Values guide
A values clarification worksheet for decisions that need more than a pros-and-cons list
If you searched for a values clarification worksheet, personal values worksheet, values assessment, or values card sort, the useful job is not collecting inspiring words. The useful job is choosing the few values that should actually influence this decision, ranking them, and translating them into criteria you can score across every real option.
Worksheet step 1: define the actual decision
A values clarification worksheet works best when the decision is specific. "What should I do with my life?" is too wide. "Should I stay in my current role, take the new offer, or keep looking for 90 days?" is something you can compare honestly.
Worksheet step 2: name the real options
Include the status quo when keeping the current path is a real alternative. If doing nothing is allowed, leaving it out can bias the result before you start.
Worksheet step 3: choose the values that matter here
Start broad, then cut hard. A values clarification worksheet becomes useful when it reduces the list to the values that would still matter after the decision is made.
- Stability: security, predictability, lower downside.
- Growth: learning, upside, challenge, advancement.
- Freedom: flexibility, autonomy, optionality.
- Relationships: family impact, trust, community fit.
- Meaning: purpose, mission fit, contribution.
- Stewardship: cost discipline, responsibility, sustainability.
- Health and energy: stress load, recovery, pace.
Worksheet step 3a: use a card sort or values assessment if the page still feels blank
A values card sort or quick values assessment is useful when you know the decision is important but you do not yet have language for what matters. The point is not to keep every value you like. The point is to surface candidates, then cut the list until the tradeoffs become visible.
| Prompt type | How to use it inside this worksheet |
|---|---|
| Values card sort | Sort candidate values into very important, important, and not important, then keep only the few that would still influence this specific decision. |
| Quick values assessment | Rate candidate values or choose between tradeoffs, then review the top values for duplicates or vague wording before ranking them. |
| Printable worksheet list | Circle 8 to 10 values first, then cut the final list to 3 to 5 and define what each one means in this scenario. |
If the list feels blank, use life domains to surface values
Many values worksheets get easier when you stop searching for the perfect word and scan the main areas of life the decision could affect.
| Life domain | Questions that surface values |
|---|---|
| Relationships and family | Who is affected, what kind of presence matters, and what would support trust or reliability here? |
| Work, school, or growth | Does this decision need challenge, learning, advancement, stability, or craft quality? |
| Health and energy | Will this option protect recovery, sustainability, and stress load over time? |
| Home, money, and stewardship | What level of cost, simplicity, risk, or reversibility would still feel responsible later? |
| Meaning and identity | Which option fits the kind of person, teammate, parent, or leader you are trying to be? |
Worksheet step 4: rank the values before you score any option
This is the part many people skip. Ranking matters because it forces tradeoffs into the open. If family alignment matters more than prestige, the worksheet should say so before a favorite option starts rewriting the rubric.
| Priority | Value | Why it matters in this decision |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Family alignment | The decision changes schedules, travel, and daily availability. |
| 2 | Stability | The downside risk would still matter six months from now. |
| 3 | Growth | The best option should expand future possibilities, not only solve today. |
Worksheet step 4b: name one non-negotiable and one flexible value
A values worksheet gets more honest when you say which value you must honor and which value matters but can still be traded away if the overall fit is better.
| Value type | How to test it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Non-negotiable | Would I still reject this option even if the total score looked strong? | Integrity, family safety, or a hard budget cap. |
| Flexible high priority | Could I trade some of this away if another top value is protected better? | Growth, prestige, convenience, or speed. |
Worksheet step 5: turn each value into scoreable criteria
Values explain why something matters. Criteria explain what you will score. A worksheet becomes decision-ready only when you can apply the same criteria to every option.
| Value | Possible criteria |
|---|---|
| Family alignment | Travel burden, time at home, schedule predictability, conflict load. |
| Stability | Monthly cost, security, reversibility, downside risk. |
| Growth | Learning, long-term upside, skill development, network expansion. |
Worksheet step 5b: write outcome statements and behavior indicators
If you are unsure whether a value is still too abstract, write one sentence describing what success would look like and which concrete signals would prove an option fits.
