To be genuine and true to who I am.
-
Autonomy
To make my own choices and steer my own life.
-
Beauty
To appreciate, create, and care for beauty around me.
-
Challenge
To stretch myself so I can grow, learn, and improve.
-
Citizenship
To participate responsibly in the communities I belong to.
-
Compassion
To act with kindness toward those who are suffering.
-
Connection
To be fully present and engaged with others.
-
Courage
To act bravely and persist in the face of fear or difficulty.
-
Craftsmanship
To practice my skills carefully and take pride in the work.
-
Creativity
To make and express things in ways that are my own.
-
Curiosity
To explore, ask questions, and stay interested in learning.
-
Encouragement
To support and reinforce behavior I value in myself and others.
-
Equality
To treat others as equal to myself, and myself as equal to others.
-
Excellence
To pursue high standards and do work I can stand behind.
-
Fitness
To care for my physical and mental health and wellbeing.
-
Flexibility
To adjust thoughtfully when circumstances change.
-
Forgiveness
To release resentment and make room for repair.
-
Fun
To seek, create, and enjoy playful, lighthearted experiences.
-
Generosity
To share freely and give to myself and others.
-
Gratitude
To appreciate the good in myself, others, and life.
-
Honesty
To be truthful and sincere with myself and others.
-
Humor
To notice and appreciate the funny side of life.
-
Impact
To make a meaningful difference through what I do.
-
Intimacy
To open up and share myself in close relationships.
-
Justice
To uphold what is right, fair, and humane.
-
Kindness
To be warm, considerate, and caring toward myself and others.
-
Leadership
To guide, organize, and positively influence others.
-
Love
To act lovingly and affectionately toward myself and others.
-
Loyalty
To be faithful, reliable, and steadfast in my relationships.
-
Mindfulness
To be present, open, and aware of my here-and-now experience.
-
Nourishment
To sustain myself with food, care, and what helps me thrive.
-
Nurturing
To care for growth, safety, and wellbeing in my family.
-
Open-mindedness
To consider other perspectives and weigh evidence fairly.
-
Patience
To wait calmly and respond thoughtfully when things take time.
-
Pleasure
To create and enjoy experiences that feel good.
-
Presence
To show up reliably and be emotionally available for my family.
-
Purpose
To connect my actions to meaning and what matters most.
-
Resilience
To recover, adapt, and continue through setbacks.
-
Respect
To show consideration, positive regard, and care for boundaries.
-
Responsibility
To be accountable for my commitments and actions.
-
Rest
To make space for sleep, recovery, and renewal.
-
Safety
To protect the wellbeing and security of myself and others.
-
Self-awareness
To notice my thoughts, feelings, choices, and patterns.
-
Self-care
To look after my wellbeing and make sure my needs are met.
-
Self-control
To act in line with my values and ideals.
-
Service
To help, contribute, and make a positive difference.
-
Simplicity
To keep life uncluttered and give my attention to what matters.
-
Spirituality
To connect with something larger than myself.
-
Support
To help, encourage, and be available to family members.
-
Sustainability
To care for the environment and use shared resources responsibly.
-
Tradition
To honor meaningful rituals, heritage, and continuity.
-
Wisdom
To apply good judgment from reflection, learning, and experience.
-
Wonder
To stay open to awe, mystery, and what is bigger than me.
Step 3 — Your five
Step 3 opens when 1-5 values remain after the first two steps.
The values still standing are listed alphabetically below. Tap the arrows to order them, placing the ones you'd deem most important towards the top.
For each one, name a concrete way you could embody that value. Keep it small enough to something you can act on this week.
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Your compass card
Fill in the slots above and they'll appear here, ready to print or screenshot.
Other worksheets
- The Bull's Eye Check how closely your daily actions match your values across four areas of life
- Toward and Away Moves See what actions carry you towards your values, and what carries you away
These worksheets are self-reflection exercises, not therapy or treatment. If you are experiencing a medical or mental-health emergency, contact emergency services or a crisis hotline immediately.