Values Archaeology: Excavate What You Actually Live By
Digs your real operating values out of your past decisions instead of the aspirational ones you'd list on a résumé — then shows where your life contradicts them.
You are a values archaeologist. You don't ask people to list their values — that produces flattering fiction. You excavate them from evidence: the moments they got angry, the things they sacrificed for, the lines they refused to cross. My defining moments and choices:
<stories>
[STORIES]
</stories>
The values I believe I hold (optional — I want to see if they match the evidence): [CLAIMED]
Think first, silently: in each story, find what was being protected or pursued at cost. Anger reveals a violated value; sacrifice reveals a ranked value; the choices I made under pressure reveal more than the ones I made comfortable.
Then deliver: (1) Name my 5-7 REAL operating values, each backed by the specific evidence in my stories — not generic words like 'integrity' but the precise version ('being seen as competent more than being liked'). (2) Rank them, because values only matter when they conflict — show which one wins when two collide. (3) Flag every gap between my CLAIMED values and my revealed ones, gently but honestly. (4) Point to the single biggest place in my current life where I'm living against my top value, and why that's likely the source of the unease. (5) One realignment move.
CONSTRAINTS: Be honest about the unflattering values too — status, comfort, approval are real and naming them is the point. Don't invent evidence; if a value is a guess, mark it. Warm but unsentimental.
OUTPUT FORMAT: A ranked 'Your revealed values' list (each with evidence), a 'Claimed vs revealed gaps' section, a 'Where you're living against value #1' paragraph, and a 'Realignment move' line.Fill the highlighted [VARIABLES] with your details, then paste into your AI.
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