Personal values list

Agency

Authority

Holding responsibility and recognized decision-making power.

Autonomy

Directing your life according to your own judgment.

Challenge

Taking on demands that stretch your abilities.

Choice

Having meaningful alternatives available when deciding what to do.

Courage

Acting on what matters despite fear or discomfort.

Decisiveness

Committing to a considered choice without unnecessary delay.

Fame

Being widely known beyond your immediate social circle.

Freedom

Having room to act and express yourself without coercion or undue restriction.

Independence

Being able to meet needs and act without relying on others.

Initiative

Beginning worthwhile action without waiting for direction.

Nonconformity

Questioning or departing from social expectations when they do not fit you.

Power

Having influence or control over decisions and resources.

Privacy

Controlling access to your personal information and private life.

Risk-taking

Accepting uncertainty or possible loss in pursuit of something worthwhile.

Self-expression

Communicating your identity and experience through words, appearance, or creative forms.

Character

Accountability

Being answerable to others for commitments and decisions.

Commitment

Remaining dedicated to people or undertakings over time.

Courtesy

Showing consideration through everyday manners and conduct.

Dependability

Being someone others can count on to follow through.

Duty

Fulfilling obligations you believe you are responsible for.

Honesty

Communicating without intentional deception.

Humility

Recognizing your limits and your place among other people.

Integrity

Keeping your conduct consistent with the principles you express.

Moral character

Living according to the moral principles you consider important.

Patience

Allowing time for people and processes without unnecessary pressure.

Responsibility

Taking ownership of your decisions and their consequences.

Transparency

Making relevant actions, reasons, and information open to scrutiny.

Community

Accessibility

Making environments and activities usable by people with different abilities and needs.

Animal welfare

Caring about the treatment and wellbeing of nonhuman animals.

Citizenship

Taking part in the responsibilities and affairs of your community.

Community

Sustaining a sense of shared life and connection among people.

Cooperation

Working with others toward a shared aim.

Cultural identity

Maintaining connection with the cultures and histories that shape your identity.

Democracy

Sharing public decision-making through participation and accountable representation.

Environmental care

Caring for ecosystems and reducing harm to the natural environment.

Equality

Valuing equal standing and rights for people.

Inclusion

Making it possible for people to participate and belong.

Intergenerational care

Considering the needs and relationships of people across generations.

Justice

Seeking fair treatment and responses to wrongdoing or disadvantage.

Language preservation

Keeping languages and their ways of expression available to future speakers.

Peace

Supporting relations between groups and nations without violence or war.

Solidarity

Standing with others through shared commitments and difficulties.

Sustainability

Maintaining conditions and resources that future life depends on.

Tolerance

Living alongside differences without requiring agreement.

Tradition

Maintaining practices and customs that connect you with the past.

Experience

Adventure

Seeking unfamiliar experiences with an element of uncertainty.

Attractiveness

Having an appearance that you or others find appealing.

Beauty

Appreciating qualities you find aesthetically pleasing.

Change

Having variety and new directions in your life.

Excitement

Having experiences that feel stimulating and enlivening.

Exploration

Encountering places, subjects, or ways of life beyond the familiar.

Fun

Making room for experiences you find enjoyable and entertaining.

Humor

Finding and sharing what you experience as amusing.

Leisure

Having time you can use freely outside obligations.

Music

Making room for musical expression, listening, or shared musical life.

Nature

Having a meaningful relationship with the natural world.

Playfulness

Approaching activities with experimentation, imagination, and lightness.

Pleasure

Valuing experiences that feel satisfying to your senses or emotions.

Inner direction

Authenticity

Expressing yourself in ways that reflect your actual convictions and experience.

Clarity

Understanding what is happening and what matters without avoidable confusion.

Flexibility

Adjusting your approach when circumstances or needs change.

Focus

Directing sustained attention toward what you choose to engage with.

Gratitude

Recognizing and appreciating what you receive or value in your life.

Growth

Developing as a person through experience and reflection.

Hope

Holding a sense that worthwhile possibilities remain open.

Mindfulness

Attending to present experience with awareness.

Moderation

Choosing a level of engagement that avoids extremes you find unhelpful.

Peacefulness

Having a sense of inner ease and freedom from turmoil.

Self-acceptance

Acknowledging yourself, including imperfections, without rejecting your own worth.

Self-control

Regulating impulses so your actions reflect your intentions.

Self-esteem

Having a positive sense of your own worth.

Self-knowledge

Understanding your patterns, needs, feelings, and motivations.

Self-respect

Treating your own needs and principles as deserving consideration.

Learning

Accuracy

Getting details and judgments right rather than settling for approximation.

Critical thinking

Examining evidence and assumptions before accepting conclusions.

Curiosity

Seeking understanding through questions and investigation.

Intellectual humility

Remaining willing to revise beliefs and acknowledge what you do not know.

Knowledge

Understanding facts, ideas, and how things work.

Learning

Taking part in the process of acquiring understanding or skills.

