5 Values That Guide My Life

In this episode, I’m sharing the five core values that guide my life and shape the decisions I make every day: adventure, love, health, growth, and wealth.

Over time, I’ve realized that when life feels confusing or uncertain, coming back to my values helps ground me and reminds me what truly matters. They act like a compass, helping me make decisions that align with the kind of life I want to build.

In this conversation, I reflect on what each of these values means to me, how they show up in my life, and how they’ve influenced everything from the experiences I say yes to, to the habits I’m trying to build.

This episode is also an invitation for you to reflect on your own values and consider whether the life you’re building aligns with what truly matters to you.

Because when your actions align with your values, life starts to feel a lot more meaningful.

At the end of the episode, I’ll also share a few journal prompts to help you explore your own core values and the life you want to create.

Thank you for being here and for thriving on this journey with me.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Thriving on the Journey. My name is Julia Hulkro, your podcast host, and I'm so excited that you're here with me today. On this week's episode, I am wanting you to all get to know me just a little bit more. So I want to talk about some of my values and how that has guided me into being the person that I am today. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what actually guides your decisions in life? The places you live, the relationships you choose, the risks you take, all of it is usually shaped by a few core values, whether we realize it or not. In today's episode, I want to share the five values that guide my life and honestly shape almost every decision I make. These are the things that keep me grounded when life feels confusing, and also the things that push me to keep growing. So today I'm sharing the five values that guide my life: adventure, love, health, growth, and wealth, and what each one really means to me. So the first value that has always been a big part of my life is adventure. Growing up in Saskatchewan, and my experience of growing up up north, it was a lot of adventure and create your own memories and create your own experiences. I grew up at the lake, okay, every single summer, and on the trap lines, my grandparents. We were always on the water. I was always trying to find new ways to have fun. We loved playing croquet. I love playing extreme croquet. I loved my dad a lot of core memories when we had the quad when we were really young, would take us through the woods, and it was so much fun. And something that my dad always did as well is let me explore with him in the woods. When I was at Hansen Lake, and every single summer with my sisters, we would always just have the most fun. It was a magical experience that I'm forever grateful for that I had growing up from my childhood. And I remember there was this woods area where I would just walk through and I could see the little things that really made me happy were the types of flowers that I would see. They were these little, specifically these ones that I learned later in life are actually endangered. Or is that the right word? I don't know. Later in life, I actually learned a lot more about this when I took a plant physiology class, which is kind of cool. But they're little lady slippers, and they just made me so happy. Because when I was a child, I really loved reading books that it sparked my imagination. And so when I would walk on these woods, I would imagine I was this little fairy and I was going through these woods, and the adventure things really sparked my curiosity and my imagination. Then also moving forward outside of my childhood, when I started traveling and going on these travel adventures, that's when my perspective really started expanding. I went to Ecuador and I was climbing a volcano, and we stayed in the jungle. And the more that I went on these adventures, the more that I found out who I am and why I'm here and what I want to be doing with my life. And other things that I've done for adventure. Well, my boyfriend and I, we went skydiving on our second date together, and I took in bungee jumping for the first time, and it was my fourth time, a month after we started dating. And those experiences will stay with me forever. I can close my eyes and picture myself in the exact moment and of those experiences, if that makes any sense. And that's really important because I've had a lot of things taken away from me. Um, and that's okay. I know that they were not for me now, but memories are something that nobody ever can ever take away from you. So that's why I think adventure is really one of those core values for me. And it's more than just traveling, it's about saying yes to experiences, saying yes and challenging yourself, being curious about the world, being curious what's out there. What is there more of that you are not seeing? It's about choosing growth over comfort. Adventure reminds me that life is meant to be experienced. Some of those most meaningful moments in my life happened because I said yes to something new or a little bit scary. When I moved to BC, I was doing a lot of adventures by myself. And I think that was super, super essential into becoming the person that I am today. Because I took that time to figure out who I am by choosing to say yes, not because somebody else wanted to go, and not because I was waiting for somebody to go with me. I just did it. I just went, I explored, I went on hikes alone, I found new friends, I would say yes to going on people's boats and crazy experiences that may be a little unsafe to some people. I don't know, I wasn't scared. I was just having fun. And I was living. I didn't care about anything except