Discovering the Core Values Shaping Your Daily Life

Understanding what drives your daily actions, decisions, and even your unconscious behaviors is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. This is exactly what Stacy Braiuca explored in a lively and squirrel-filled episode of "Show Me Your Nuts." With humor, candid storytelling, and practical insight, Stacy led listeners on a journey into the foundations of personal growth: your core values. What Are Core Values—and Why Do They Matter? Every day, your choices—whether monumental or mundane—are shaped by a hidden set of drivers called core values. These aren't just traits you aspire to; they're the deep-rooted priorities and beliefs living "underneath your nuts," as Stacy playfully described. Values are the silent architects of your beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and actions. When you aren't consciously aware of them—or when your daily behaviors don't align with your true priorities—life can start feeling disconnected, stuck, or frustrating. As Stacy shared, cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on thoughts and feelings, but without digging into the underlying values and beliefs, lasting change is hard to achieve. Research supports this: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which emphasizes values-based living, has shown significant efficacy in treating anxiety disorders particularly among high-achieving individuals who experience perfectionist tendencies. Uncovering Your Core Values: Why It's Not Just a Quick List How many of your core values can you name—without thinking or looking them up? Most people struggle to get past one or two, and Stacy admitted she always knows her top value (integrity) but needs to revisit her full list. That's because identifying core values isn't as simple as checking boxes. It's a process: one that involves honest self-reflection and sometimes even a guided journey. According to Stacy, well-crafted exercises—often requiring professional coaching and a significant time investment—can help bring these core values to the surface and put them in meaningful order. The Noomii guide on values clarification outlines exactly this type of structured self-reflection. Your top five values likely stay fairly consistent, though they can shift around occasionally based on life phases or intentional growth. But your number one value? That's your anchor—the root of who you are. Move it, and your sense of identity can feel like it's collapsing, much like the identity crisis faced by Riley in the movie Inside Out. Research shows that values clarity is foundational to psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction , especially for high-achieving women navigating perfectionism and external expectations. Realigning Values for Genuine Personal Growth One of the most powerful lessons from the conversation was the story of how Stacy re-ordered her values to overcome a struggle with exercise. For years, "exercise" was almost a taboo word; despite knowing it was good for her, she just couldn't stick to it. Only when she aligned her values—lifting health and activity higher in her internal hierarchy—did lasting behavior change come naturally. Sixty, ninety, then a hundred-plus days on the treadmill followed. The lesson? If your values and goals don't align, even the most determined resolutions won't stick. This experience mirrors what Stacy teaches in her work Unleashing Your Unstoppable Destiny —when you realign your internal priorities with your external goals, transformation becomes effortless. Her YouTube channel explores this values-action alignment through real-world case studies and practical exercises. The psychological principle at work here is called goal-congruence, and research demonstrates it significantly increases motivation and follow-through rates , particularly for anxious high-achievers who tend to set goals based on external pressure rather than internal values. The Five Steps to Making Real Change Happen New Year's resolutions rarely succeed, Stacy emphasized, unless you follow a proven process: 1. Take full responsibility for your life and choices, even when it's difficult. 2. Clear limiting beliefs and baggage (old stories, negative emotions, unresolved hurts). Real change requires more than just positive thinking—it demands a deep reprogramming of the unconscious. Noomii's resource on releasing limiting beliefs offers guided frameworks for this exact work. 3. Set clear, SMART goals that align with your values, making them Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable, and Time-limited. 4. Take meaningful, consistent action—not just once, but as a sustained practice. Behavioral psychology research confirms that sustained, values-aligned action—not motivation alone—creates lasting neuroplastic change. 5. Maintain focus and adapt as needed. Keeping your eye on the "why" behind your actions will help you stay the course. Stacy's book Unlocking Your Fearless Potential walks readers through exactly this process of staying anchored to purpose while adapting tactics. Living in Alignme