This whole adulting journey life’s got me on got me trippin’.

How It Started

Living in South Korea has tested every aspect of my identity making me question a lot of things I initially valued. Now, I’d like to consider myself a grounded individual, yet after moving to Korea and having my safety net (family, similar culture, same language, friends, etc) ripped from under me, I realize I’m more like a funambulist who has been walking on a tightrope this whole time.

Don’t get me wrong, South Korea is amazing! I’ve completely enjoyed my time here and am not ready to leave just yet, however, there are certain things that I find to be…. how should I say this…. challenging.

I didn’t realize that growing up in a diverse country could make me so indifferent to opposing lifestyles.

…That is until I moved here.

They questioned all of my life choices.

Those of you who know me or have read my previous blog (thatkoreanlife.com), know that my lifestyle is completely different from Korean culture. I thought I could get by unnoticed.

They noticed.

And asked questions.

I felt like I was on a Q&A panel. But you want to know the sad part? I couldn’t respond with satisfactory answers.

You see, up until this point, I lived my life doing things that I felt okay with doing. If I didn’t have an issue with a rule or guideline that my parents had, I didn’t change it.

Nothing’s wrong with that. I just didn’t know why I held on to them and I needed answers – fast.

That’s when I thought about reevaluating my values and principles.

Defining My Values

I started from the beginning. I needed to know what I stand for and what my boundaries are.

I searched the difference between values and principles online because I honestly had no idea if there was a difference between the two. Surprisingly, there is. Turns out, that values are the base for principles.

Values are qualities or standards of behavior whereas principles are rules or beliefs governing one’s behavior.

Here are a couple of things I’ve discovered about myself while pondering my values.

1. It’s important to me to bring joy into the lives of the people I meet.

I may not agree with the way everyone lives their lives, but who am I to judge?

I believe that trying to understand where people come from and empathize with their experiences is vital to the progression and growth of the human experience.

I don’t like it when people waltz into my life and try to control the way I live so I try my best not to do that to others.

2. Treat everyone with respect.

Nothing irritates me more than when I see people looking down and belittling another person. How dare they?! 😤

I get it, you can’t be friends with everyone. No one is saying that you have to like them, you just have to be respectful. Don’t have to be rude to someone just because you don’t like them.

I feel very strongly about this so I try my best to treat the people I meet with respect. We are all humans and we should be treated as such.

3. Taking care of my health and happiness.

I wouldn’t consider myself a health guru or someone who is very strict with her diet, but I do believe in trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle and making good choices regarding my health and life.

I try to eat healthy foods and exercise, drink water, and maintain good hygiene. I’m not going to claim that I only eat whole grains, non-GMO, hand-grown food – though that would be cool if I was rolling in dough- I try to think about my health and how it affects my productivity and overall happiness.

I wholly believe that mental health is just as important as one’s spiritual and physical health so I am trying to find my balance between the three.

I would say that these are the three main guiding values in my life.

My Principles

Everything I do is affected by those things and has been the guiding tool for the principles I currently adhere to. These principles have been more apparent to me and have guided me through the more difficult aspects of my life.

Here are the principles that I try to live by:

1. Golden Rule

Not gonna lie guys, the mantra we learned as kids, “Treat others how you would want to be treated” plays non-stop in my mind. I strive consciously and subconsciously to keep it at all times.

2. Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover

I’m only human and sometimes biases creep into my mindset but I do try my best to have everyone start on blank slates in my mind. We may never be buddies, but I’ll respect your journey.

3. Health is Wellness

This was probably transferred to me but my mother but you know what they say, “Mother knows best”.

Like I said before, I’m not going to claim that I am not particularly that zealous over only eating healthy food options, but I’m trying to maintain a balanced lifestyle in everything.

I’m pretty sure as I age my values and principles will evolve, but as of right now this is where I’m at. I wonder if knowing will it truly make a difference.

I guess time will tell.

What are your values?

Let me know in the comments below!