having a fun time. Which in hindsight, you know, certain things I I wouldn't do today. However, I was my early 20s. I was enjoying, I was living, and there's certain values that I learned that are in my core values that I still choose today, was making a bit more, maybe smarter decisions than I did when I was 20. Um, but yeah, this idea of doing these adventurous things and this idea of going on adventures by yourself, I think is really important. You can't discover who you are when there's somebody who's always with you. And with that being said, I think it's also important that you adventure with people that you love. So while adventure has shaped so much of how I see the world, another value that makes those experiences meaningful is love. And that's because you have somebody to share that experience with. Relationships that shape who you become. And the reason love and adventure go hand in hand for me is because those experiences that you share together, it's something you bond over. When I think back to my childhood memories, it was always my sisters were always there. My dad was always saying yes to it. Sometimes it was a challenge to get him to say yes because I was always the one like, Dad, dad, dad, can you do this? Can we do this? Can we go do that? And I could see maybe it was a bit of a lot, but I know that my dad appreciates who I am, and that's who I've always been. I always want to go out and do something. I want to create memories. I want to have fun. Because if you're not having fun, what's the point? At the end of the day, the experiences I've had adventuring on my own, I will cherish forever. But if you do that forever and you don't have anybody to share those experiences with, it gets less meaningful over time. I think when you have love and you are able to share that together, it is something that it I really cherish and is really close to my heart. And that's not only with family, but my partner Justin and the friendships that I have and all these connections I have during each season of my life. There's people that maybe I don't talk to every single day or I haven't spoken to in a long time. But when I worked up at Silverstar and I got to meet people from Sweden and the UK, and I just got to share a little piece of my life with them and these experiences that I will cherish forever. And I think that's really important to not linger on the past, but use those to propel the choices that you make in the future and the actions that align with what makes you happy. And when I think about the best moments in my life, it's rarely just the place or the experience. It's the people that I shared it with. When we can have deep conversations and we are sitting by a waterfall and nothing else in the world matters, and you can just sit there and enjoy that moment with somebody. That is what makes my heart so full and so happy. I really want to talk about the love that I have for my partner. And right now, and in every relationship, there's gonna be times when you are questioning, is this the right relationship for me? And when I think about my relationship, it always comes down to okay, do we bring joy to each other? Are we adventuring? Are we happy? And although there's challenges that happen in life inevitably as we are going on this journey, it always brings back to when we can just take that time to spend together and we can go out middle of nowhere and we can create an adventure and create these memories. That's something that fuels my soul. And I know that that's something I need right now. As I've been working for 20, 20 days now, I think I'm on my 20th day of working. And thankfully, I do have um, you know, the end is in sight. I do get vacation in about a week. So I'm really looking forward to taking that time to reset my soul and to align myself with these values that I'm talking about today. Because these are what is going to keep me moving forward, to keep making it through the hard days, to keep showing up in my relationships is when I can honor my values. And that's why I think it's important to take that time to figure out what are your values, what are those North stars that align you? What is it that's bringing you happiness and you joy? So now love also challenges you. The people closest to us, they reflect things back to us that help us grow. When there's challenges that I have with my sisters, my family members, all of the people that I love, it's often more than anything, it's a way to look within myself. Because I love these people, how do I want to show up to them? It's not about them changing. It's about me changing to be the kind of person that I am. It's about me changing to show up for them in the way that I want. And so when there's a lot of conflicts going on in in my relationship, I could sit there and blame my partner for not doing something over and over. And I mean, of course, there's certain aspects where I set certain boundaries that is okay and not okay. But when it comes down to the love in the way that I want to show up and the way that I want to love that person, I have to ask myself, what does that look like? And I have to challenge myself to show up as that person. And when something is bugging me and I getting snappy and irritated, and I feel sad in a lot of emotions, that's an opportunity for me to sit and reflect, why didn't I get so triggered? What is it deep down that I'm holding on to? Why did that upset me as much as it should have when it shouldn't have? So I think love goes hand in hand with showing you that gross. Because if you didn't have those people who you love to challenge you, how are you gonna figure out what you need to do moving forward? Love is just so essential. It's such a key ingredient in my life because I I love the people that I'm around. I love the life that I'm building with my family. Ultimately, love is a