Step One Action Post: Values Activity & Aligning this with Global Millennium Goals

The 3 most important values I discovered were justice, reliability, and compassion.

The 3 least important values I got were power, tradition, and spiritual growth. 

I agree with the majority of the results I received after completing the value evaluation. I think the statements were good since I agree with the majority of the results. Although, spiritual growth shouldn’t have been in my least important category, because I believe that purifying the mind of toxins, finding hope, and achieving inner peace are all significant to me. So perhaps the description of that value could have been worded better. I don’t think there are any values missing. However, I believe that the value of reliability should have been labeled loyalty rather than reliability, and also that the description should have focused more on that term. I think it should be changed to that word because it is more influential, and I believe it is one of the most essential qualities to have. To me, justice means that the people who have been wronged in the past are treated fairly, and the wrongdoers deal with the consequences of their actions. Reliability connects to me like loyalty.  It means having someone’s back in the face of failure and never giving up on them. It is a great blessing to have someone by your side who you know will be there for you in good times and bad. Compassion means putting yourself in others’ shoes. Even though justice should be served, sometimes you have to be merciful. Nowadays, we judge people’s actions without knowing the options they had left. 

Once, I was walking with my friends and we came across a homeless man who was asking for money. Then another man approached him and said something harsh and inhumane to him. He was saying things like he deserved to be on the streets and that he was connected to narcotics. That’s when I decided to use compassion because I knew something was wrong and I felt utter sadness for him. But then another woman intervened and told the man that he needed to leave right now because what he was saying was unacceptable. After the man left, the woman murmured some kind words to him and gave him some change. My buddies and I decided to approach the man and apologize for what we had overheard. We wanted to at least have a conversation with him, even though we didn’t have any change. He informed us about his background and how he had never used drugs before. People think that homeless people are always drug users and that they chose to be there, which I find absurd. Nobody wants to live that way, and no one deserves it either. Even though we didn’t have any money to give him, he expressed gratitude to us because we had the courage to come and talk to him. He told us that a lot of people choose to not even make eye contact with him and ignore his presence, which is absolutely awful. As a result, I realized that even if you don’t have any money to donate, you can still provide a genuine smile to the less fortunate. Also, instead of judging and assuming what someone did in the past, you should listen to their stories and try to comprehend the options they had left, that ended up leading them to their outcomes. 

Value: Justice   

Future Situation: Someone is being discriminated against or wrongfully targeted because of their skin colour, religion, or riches. 

Action: You should defend the person because no one should be treated unfairly due to who they are on the inside. Then you must discuss and educate the person who is not treating everyone with equality. That way you seek justice by doing the right thing, and get a message across to the person so you can ensure that it does not happen again. 

After analyzing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, I feel like “reduced inequalities” align with my most crucial values. I’m driven by compassion to bring justice for those who don’t have their rights and aren’t being treated fairly. This can show reliability because they can put more trust into the system because of the support shown to the disadvantaged people. My passion is the “no poverty” goal because everyone should have their essential necessities fulfilled at least. It’s crazy that we have people on this earth with billions of dollars but still have people struggling to meet their basic needs. Clean water, healthy food, clothing, warmth and shelter are some of the things we should have easy access to. I can address this goal by generating more awareness of this problem and then establishing a website for donations. Also, making care packages for the homeless never goes wrong and it is a good start.