---
title: Values
---

I am doing an experiment with trying to clearly define my values so that I can
know when I am living up to them.

The psychologist [Carl Rogers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Rogers)
described the idea of congruence/incongruence. It's roughly the difference
between your lived self and your ideal self. It's the difference between "I
am" and "I should". Incongruence, a large gap between the two, leads to a
tension between what you are doing and what you think you should be doing. I
believe that everyone will be happier and experience more of their potential if
they are living and growing in line with their ideals.

## My Values

### Equity

- Everyone should have the means to live a healthy and meaningful life.
- This applies to people now and in the future.
- Everyone should have a fair voice in decisions that affect them.

### Integrity

- Take responsibility for your own actions.
- Hold others accountable and responsible for their actions.
- Give honest feedback.
- Take the time to do good work.
- Be proud of your work.
- Be your authentic self.

### Sustainability and long-term thinking

- Think not about the short- or long-term, but about the equilibrium, the forever-term.
- Do not sacrifice the future for the present.
- Do not sacrifice the present for the future.

### Cooperation over competition

- We build better when we work together.
- We can challenge each other without having to compete.
- Resources should not be scarce.
- Share information, materials and goods.
- Hold others responsible for sharing alike.

### Self-improvement

- Be curious and motivated to learn and understand.
- Be open to feedback and learning.
- Learn new things.
- Seek to understand.
- Embrace failure as an opportunity to learn.
- Take the time to review and retrospect.
- Help others learn and grow by giving them resources, training and feedback.

### Self-reliance

- Enable everyone to work with minimal interruption by reducing the dependence on each other.
- We should work together but not be dependent on one another.
- Many strong units weakly coupled are more resilient than rigid or hierarchical structures.
- Invest in your health and stability.

## Corollaries

### Environmentalism

- We must preserve our planet so that future people will have at least the same opportunities we currently do.

### Anti-capitalism

- Modern capitalism is a system that is built on and perpetuates inequity.
- Modern capitalism creates and exploits dependency.