guiding factor for me because I love the life that I'm building with my people. I love the adventures that we get to go on. I love, I love love. I'm just a very loving person. And I do make a lot of choices with my heart. So that's why I always have to stay true to that love aspect. And with that love aspect is also loving yourself. And another value that's become increasingly important to me, especially in the last few years, is health. Because health impacts every area of your life. If you don't have the physical health, the mental health, the capacity to be around these people you love, to do these adventures, you're not gonna be able to be happy. Now, gym has become a form of therapy and mental clarity because when I show up at the gym and I show up for my own body, it allows me to process my emotions, to show up within my family, within my people, and within myself to bring joy, bring happiness, be present, search for those happy moments, be there for somebody when there's when we're going through grief, when there's hard times, when there's seasons of life that are transitioning from maybe a bit of everything is going great to maybe not so great. When I prioritize my health and I can show up for the people around me that I love better. And ultimately, when I think about health and I think about the future generations, if I ever choose to have children or, you know, Justin's children and they have kids, you know, if we become grandparents, like when you're thinking about who you want to be in 20, 30 years, if you're not prioritizing your health now, you're not gonna be able to show up later for these people in your life. I don't want to be 60 years old and laying on my bed and struggling to walk and feeling sick and not being able to climb mountains anymore. I want to be the active ones who are biking, who are going on adventures. Like that's the lifestyle that I want not just now, I want that for my future. And that's why health is one of those guiding values, deep core values for me. Movement also shifts your mindset. When you're moving your body, when you're taking care of your health, you see life in a different way. I've talked a lot about how health and the fitness has been a big part of shaping who I am. And I genuinely stand by that. And that's something that I know even when I'm starting to have bad mental health days or I'm starting to feel overwhelmed, I have to ask myself, what have I been doing in terms of movement? What have I been feeding my body? Because those two go hand in hand. And if I'm not feeling myself, I'm not gonna be able to show up at work, I'm not gonna be able to show up for my friends, for my family, because I'm barely even able to keep myself alive. So that's why it's really important that that value of health is something that I prioritize day in and day out. For a long time, people have said that health is wealth, and it's easy to hear that without really understanding it. But when you start prioritizing your health, you realize how much it affects your energy, your mindset, and your ability to actually enjoy life. Now, personal development has been a part of my life for I want to say at least maybe five to seven years at this point, where I really started living intentionally about developing and learning who I am and healing myself. And that's where personal development comes in. I first started listening to podcasts, The Mindset and Mentor. And that was life-changing because of the viewpoints that I never really thought about, and it just slowly started shifting my mindset. Then I started aligning these actions of how I want to live my life. Because five years ago, I used to do these challenges for myself where I would try to become a whole different person in 20 days. And that's not realistic. I mean, it definitely I saw improvements, but then I would go back to my same habits that I had prior to, like, especially my drinking habits. I was drinking a lot, like I was getting blackout drunk a lot. Like it was not a great time. And but I was having fun in certain ways, but then I also was super depressed. I was having major panic attacks, I was suffering with anxiety, like depression. Um, this was prior to me being diagnosed with ADHD. And it was a really challenging time, yet a fun time. I look back onto it and ultimately it wouldn't change any of it because I wouldn't be where I am. I wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't have those experiences. When I started looking at life, slowly creating this identity and asking myself who I wanted to be and figuring that out, I've been able to slowly take these steps that have compounded over time to completely having an entirely different lifestyle than I did before. And that is because I've adopted this identity of who I am now. Before I was partying, I was staying out late, I worked, barely made it to work, but I showed up. I did a good job at work. I've always had great work ethic. That's never been something that's changed. However, the way that I show up now at work is completely different. The amount of presence that I have and the happiness that I feel and doesn't feel like worked anymore. Whereas before I was so hungover sometimes that it would be hard to show up and sh be in my best energy and do my best work because physically I I really couldn't do it. I was unwell. And then my mental health bled into that for so many reasons. And now I can work 20 days in a row. And if I know that I can definitely see I'm a bit tired and I'm not being 100% myself. However, I'm still waking up at 3:30 in the morning. I worked a triple two days ago. I worked a double yesterday, and I am continuing to show up and be present, and that is attributed to all of these habits and this identity shift that I have maintained over the course of time. I first started five years ago on this personal development