| Value | Outcome statement | Behavior indicators or evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Family alignment | This option supports the people most affected by the decision. | Protected evenings, lower travel burden, fewer avoidable conflicts. |
| Stability | This option keeps downside risk within a range I can live with. | Predictable cost, reversibility, cash-flow margin, lower fragility. |
| Growth | This option expands future possibilities instead of only solving today. | Skill development, stronger network, clearer next step, useful challenge. |
Worksheet step 5c: check values alignment before you score
A values alignment check asks whether your current behavior and your favorite option actually match the values you selected. This is how you catch a value that sounds good in theory but is not being honored in practice.
- Ask where the value is already visible. If you say
healthmatters, what behavior or schedule proves that now? - Ask where the option would violate the value. A strong score should not hide a quiet mismatch.
- Ask what missing fact could still change the answer. If one unknown could flip the result, gather that fact before you decide.
Copy-paste worksheet template
If you want a practical values clarification worksheet instead of a long reflection exercise, use this stripped-down template. The point is to make the next decision clearer, not to create a personality profile.
| Worksheet field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Decision question | Write one specific choice, not a general life problem. |
| Real options | List the actual alternatives, including the status quo if keeping it is allowed. |
| Top 3 to 5 values | Keep only the values that would still matter after the decision is made. |
| Non-negotiable value | Name the value you are not willing to violate just to make the score look better. |
| Criteria | Translate each value into something observable you can score across every option. |
| Missing fact | Write the one unknown that could still reverse the ranking if you learned more. |
Filled example: a career decision
A personal values worksheet becomes more useful when you can see what a finished draft looks like. Here is a simple example for someone deciding whether to stay in a current role, take a new job, or keep looking.
| Field | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Decision question | Should I stay in my current role, accept the new offer, or keep looking for 90 days? |
| Top values | Family alignment, stability, growth, integrity. |
| Non-negotiable | Family alignment. A stronger title would not be enough if the day-to-day family reality gets worse. |
| Criteria | Travel burden, schedule predictability, financial downside, learning upside, mission fit. |
| Missing fact | Whether the new role really requires travel every other week or only during onboarding. |
Worksheet step 6: compare the options with the same rubric
Once the values are ranked and translated into criteria, use a weighted comparison so the top priorities carry more influence than minor preferences. If two options finish close together and one unanswered fact could flip the result, gather that fact instead of pretending the worksheet already solved everything.
Common mistakes
- Choosing values that sound admirable but do not actually affect this decision.
- Keeping too many values, which hides the real tradeoffs.
- Stopping at a values inventory and never turning the values into criteria or evidence.
- Scoring options before ranking the values.
- Using vague criteria like
best fitwithout defining what that means. - Letting one intense emotion outweigh a value that still matters after the decision is over.
Frequently asked questions
What is a values clarification worksheet?
It is a structured exercise that helps you identify what matters, rank a short list of values, and translate those values into criteria you can use in a real decision.
How many values should you keep?
Start broad if needed, then narrow the final list to about three to five values. That is usually enough to surface the real tradeoffs without turning the worksheet into a long, vague list.
What is the difference between a values card sort, a values assessment, and a worksheet?
A card sort or values assessment helps you surface and rank candidate values. A worksheet takes the next step by naming your non-negotiables, translating values into scoreable criteria, and applying the same rubric to real options.
What should you do if two values conflict?
Name which value is non-negotiable, which value is flexible, and what evidence could still change the ranking. If the conflict stays unresolved, the worksheet has surfaced the real decision instead of hiding it.
What is a values alignment check?
A values alignment check asks whether your current behavior or a proposed option actually matches the values you selected. It keeps a favorite option from sounding good in theory while violating what matters most in practice.
Where Big Nate's Decision Maker fits
Big Nate's Decision Maker helps after the worksheet stage. It lets you frame the decision, choose and force-rank values, compare real options side by side, and review a structured recommendation with the tradeoffs still visible. It is decision support, not professional advice.
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