What I value

While I am not usually the biggest fan of these "cultural" blogs, I think this is a good one for a little self-reflection. I am supposed to write about what values are the most important to me. As I have matured, I think the values that I put emphasis on have changed considerably.

When I was younger I focused on being authentic, being a good person, having a lot of fun, and being a lot of fun. I would say, and even did say to other people, that my metric for judging other people was "if there were two of you, how much would you like yourself". And I can also say that up until I was through my second year of college, if there were two of me I don't think two other people could be better friends, and that would have been an extremely explosive insanely fun duo.

However as I have matured, one change in my perception sticks out. I have found that being accountable for my actions- for what I say, do, plan to do, and most importantly really how I am spending my time - has become a focal point in my life. Above all else, I think I really do value just being accountable for what I do.

Last December I took the CFA level one exam, and I was pretty doubtful that I had passed. However, I had never felt so calm about my performance on a test, even though I had more than ever riding on the outcome. That was just one of those times that it really clicked - I made a plan, stuck to it, and pass or fail I knew I would be proud of what I had done. I ended up passing, so thankfully I didn't have the feel the sting of failure after investing so much.

Even in my day to day life the new metric that I judge myself on is how well I stay accountable for myself. If I really start to let things slide without fail I feel bad about myself. This is actually a big part of the "growth mindset" that DBC emphasizes. Now that I have more time to focus on self-improvement, I am becoming more and more aware of things in my life that I had previously neglected (diet, exercise, even the way I speak and the garbage I watch on youtube). Holding myself accountable for the things I want to improve on is a big part of my own motivation and psyche.

To me the "real world" has just meant that I have to be responsible for myself both financially and in the overall decisions I make for my life as opposed to being provided for by my parents and having life somewhat planned out by others. After reflecting, I think perhaps the shift in my life to the "real world" drove the change in my focus towards personal accountability. Part of growing up I suppose.