journey, and I know that this is not something that I am just going to quit. This is an ongoing choice for the rest of my life. I think that there's always a way to grow and a way to elevate yourself. And I know right now there's still so many aspects that could be improved in the way that I show up. And I know that this is just the beginning. And I love that having that mindset of whenever you're starting something new, it's the beginning and it's this journey, and there's always, there's always the the next step, which is really exciting for me. I think it's really awesome that there's always something to be looking forward to, and it inspires me to keep going and to keep living. Growth isn't always easy. In fact, most of the times it does feel uncomfortable. But when I look back on those moments that shape me the most, they usually came from those challenges that push me to evolve. Even this podcast is a part of that value for me. It's this space where I get to reflect on my life and share the lessons that I'm learning along the way. Yes, some of my experiences are from a few years ago, but often a lot of what I'm talking about is in the now, in the past six months, in the past year. I'm constantly taking that time to reflect and figure out my own life. And that is why personal development will always be a part of my life. The final value that plays a big role in the life I'm trying to build is wealth. I don't want to create this wealth for me. I want to create life for the family around me, for my future generations, because financial independence is not something that I have seen in my lifetime in terms of family members. You know, there's I could get really deep into the transgenerational trauma and poverty cycles and all of that aspect, but that's not the episode for today. I just want it to kind of be a setting stone of, you know, for example, my father didn't learn how to read because it was residential schools and he went to day schools and he was sick as a child, and ultimately that's something that's been holding him back in certain regards. I'm just so grateful that I have had these opportunities in my life and I want to create more for the people around me. And the biggest thing was well, it's that time freedom. I used to think I wanted the biggest mansion and all of these extravagant things. Well, I've decided that materialistic reasons is not the reason I want Wells. I want to create time freedom. I want to build my life into something meaningful that is not limited by survival mode. Because I want to have that time to travel, to explore and world, to spend time with my family, the quality time that I need. And that is what wealth would allow me to achieve. That is what wealth and financial freedom will allow me to achieve is those moments with my family and my friends and the people that I love and going on adventures and traveling the world. That is my ultimately guiding the way. Clearly, all of my values kind of tie in that to that same category. And when you look at all these values as a whole, it's What shaped my identity. It is what is driving me to continue doing what I'm doing, to figure it out, to not stop and let life drag me down. Because I know that I hold these values so deeply that that is why I am doing what I'm doing. That is why I'm here. So that's why I think it's really important that you know you take that time to figure out what your values are. It's going to help you figure out more of your passions in life, more of what's going to make you happy. If you don't know your core values, I really challenge you to figure that out for yourself this week. And to me, wealth means creating options for my life. It's about building something that allows me to experience more of the world and ultimately to support the people that I care about. And when I reflect on these values, adventure, love, health, growth, and wealth, I realize that the moments when I feel the most aligned in my life are the moments when I'm living in alignment with them. And whenever life feels confusing or overwhelming, coming back to your values can be really grounding because they remind you what truly matters. So before we wrap up this episode, I want to leave you with a few journal prompts to reflect on your own values. First, what are the five values that guide your life right now? And do those daily habits reflect those values? And what value do you feel like you've been most neglecting lately? And finally, what would your life look like if you fully aligned your decisions with your values? Now, if there's one thing I hope you take away from this episode, it's that your values are like a compass. They don't necessarily make every decision easy, but they do help guide you back to what truly matters. Life will always pull us in different directions. Opportunities, expectations, pressure from the world around us. And sometimes it can feel confusing trying to figure out what path to take. But when you get clear on what actually matters to you, the things that make you feel alive, grounded, and aligned, decisions start to feel a little clearer. For me, those values are adventure, love, health, growth, and wealth. And they remind me that I'm building this life that isn't about perfection. It's about choosing experiences, relationships, habits, and opportunities that align with the kind of life that I want to live. So if you take a moment this week, I encourage you to reflect on your own values. Ask yourself what truly matters to you and whether the life you're building right now reflects that. Because when your actions align with your values, you stop chasing a life that looks good from the outside and you start creating one that actually feels good to live. So thank you so much for being here and for spending this time with me today. And until next time, keep thriving on your journey.