Chapter 4 Developing Decision-Making Skills 87
responsibilities related to working at home and
helping out the family. Some teens may hold part-
time jobs as well.
The values you hold related to your work will
affect how successful you are in carrying out your
work tasks. If you value the task as important, you
will take the time to do a good job and complete it
on time. If you enjoy doing a task, it is likely you
will value it more highly.
Values Infl uence Decisions
Knowing your values can help you make deci-
sions. You will feel more confi dent and comfortable
with your decisions if you make choices that agree
with your most important values.
Values differ in their level of importance to you.
Ranking your values can help you make decisions.
List the most important value fi rst. Put the least
important value last on the list. Then arrange the
others in between. Equally important values could
be listed side-by-side. When you are faced with a
decision, use this list to help you identify your
most important values involved in that decision.
Some decisions are diffi cult to make because
you experience a confl ict in values. This can create
stress in your life. Ranking your values can help
you resolve these confl icts. As you will see, using
a decision-making process can help with these
diffi cult decisions as well.
Your Goals
Your values can help you set goals. A goal is
something you want to do, have, or achieve. If you
want to achieve the goal in the near future, it is
a short-term goal. For instance, Adrianne wants
to fi nish her term paper this week. If the goal
will take longer to reach, it is a long-term goal.
For instance, one long-term goal is to fi nish high
school. Another may be to fi nish college or earn a
promotion at work within the next year.
What values might be important for success on
the job?
personal interests and hobbies? fi tness? leisure?
health and well-being? personal growth? Your list
may include all these values and more.
Though many people cite these values, they
may interpret them differently. For instance, your
idea of physical attractiveness is unlikely to be
the same as a friend’s idea. Your idea of personal
growth may be different from another’s.
Relationship Values and Your Decisions
Your decisions will be impacted by the values
you have regarding relationships. What values
are important to you in your relationships? You
might value respect, acceptance, and kindness in
all your relationships. In your family relationships,
you may have expectations for closeness. In those
relationships, then, you might value giving and
receiving love; showing warmth, caring, and trust;
and sharing experiences and feelings. In friendships,
you may value honesty and openness. You may
also want friends to accept you for who you are
(Figure 4.3).
Work Values and Your Decisions
The things that are important to you as you
carry out your daily tasks will affect the decisions
you make. As a teen, your main work tasks may be
related to school, although you may have several
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Figure 4.3 How would the values you have for a
dating relationship be different from the things that
are important in other relationships?
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