What brought you to Life Lens in the first place?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Austin:<\/em><\/strong><\/span> I was lucky enough to experience Life Lens as part of a retreat during my Baltimore Corps fellowship. It was such sweet serendipity because I’d recently decided to make a large career shift, and learning how to better align my values with my professional and personal goals helped me move forward more confidently. Experiencing Life Lens also helped me form closer bonds to members of my fellowship cohort because it organically facilitates meaningful connection between participants. What kept me coming back to Life Lens (another two times) was the reinforcement and re-centering of my values-based living it provided.<\/p>\n Chenire:<\/em><\/strong><\/span> I was invited by MaryBeth to the pilot. I was interested in the concept of knowing more about yourself to express how you move in the world. This is of great interest to me because I have always been interested in the human experience. I was curious about how this workshop would help me to “know” my values.<\/p>\n What did you gain?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Austin:<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>Through Life Lens I gained a clearer understanding of how I make my way through the world. So often, we spend the day measuring our progress against our objectives. Life Lens was a fantastic way to unpack those objectives and reaffirm whether they were still accurate and valuable. I gained language with which I could express what, how, and why I value what I do. This helped me both respond to my past with greater kindness and prepare for my future with smarter decisions.<\/p>\n Chenire:<\/strong><\/em><\/span> In what I gained was much more than getting a list of values. Although that was very important because after leaving the workshop, I was now acutely aware that there are “standardize” values that many people have. After doing the exercises I realized that there are values that I only “wished” I had and others that were new (but familiar) to me I just didn’t know how to express them. Now that I am better connected to my values I see how they show up in my interactions with others and myself<\/p>\n What was surprising\/compelling to your personally (your own ‘aha’ moments)?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Austin:<\/strong><\/em><\/span> I was surprised by how much Life Lens helped me understand my work. When collaborating with my team or working solo, I have an enlightened sense of how each person offers a unique set of values and uses them to produce work in different ways. I feel like a better teammate and manager at work because of Life Lens.<\/p>\n Chenire:<\/strong><\/em><\/span> When I did the lifeline timeline (mapping out your milestone moments) for the first time, and then hearing others expressions, I realized there are so many experiences that don’t get honor in our lives and others that do. It was profound the things that came to mind quickly and the others that I only thought of after further reflection. I am a naturally reflective person.<\/p>\n How do you use your values in life today?<\/strong><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Austin:<\/strong><\/em> <\/span>Whenever I’m facing a big decision, I map out (either on paper or mentally) how the various parts of that decision are influenced by values, and I test potential results against my values to ensure I’m thoughtful about what it is I really need and want in my life. The framework of values also helps me determine what relationships in my life are productive and which I should divest from. Values inhabit every single interaction we have, and a value-driven lens helps me make tons of daily choices, like how I spend my free time or what businesses I support.<\/p>\n