Values Reflection

The values auction activity was surprisingly difficult to me. I tried to spread out my money in order to provide sufficient funds to everything I value highly, but this meant that I almost ended up winning nothing since other people were bidding higher. Overall, I was enlightened to learn that as with this auction, I may not be able to incorporate all these values in my occupation, meaning I had better define my highest priorities.

I was able to win Artistic Creativity towards the end of the auction due to a lack of demand. By this time, I was willing to bid high because I was desperate to win at least one of my values, even though this was not first on my list. Artistic creativity is important to me because I enjoy being able to express myself and I believe this form of expression helps to keep a person well-rounded.

Other values I bid on included Help Society and Help Others. I would have bid on Moral Fulfillment, but before I could someone else had already placed a higher bid than what I had in my budget. These things are important to me because I feel like a job's value is based on so much more than salary. Many people spend most of their time in their occupation. I want what I do with my life to have real value and purpose aside from mere wages. Because of the gratitude I have for my Savior, and for the example He set during His mortal life, I want to set a goal of helping individuals and/or society as a whole. These priorities obviously do not mean that I am a perfect person who is selfless and righteous constantly. Rather, it means that I have decided on who I want to try to be and I hope to incorporate those goals in my career.
I also bid on Public Contact because I like working with people, despite being an introvert. I think having regular contact with other people during my job will help me remain sane and feel fulfilled. I think this will affect my major because it eliminates engineering and many other scientific jobs in which most of my work would be cold calculations.

I've always loved learning, and I hope to never cease to learn. Because of this, Knowledge was one of the values I bid on. I think I would be bored if my job was too routine and never required me to keep learning new things. I place a high value on knowledge because I believe it is one of the things that makes human beings remarkable.

Finally, the last value I bid on was Security. Unlike my other values, this one I chose for purely practical reasons. This course has made me realize that this value used to be on the top of my list even though I didn't realize it. I am not a stranger to financial hardships, and I think financial security has always been a fear of mine. Many outside sources, including family, have encouraged me to choose a career with strong financial security. I include this on my list because we live in a world ruled by money and it would be unwise to be financially vulnerable. However, this is no longer top of my list.

I think it will be difficult to integrate both Security and Artistic Creativity. If I have to forgo one or the other, I will give up Artistic Creativity since I will still be able to have hobbies that meet this value.

I truly don't know how I'm going to be able to include all these values in the job and major I choose. I believe that ultimately, God will lead me in the right path. I will be shocked if I can find a job that will incorporate all these things perfectly. If I do, that will be great. But we are not put on this earth to have everything we want. I know I will have to make compromises as I choose a career, but now I have a clearer idea of what my priorities will be which, I hope, will help me make a decision.