The terminal values I have are happiness, recognition, and prosperity. My primary goal is to live a happy life. When I look back at my life, I want to feel that I have lived a happy one. I tell myself that I want to die smiling, and if there are lots of people missing me, I will have lived good life.
As it can be seen from wanting to have people missing me, recognition from the people around me is also a very important terminal value. My definition of recognition is to be loved and admired from my friends and family, mostly for my character as well as ability and achievement. This puts me in the category of high need for affiliation, which is true. It is my philosophy that no one is perfect, and no one can live alone. People need each other, and I am no exception. This high desire to gain recognition motivates me to put in a lot of effort to polish my character and ability.
The need for recognition can also be explained by the fact that I consider dependability, courtesy, and honesty as most important instrumental values. I’ve always wanted to be someone people can count on, especially when they are going through hard times. When my friends have a problem, I try everything I could do for them. And their gratitude towards my contribution makes me feel really good, about myself and my relationship with my friends.
Moreover, I always try to be courteous. I think being well mannered and considerate is a key factor of courtesy and I do my best not to hurt others’ feelings or annoy them. It is also important to be honest, especially with people you have known for a long time. Lies turn out to be lies after time. It takes a lot of effort and time to build trust, but it can be broken even with the smallest lie. In terms of honesty, I try to remember the quote saying ‘Characters build slowly, but it can be torn down with great swiftness.’ I know how fragile trust can be, so I put honesty as one of my top instrumental values. I am of belief