One thing you will discover as your appraisal of value becomes more accurate is that value is Pareto distributed. As a consequence, the value you find in life comes from disproportionately few things.
You’ve probably already seen this pattern, even if you have not recognized it until now. Try to answer the question: “What decisions have I made or actions have I taken that are most responsible for what I presently value in life?” You may be surprised at how much of the value you’ve experienced came from just a few items.
For another important surprise, for each of the main sources of value in your life so far, how many did you recognize were so valuable beforehand or even at the time? The lesson learned: The value of high impact things usually only becomes apparent through time, after the fact.
Because so much value is concentrated in so few things, and because those things tend not to be obvious ahead of time, it is astronomically important to find ways to intentionally seek out highvalue activities, decisions, and outcomes.
While each of the sections of the life plan play a role in maximizing joy, the values section has a special role by providing the necessary ranking to prioritize how resources are used for the greatest joy.