You value creativity. You value learning. You value generosity.
But what do those values actually shape in your day-to-day life?
You know what matters to you. You can name it easily. You might even have it written down somewhere.
And yet something still feels off.
You look at your calendar and see back-to-back meetings when you said deep work mattered most.
You scroll past unopened courses after telling yourself learning was a priority.
You say yes to work that drains you while the projects that matter most keep getting postponed.
That gap creates a quiet, persistent friction. Not loud enough to force change. Not small enough to ignore.
This is usually where guilt shows up.
You start questioning your discipline. Your seriousness. Your integrity. If creativity really mattered, wouldn’t you be creating more? If learning was essential, wouldn’t you be making time for it?
So you try harder. You set better goals. You recommit.
And somehow, the pattern stays the same.
The issue isn’t willpower. And it isn’t a lack of values.
It’s that most people never build the translation layers between what they value and how they live.
“I value creativity” becomes an identity statement, not a way of orienting real decisions.
Without translating values into clear intentions and alignment, every choice becomes a negotiation. You’re left trying to interpret what your values mean in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, with competing demands and limited energy.
This week in Flux & Flow, we’re exploring a three-layer framework I use and teach that bridges that gap:
These aren’t abstract ideas. They’re practical translation layers that turn values into lived experience without relying on force or discipline.
Values: Naming What Matters (and Where Most People Stop)
You say, “I value creativity.”
Or learning. Or connection. Or service. Or autonomy.
This layer matters. Naming what is important to you gives shape to the kind of life you want to build. Without it, everything downstream becomes hollow. But a value on its own is descriptive, not operational.
It tells you what matters, not how that value takes shape in your life.
That’s why values often feel simultaneously important and ineffective. You know they matter, yet they don’t reliably guide your calendar, your energy, or your yeses and nos.
Values alone tend to remain aspirational. They sit above the reality of your days rather than shaping them.
They are a foundation, not what grows from that foundation.
That’s where intention comes in.
Intention: Turning Values Into Commitments
If a value names what matters, intention defines what you are actively committing to in service or exploration of that value.
This is a layer most people skip.
They move straight from values to action and wonder why everything feels disconnected and reactive.
Intention is the bridge that transforms “this matters to me” into a clear orientation for your time, energy, and attention.
An intention is not a goal.
It’s not a task.
And it’s not a performance metric.
An intention is a commitment to a chosen direction.
Intentions are powerful at multiple time scales, day, week, month, and season, and across multiple action scales, task, action, project, and practice.
Over time, intentions will appear, fade, and evolve. Some will take center stage, while others move into the background as circumstances change.
This matters because values endure, but your life keeps changing. That means your intentions need to remain flexible.
You may value creativity for a lifetime. But how creativity takes shape over time should evolve.
Values and intentions together give you a sense of what matters and why. But they still leave an important question unanswered.
How do you actually move through the territory of your day-to-day life?
Staring at a compass doesn’t move you forward.
That’s where the third layer comes in.
Alignment.
Alignment: Recognizing Aligned Action in Real Time
Values name what matters.
Intention clarifies commitment and direction.
Alignment filters ensure that how you move forward stays connected to what matters most.
Even with a clear intention, life is full of real dilemmas.
Not between good and bad, but between many valid and valuable options. Each possibility makes sense on its own. Each one could be worth your time. And choosing one often means not choosing another.
This is where things get difficult.
It’s also where finding alignment with your intentions become especially powerful.
Without alignment, even small decisions become debates. You weigh tradeoffs. You justify your reasoning. You wonder if you are missing something better. You spend an inordinate amount of time trying to determine what is “right.”
Filtering through alignment shifts the conversation.
Instead of asking what is right, you ask what is most aligned.
That distinction matters, because in complex creative lives there is rarely a single correct choice. There is only the choice that most aligns with the intention you have chosen to focus on.
Alignment filters turn intention into a practical lens for prioritization. They don’t eliminate options, but they make it easier to see which ones deserve your focus right now.
As you look at the possibilities in your day, week, or month, you can simply ask what seems most aligned with your intention.
When a task or project or piece of work does not pass your alignment filters, you are not slacking or avoiding. You are intentionally honoring the intention you set. And when something does pass, you can move forward without needing to justify it to yourself.
If someone were to ask the What, Why and How of your current focus you’ll be able to answer with a confidence and clarity that 98% of creatives don’t have.
From Knowing to Living
Most people don’t struggle because they lack values or discipline.
They struggle because they are trying to live those values without a way to leverage them into meaningful work.
When values stand alone, they feel inspiring but vague.
When intention is added, values gain direction.
When aligned with effective forms of action, confusion and overwhelm decrease exponentially and you stop requiring constant internal negotiation over what to focus on.
This isn’t about doing more or trying to squeeze more time and effort from every hour of every day.
It’s about making informed decisions grounded in personal meaning and creative autonomy.
Take a moment this week and notice both how your values inform the work you are doing and what the work you are doing says about your values.
If there was a conscious intention connecting things what is it? And if there isn’t how might you design one?
Until next time,
Jeff
P.S. If this all resonates with you and you want to explore further with a community of supportive peers (including me) be sure to check out Intention by Design. It’s one of several learning experiences included in Antifragile Creative designed to help you find clarity, build momentum, thrive personally and professionally.