Values and virtues
Values and virtues. Deeply held values fuel the energy on which purpose is built they define an enduring code of conduct, the rules of engagement in the journey to bring our vision for ourselves to life.
— from The Flight Plan (Purpose/Wisdom/Risk)
In the book
Your vision should be put into words and shared with the people who will help you reach it; a written mission becomes a kind of personal constitution, the fixed thing you measure every smaller decision against. A vision statement, at bottom, is just an honest declaration of how you intend to invest your one short life, and the values you hold most deeply are what that vision rests on. Then set the goals that serve it, name the obstacles you are sure to meet, and never forget the people helping you climb. […] Watch where your free attention already goes for the clue. Write it down and tie it to something larger than yourself. A vision belongs on paper and in the open, shared with the people who will help you fly it; let it become your constitution, anchored to the values you would not trade. Then aim high — reaching for the large costs no more than reaching for the small. — The Flight Plan (Purpose/Wisdom/Risk)
Then refill it with zest, the vibrant inside of a meaningful life, found in almost any activity you bring yourself fully to. Keep the spiritual tank topped, because it powers all the rest. This is the fuel of meaning, and it is fed by your deepest values — the enduring code of conduct that purpose is built upon; devote your time and energy to the things you genuinely enjoy, for excellence reliably follows enthusiasm and rarely follows mere prestige-seeking. Know your refuelers. Make an honest list of what actually gives you energy and what drains it; renew all four dimensions on a schedule, the way an athlete trains and recovers; keep an inventory of your peaks and troughs across a typical week to see your real pattern. — Fuel (Energy)