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The Molecule that Rules Your Life

Values, Beliefs, Principles, and Motivation

It's commonly recognized that values are at the heart of motivation. We are not motivated to do anything which does not provide or serve some value.

It's easy to conclude, therefore, that behavior flows directly from the value it serves. But that proves to be a gross oversimplification.

The truth is, every value is part of a construct which can be envisioned as a molecule. There are three elements in this molecule. The value is at the center of it. The value is then surrounded with a set of beliefs which we hold with regard to that value. Then the individual beliefs give rise to principles which define how we should implement the value n our daily life.

Behavior is not so much shaped by values directly. Behavior is a by-product of what we believe about a given value and the principles which we derive from those beliefs. Quite literally, it's not values, but VBP molecules that are the source of motivation.

Because of these three elements — Values, Beliefs, Principles — I've chosen to refer to this construct as a VBP molecule. The drawing below illustrates it. And this podcast episode delves into the molecule and its implications for effective motivation.

Download a JPEG version of the VBP Molecule.