No matter the circumstances you are born into, I believe that a good life is a life that strives to abide by good values and positive pursuits. No matter how much privilege, wealth, or advantages that you have, a good life depends on how you react to your situation. Good people make the most of what they have while upholding good values along the way.
It's difficult, particularly under tough circumstances, to live a life that is value driven. I'm sure that we can name times when we let our values strive in order to do something or obtain something that we really wanted. Usually efforts like that don't end very well. We also likely remember times when we stuck to our values and came out ahead--those memorable times help us to live a value-driven life instead of a value-less life.
The values that I deem most important when it comes to good living include the following:
- respect for all
- hard, good work
- life-long learning
- generosity and care for others
- humility (you can't be all or do all, and all the people around you have some significant gifts to share and challenges too)
- love
- honesty
- authentic kindness
- honing, strengthening, and sharing your gifts
