Values are a set of beliefs that shape our lives. They are the principles that make the core of our being and define who we are and how we choose to be, to do, or to have. They determine what is important for us. They answer the questions: Why am I different from other people? Why do I choose to do certain things and avoid others? Why do I behave a certain way? Why am I attracted to some people and not to others? What am I willing to die for? What am I committed to? And many others.

Everyone has values; though many people go about life not really knowing what they are. Some people may know some of their values but they act in an unconscious level, like an automatic pilot. Most of the situations we face in life are acted upon as if they were an automatic reaction: we are not really aware that it is our values that are making us choose how to deal with these situations.

Our values are related to our culture, our society, and our own experience. We receive our values from the important people in our lives: first, parents; then, family members, friends, and other influential people, such as religious leaders, teachers, political and artistic personalities, society in general, and so on. In fact, we keep borrowing values and changing them until we reach a certain level of maturity and decidedly know which ones best serve us. But they are still not set on fire.

This is very interesting for as we change our beliefs about certain things, so we change our values. Some of our values are never static. Remember the story of John Newton, the composer of Amazing Grace? Now, he used to be a slave trader and, during an epiphany, had a change of heart. He shifted his values 180 degrees; from yellow to green or vinegar to wine. His is a great story. How many others are there and which direction did they take? Though I forgot his name, I met a man who used to be a cattle rancher and suddenly realized the suffering he was inflicting upon his animals and became an avid advocate of animal rights. His change of values was also drastic as to making him a vegan