Ten Most Important Human Values

10. Co-operation
It is the process of working together to the same end, but many view co-operation as a luxury and not an important human value. It is undeniably one of the most vital assets one can have when working through a problem. Having the opinions and voice of another person will not only draw out a discussion of the topic, but also lead you to a well-rounded solution. Co-operation has been under-appreciated for years in its importance and should be held in high regard.

9. Caring
Often seen as displaying kindness and concern for others, the true importance of this value comes from the work or practice of looking after those unable to care for themselves. Caring for others both physically and spiritually is a vitally important value to have; people will always rely on someone else for help at one point or another, but we often fail to realize how much of a difference caring for another person can make.

8. Honesty
Honesty feels like something you don’t come by often these days, but in the realm of human values, it is extremely important. The idea of staying true to oneself can often feel intimidating and impossible, but what most people fail to realize is that it is not the act of simply telling the truth that makes someone honest rather the quality of person who is being honest. An honest person is often straight, upright, sincere and fair and being an honest person brings more reward to the soul than the damage a lie could do.

7. Love
Love seems like something that we do know the importance of, but in fact it is misunderstood and forgotten about daily. Not in the sense one would think, but rather it loses its importance in the over use of the word.  In its over-use, the word love has depreciated in value, not in the feeling but in the word, just as saying a word repeatedly you eventually forget it’s meaning, the words love has become a little too common. The trick is to remember the feeling behind the word and not lose faith in the fact that it is over-used.

6. Respect
Many feel that respect should be given as opposed to earned, but no matter who you are Respect needs to be earned just as trust and honesty need to be as well. Respect is a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. The rub to this is that when you want to be treated with respect, you will treat others with respect; its one of those rare instances that in obtaining this feeling you will better the way the world views you.

5. Faith
Faith and the way we perceive it today has, in a sense, been hijacked by religion. That is not to say Faith cannot represent religion, it absolutely can, but it means so much more than what religion uses it for. It is complete trust or confidence in someone or something, not only living with invisible means of support but knowing that there is an ocean, because there is a river. Certain things in life require a bit of faith because the world isn’t black and white, sometimes you need a little bit of unknown to accomplish things you never thought you could.

4. Beauty
Beauty is something that has really been tainted by our society. The way we think about something that is beautiful is judged on a purely physical response, but the true meaning of beauty is being in balance and harmony with nature. Many would argue that beauty is not a human value and, although beauty is a subjective experience, when you analyze what a subject of beauty is, it becomes anything that resonates with personal meaning, not just emotion. The importance of this Human Value is clear when you think about the things that bring meaning into your life such as family and friends, these things become beautiful in a greater sense.  Finding things that have personal meaning in your life and allowing them to fill you with emotion is one of the most important values.

3. Trust
Trust can be interpreted many ways, but ultimately it comes down to reliability and truth. Without trust the world simply would not function, we create documents, money and bulletproof glass because we have lost faith in trust, which is why it is now one of the most important human values someone can have. Learn to trust and be trusted, it’s no easy task, but the importance is beyond measure, In a world without trust no one can survive.

2. Integrity
Society once saw integrity as valuable as trust but now we think of integrity as, more common than not, a weakness. The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles can be seen as a non-willingness to change or to adapt to a new way of thinking, and to an extent that is correct, but that’s not thinking of integrity in the true sense of the word; moral uprightness. The state of being whole and undivided, not just in your physical decisions but spiritually as well, being metaphysically undivided is the true nature of integrity. As a human value it is imperative that we stand spiritually undivided and hold true to our integrity, the importance of which is often forgotten.

1. Wisdom
Wisdom is something that is the most important human value in many ways; under-appreciated in its importance, in its value in our lives and in its true meaning. Wisdom is also very often confused with words like knowledge or intelligence but the word wisdom is defined as the quality of having experience and good judgment and the resulting soundness of that action or decision. Wisdom is so vitally important and yet we often confuse it with other words or disregard a wise opinion because we are too vain or egotistical, to be truly wise is to understand the way the world works.