Openness

Being receptive to unfamiliar experiences, ideas, and perspectives.

Rationality

Using reason to examine beliefs and make judgments.

Realism

Attending to circumstances as they are when considering what is possible.

Teaching

Helping others develop understanding or skills.

Purpose

Contribution

Adding something useful or meaningful beyond your own immediate interests.

Passion

Engaging deeply with people, interests, or pursuits that stir you.

Purpose

Having a direction that gives your life meaning.

Remembrance

Keeping meaningful people and experiences present in memory.

Service

Dedicating effort to meeting needs beyond your own.

Relationships

Acceptance

Being welcomed and accepted by others as you are.

Being loved

Receiving affection and care from other people.

Belonging

Feeling part of a group where your presence matters.

Boundaries

Setting and respecting limits on access, demands, and involvement.

Care

Attending to another person's needs and wellbeing.

Compassion

Responding to suffering with concern and a wish to help.

Conflict resolution

Working through disagreements in ways the people involved can live with.

Connection

Feeling engaged with and understood by other people.

Consent

Ensuring participation rests on freely given and revisable agreement.

Empathy

Seeking to understand another person's feelings and perspective.

Faithfulness

Remaining loyal to the people and commitments you have chosen.

Family

Giving importance to relationships within your family, including chosen family.

Forgiveness

Choosing how to release resentment without requiring denial or renewed trust.

Friendship

Sustaining relationships of mutual affection and companionship.

Generosity

Freely sharing what you can offer to others.

Helpfulness

Offering practical assistance when another person needs it.

Hospitality

Welcoming people and making space for their comfort and needs.

Intimacy

Sharing closeness, vulnerability, and personal understanding with another person.

Love

Offering deep affection and care to others.

Monogamy

Choosing an exclusive romantic or sexual partnership.

Nurturing

Supporting another person's development over time.

Partnership

Sharing responsibility and direction in a continuing relationship.

Popularity

Being liked and socially welcomed by many people.

Reciprocity

Giving and receiving consideration in a relationship.

Romance

Cultivating romantic attraction and connection.

Sexuality

Expressing and understanding your sexual identity, desires, or relationships on your terms.

Trust

Being able to rely on another person's intentions or conduct.

Resources

Comfort

Having surroundings and experiences that feel physically or emotionally easy.

Financial security

Having resources to meet needs and withstand financial disruption.

Order

Having structure and organization in your surroundings or activities.

Preparedness

Preparing for needs or difficulties that may arise.

Resourcefulness

Finding workable approaches with what is available.

Simplicity

Keeping life free of complexity or possessions you do not need.

Stability

Having continuity and predictability in important parts of life.

Stewardship

Caring for resources or responsibilities entrusted to you.

Thrift

Using money and materials carefully to avoid waste.

Wealth

Having substantial material resources or financial assets.

Spiritual life

Faith

Placing trust in spiritual or religious beliefs that guide your life.

God's will

Living in accordance with what you understand to be God's will.

Reverence

Approaching what you hold sacred with deep regard.

Spirituality

Exploring connection with what you experience as sacred or beyond the everyday.

Wonder

Experiencing awe or amazement at what feels vast, intricate, or mysterious.

Wellbeing

Emotional wellbeing

Caring for your emotional needs and capacity to live with your feelings.

Fitness

Maintaining physical capacity for activities that matter to you.

Health

Caring for physical and mental functioning over time.

Resilience

Finding ways to continue or recover after difficulty.

Rest

Allowing time for recovery without demands to perform.

Safety

Being protected from threats to your physical or emotional wellbeing.

Solitude

Having time and space apart from other people.

Work and craft

Achievement

Accomplishing aims that matter to you.

Artistry

Developing expression and sensitivity through artistic practice.

Collaboration

Shaping ideas and work together through shared decisions and contributions.

Craftsmanship

Taking care in how you make and finish your work.

Creativity

Expressing or developing ideas in ways that are new to you.

Diligence

Applying sustained effort and attention to your work.

Excellence

Pursuing demanding standards in what you do.

Inventiveness

Finding new ways to solve practical problems.

Leadership

Helping people find direction and coordinate their efforts.

Mastery

Developing competence and skill in something you practice.

How the quiz uses this list

You review every value, keep a broad set, and narrow it through smaller comparisons. Close choices can be compared again. You choose your final five to eight values, order them by personal importance, and can include ties. You can also add a small number of values in your own words inside the quiz.

Comparisons help organize your choices; they do not measure an objective or permanent truth about you. You review the final list yourself. The result has no personality type, diagnosis, interpretation, or prescribed actions.

Sources and adaptations

This list adapts 83 numbered concepts from the public-domain Personal Values Card Sort by W. R. Miller, J. C’de Baca, D. B. Matthews and P. L. Wilbourne (University of New Mexico, 2001), with 64 additional values and revised definitions.

Categories, related-value groupings, and the narrowing and ranking process are adaptations made for this app. This adaptation does not imply endorsement by the original authors or university, or clinical validation of this app.