2021 Values

Values §

I have found that choosing a set of values makes me a happier and more engaged participant in life. In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, values are directions. In contrast, goals are endpoints. Values are chosen by your own will (regardless of whether your will is free or not), and there are no “correct” values.

Personal Value Definitions §

• Balance: For me, balance is the driver for all other values. Each life situation has a balance point. Balance points can be moving targets, and may even be “extreme.” Acting in accordance to this value means leaving your comfort zone to tackle life situations, yet not behaving too recklessly. I view it from a physics perspective as exploring phase space, from a machine learning perspective as exploring the loss landscape, and from an optimization perspective as explore-exploit.

• Action: Just do it. Avoid decision paralysis.

• Focus: This refers to both short-term and long-term focus. Short term being avoiding distractions and multitasking, long term being organization and continually returning to a subject as often as necessary to finish.

• Completion: This ties into focus. Finishing projects even if they aren’t perfect.

• Connection: Being more social. Spending time with friends and family. Learning about and caring for others.

• Truth: truth-seeking. Trying to make your subjective beliefs as close to objective as possible, if an objective truth exists.

2021 §

Top 5 Values §

1. Balance

   This is a guiding principle for how I approach life.

2. Action

   My default tendency is to overthink things (although I’ve made progress in 2020).

   Related values: Courage, Boldness

3. Focus

   I tend to start too many new endeavors and get distracted.

   Related values: Patience, Deep Work, Conscientiousness

4. Completion

   I used to be rather perfectionistic, but made large strides in 2020 regarding finishing things. I would like to keep it up for 2021.

5. Connection

   I’d like to express how much I value my friends and family.

Commentary §

This year I moved Truth off the top 5. It’s still one of my values, just bumped off by Connection. I appreciate my friends and family, and would like to work on further expressing this appreciation. I’d like to remember more birthdays, greet people more often, have deeper conversations, and learn more about others.

Outside the top 5, I’ve moved Openness up in priority. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found myself leaning towards the exploit side of explore-exploit. This is great considering historically I’ve leaned too far the other direction, but I need to remind myself to keep exploring and trying new things.

2020 §

Top 5 Values §

1. Balance

2. Action

3. Truth

   I value clear and rational thinking.

   Related values: Accuracy, Correctness

4. Focus

5. Completion

Reflection §

I feel fairly satisfied with the way I handled 2020. I completed a lot of projects, such as this website and various work projects. Short-term focus was ok, but long-term focus was all over the place. I started several books and textbooks but didn’t finish them. Early and late in the year, I took action and approached situations with balance. Mid-year seemed a little more ambiguous. Staying indoors and seeing the same environments so often, it felt like 2020 flew by. Despite the pandemic, I’m happy to say that, for the most part, I lived according to my values.