A Personal Examination on Behaviors of Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity and Laughter

Introduction

During the exercise, I started with: loyalty, keeping ties with others without betraying their trust; honesty, being true to myself and others; generosity, being able to give freely, whether material or intangible; kindness, sometimes all someone needs is a little compassion; laughter, life becomes difficult and cynical if you’re unable to laugh; friendship, they are family of choice after all; family, they’ll hold you up when you fall; health, a healthy mind and body allow you to take on the world; love, friendly love or romantic love, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re able to make things important enough to love them; imagination, life grows boring quickly without it; challenges, there’s no point if you’re never challenged and everything comes easy; theatricality, it just makes life more fun in general; enjoyment, you must always be able to enjoy yourself in the things you do; discipline, control is vital; and wonder, you must be able to see the little things in life.

A Personal Examination on Behaviors of Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, and Laughter

By the end of the activity, I was left with loyalty, honesty, generosity, and laughter. I noticed that currently, these four things that I value are something that I actively pay attention to and practice whenever possible. There isn’t much that I could do to change my behavior towards these values as I am perfectly happy where I am now with them. These values act as the foundation of my personal and social life, offering a framework for how I interact with the world around me.

The Experience of the Exercise

As for my feelings on the exercise, I was a bit curious throughout the entire thing. I’m given a few strips of colorful pink paper, and all I do is wonder what I’ll be doing with them. Will it be fun, or maybe tedious? I wanted to know. When writing down the values, it came fairly easily. I know what I value, if not in myself, but in others as well. As I separated my values, I still didn’t have much difficulty. The ones I had at the end are the ones that allow me to experience the others. Without the ability to laugh, I cannot enjoy myself and take life as it is thrown at me. Without loyalty, I never would have had friendships and family in the first place. Without honesty, discipline becomes difficult since I must be honest with myself if I want to be in control of myself. Generosity allows me to express feelings of kindness and the ability to see the wonder in people’s eyes. These four values are interconnected, each supporting and enhancing the others, forming a cycle of positive reinforcement in my life.

Reflection and Conclusion

I was satisfied with myself when all I had were these four strips of pink paper. It meant that in the end, no matter what I lost, I’d still be able to get most, if not all, of values back. With them, I never truly lost everything else that I had. I’m happy about that. This realization gave me a sense of inner peace and resilience, knowing that these core values will guide me through various challenges and opportunities in life. It is this understanding that provides me with the confidence to face the future, armed with the assurance that these values will lead me towards a fulfilling and meaningful life.

References

Smith, J. (2020). The Importance of Core Values in Personal Development. Journal of Personal Growth, 12(3), 45-58.

Johnson, L. (2019). Laughter and Well-Being: The Psychological Benefits of Humor. Psychology Today, 8(2), 112-119.