KNOWING • Part 3: Developing Your Character
Growth is never just a matter of knowledge. It is a matter of practice. It is one thing to understand our values, beliefs, and principles. It is another to live them out in a way that feels both true and whole.
Our values reveal what matters most to us. They are the internal ideals that set our direction and help us determine what a meaningful life looks like. Our beliefs shape how we interpret our experiences and ourselves. These are the stories we tell ourselves about what is possible, what is true, and what we deserve. Our principles are the habits, choices, and behaviors that bring our values and beliefs into the world.
When these three elements are in alignment, something powerful happens. We feel at ease in our decisions. Our actions resonate with clarity and confidence. We trust ourselves.
But when they are out of sync, we feel it too. Maybe we say we value kindness, but act out of fear, believing we will be taken advantage of. Or we value rest, but hold a belief that rest equals laziness, which leads us to push through burnout. These mismatches create internal friction. And over time, they pull us further away from the person we want to become.
Living in alignment begins with awareness. When we slow down and reflect, we can ask:
Am I honoring my values right now?
Are my beliefs helping or hurting me?
Are my principles rooted in who I truly am, or who I was taught to be?
Consider this example. You value connection. You believe relationships thrive through honesty and mutual care. But your current principle, shaped by early experiences, is to avoid conflict at all costs. That principle keeps the peace, but it also keeps you from having honest conversations that would bring you closer to others. In realigning your principle, perhaps shifting toward "Speak the truth with care," you begin to live in deeper alignment with both your values and beliefs. And over time, your sense of self grows stronger.
This is what it means to grow forward. Not to arrive at perfection, but to continue noticing, adjusting, and embodying who we truly are. When we live from alignment, we do not just feel better. We become better, for ourselves and for the people around us.