Values are our next most unconscious filter and are based upon our experiences to date. Values determine what the individual considers to be right or wrong, good or bad. Values are context specific, therefore what’s important in one area of your life, may not be important in other areas.

Values are essentially an evaluation filter. They are how we decide whether our actions are good or bad, right or wrong and how we feel about our actions. Values are arranged in a hierarchy with the most important one typically being at the top and lesser ones below that. Each of us has a different NLP Communication model of the world (an internal model about how the world is), and our Values are the result of our model of the world. When we communicate with ourselves or someone else, if our model of the world conflicts with our values or someone else’s values, then there is going to be a conflict. Richard Bandler says, “Values are those things we don’t live up to.”

Values are what people typically move toward or away from. They are our attractions or repulsions in life. They are basically a deep, unconscious belief system about what’s important, and Values can change with context too. That is, you probably have certain values about what you want in a relationship and what you want in a business. Your values about what you want in one and in the other may be different. And actually, if they’re not, it’s possible that you may have trouble with both. Since values are context related, they may also be state related.