What is Your Values State?

What Is a Values State?

I first learned about the concept of a Values State from the incredible Dr. Marilyn Atkinson, founder of Erickson Coaching International. Dr. Atkinson has a unique lineage, having studied NLP with Milton Erickson himself, alongside figures like Tony Robbins. Her ability to embody her teaching—a seamless alignment of energy, presence, and values—was as impactful as the lessons themselves. It wasn’t just what she taught; it was how she showed up.

This embodiment is the crux of the Values State: a state of being where your energy aligns with your values and radiates authenticity.

But what exactly does this mean, and how can you live in your Values State?

A Finnish study reveals where we feel emotions in the body

Who Benefits Most from Understanding Their Values State?

The Values State is a powerful concept—but it’s not for everyone. Let’s break down who truly stands to gain from exploring this energetic alignment and who might not find it relevant or practical.

Who This Is NOT For:

1. Rigid Thinkers: If you rely heavily on concrete details, practicality, and observable facts to navigate your environment and make decisions, you may find the idea of a Values State too abstract or "soft." For some, the value of values can feel intangible, especially if you have a strong thinking preference that prioritizes logic, objectivity and analytical decision-making. You see this because you are deeply tied to external metrics like quotas, deadlines, and checklists.
2. People Unwilling to Explore Their Inner World: Understanding your Values State requires introspection and a willingness to feel deeply. If you avoid self-reflection or resist exploring emotional and physical energy, this journey may not resonate.
3. Those Comfortable with Their Status Quo: If you’re content with your current routines and results—and they align perfectly with your values—you might not feel a need to explore your Values State. It’s a tool for those seeking more alignment, flow, growth or fulfillment.

Who Gains the MOST from Understanding Their Values State:

1. High Performers Feeling Unfulfilled: Leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals who are achieving outward success but feel misaligned internally benefit significantly. The Values State helps bridge the gap between doing and being, bringing more meaning to their achievements.
2. Purpose-Driven Individuals: If you prioritize making a positive impact, understanding your Values State allows you to harness your energy authentically and attract opportunities and relationships that align with your vision.
3. Those in Transition: Career changers, new leaders, or individuals at a crossroads often feel untethered. Discovering your Values State can serve as a compass, providing clarity and direction during uncertain times.
4. Creative and Empathetic Personalities: If you lean toward intuition, creativity, or connection in your work or personal life, the Values State becomes a tool to amplify your natural strengths, creating flow and ease in your pursuits.
5. People Facing Burnout: If you’re exhausted, overwhelmed, or operating out of sync with your true self, understanding your Values State offers a way to reset and realign with what energizes rather than depletes you.

The Bottom Line

The Values State is the energetic embodiment you feel when you live all your values in complete alignment. This tool is for those who want to live and work with more authenticity and ease. It’s for the curious, the driven, and the reflective. It’s not for those stuck in rigid frameworks or unwilling to explore the deeper layers of their energy and motivation.

If you’re ready to embrace your Values State, you’ll find it’s not just a tool for achieving your goals—it’s a way to enjoy the journey.

Defining Values and the Values State

In values-driven achievement, we define values as the innate, deeply held character traits that guide and motivate our actions, decisions, and strategies. They are the foundation of our fulfillment and effectiveness. But our Values State goes beyond intellectual understanding—it’s about embodying those values energetically.

A Values State is the energetic alignment you experience when living in harmony with your core values. It’s a state of flow, where your energy attracts the right people, opportunities, and actions to support your goals. One client of mine calls this “magnetic life energy”—the kind of energy that naturally pulls others toward your vision, fueling your journey toward those big, hairy, audacious goals.

The Spectrum of Energy States

Living in your Values State isn’t just about feeling “good energy”; it’s about being grounded in truth, humility, and authenticity. Misaligned energy states can show up in two ways:

1. Hyperactive States: Energies that are too high can lead to frenetic or anxious behavior, creating stress and disconnection.
2. Low-Energy States: Energies that are too low can result in laziness, depression, or withdrawal.

Your ideal Values State is a balanced, vibrant energy that resonates throughout your entire body—heart, head, lungs, shoulders, and even toes. It’s not about overexerting or underperforming; it’s about alignment.

Power vs. Force

In his book Power vs. Force, Dr. David Hawkins explores energy states, noting that true power emerges from alignment and authenticity. When you live fully in your Values State, you operate from a place of power, not force. Work flows with ease, relationships strengthen, and results multiply without burnout. It’s a shift from pushing to leading, from efforting to attracting.

The Energy Connection: Chakras and Anatomy

Eastern traditions provide additional insights into the Values State through the concept of chakras, the energy centers within the body. Exploring your chakras can help you identify where energy flows freely and where it’s blocked. For example:

• The heart chakra may hold the energy of connection and love.
• The solar plexus chakra may govern confidence and personal power.

By understanding and unblocking these centers, you can align your Values State and maximize your potential.

Mark Rich, in his book Energetic Anatomy: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding and Using the Human Energy System, provides practical tools to explore this alignment. When you connect with your energy fully, you unlock the power to work and live in harmony with your values, where hard work feels almost effortless.

The Chakras

Living in Your Values State

A Values State isn’t just for the naturally intuitive or feeling-oriented. Even thinkers and planners can benefit from exploring this concept. The key is curiosity and practice.

Ask yourself:

• What values resonate most deeply with me?
• When I embody those values, where does my body vibrate or tingle?
• How do I observe, honour and acknowledge my values when I feel their presence?
• What does it feel like to embody my values state as I pursue simple goals in my daily life?
• Where do I feel energized or blocked in my body?

Living in your Value State is the key to creating a life of alignment, authenticity, and achievement. When your energy matches your values, you’re not just working harder—you’re working smarter, more powerfully, and with a deep sense of purpose.

So, are you living in your Values State? If not, what’s one small step you can take today to get closer to living your ideal values state?