My Personal Core Values: Performance Task

Introduction

Roy Disney once said, “It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are”. Values show us what is important in our lives and how we perceive the world around us. There are many different values out there and while we may have similar ones, we all have a personal perspective of how we view them. A few of the most important values I hold are honesty, caring, learning, excellence, and family. As a military member I constantly compare or contrast and align my values with the Air Force core values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do.

Air Force core values

My first personal value is honesty. At a very young age I was taught that a person is nothing without their word. In other words, without being honest what you say will not carry any weight with those around you. I believe you can have honesty without integrity, but you cannot have integrity without honesty. Honesty differs from integrity in that you can do something wrong but admit your wrongdoing and be honest and truthful. Although with having integrity you have a moral or ethical view that holds you to be honest. I personally can align honesty and integrity by ensuring I always hold myself to high standard of integrity as well honest again since you cannot have integrity without honesty. They are similar in that the bases of both is truthfulness. I believe being able to hone and apply both aspects of truthfulness can and will take anyone far in any avenue of life they seek.

My next Value is Caring; which entails not just caring for others but caring for oneself. Once someone sees you are genuinely interested in their well-being, they are more compelled to help you and care about you. At the same time, we all must understand that not one person will care and be more affected by your own state of being than you. It is important we continue to build ourselves, so we have the opportunity and energy to take care of those around us. Our core value service before self can be interpreted in many ways. I read it as we should put the mission before certain aspects of our personal lives. This is not to say that the mission is important than those around us or ourselves but that the wellbeing of the people is part of the mission. We must care for the people who in turn accomplish the mission.

Learning is another one of my personal values. This has not always been a big part of my life, shortly after entering high school I read a quote by Michelangelo, “Ancora Imparo” which translates to I am still learning, that instilled a new drive to learn. As stated above the Air Force core value of service before self can mean to care for those around us. When learning sometimes we do need to put our needs before other things or put your self before service. To me this has been an important aspect because in order to lead effectively, care about and teach those around me I must first learn myself.

In contrast excellence in all we do is an Air Force core value that works hand in hand with learning. In that while we learn we must put forth all our effort and be excellent in what we are doing. Balancing the aspects of service before self and learning is an obstacle that will always exists. We must acknowledge this in order to become the most effective leader we can be.

Another personal value I hold dear to me is excellence. This has been driven to into me since the day I could walk by my father. He would tell me if you put time into doing something you have to do your best and strive to be the best. When I made the decision to join the Air Force, I took to the core value of excellence in all we do for the fact that my father told me this consistently. When looking at the value of excellence and the Air Force core value of excellence in all we do they are interchangeable and stand for the same thing. The ability to bring excellence to what you do every day if very difficult due other influences. For me I strive to instill the same energy and drive, to push those influences aside, in those around me so we can all be the best we can be.

Arguably the most important value to me is family. The support we receive from our family is an indispensable aspect of our lives that can drive us to overcome any obstacle place on our path. I have been able to push past many personal barriers, such as my shyness, through the family I have made over the years. Far too many people believe family is only those who share the same blood line we do. I learned at a young age this is not true. Sometimes those who do not share that linage with us are more family members than those who do.

The family I have made, through my short time in the military, so far has me excited to push forward and strengthen the bond we all share as Airman. Integrity means to be honest now while some family may not always have integrity, true family always will in order to keep you on the path of righteousness. Just like the Air Force core value of service before self, sometimes you need to put your family’s needs before your own personal aspirations. In terms of teaching your family, both older and younger, we must always remember to always teach to the best of our ability. As stated previously if we are going to do anything in life, we must strive to be excellence as we do with our Air Force core value of excellence in all we do.

Conclusion

As Mr. Disney stated our values have an important aspect in our decision-making process. The values of honesty, caring, learning, excellence, and family shape my perspective of the world around me. Although my personal values may not always align with those of the Air Force, I must strive to find a balance in order to take care of those around me and the mission.

Works Cited

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