I encountered this exercise recently in a book called Words Can Change Your Brain by Andrew Newberg and Mark Waldman. They call it the “Ten-Day Experiment,” and I recently applied it in working with a student who was expressing concern about a lack of self-knowledge: she did not know what major she wanted, what she liked in schools, what courses she wanted to take as a senior, and so on. The anxiety here was compounding. So we tried the following, adopted from the Newberg & Waldman book: for ten days, I asked her to wake up and, before getting going with her day (checking email, social media, having breakfast, etc), to sit in quiet contemplation. After relaxing her body, she was to ask herself one question: What is my deepest, innermost value? She was to journal about this, jotting down notes and ideas as she explored this question every morning for ten days. Then, on the eleventh — and Newberg and Waldman have a slightly different set of questions — she was to reflect on this with a metacognitive air: What did she think of this exercise? What did she actually do when putting this time in? Did she find herself thinking about the exercise later in the day? How did she understand and identify the word “value”? What did she learn about herself?

In the end, the student reported feeling calmer and emerged with a slightly greater sense of self. She shared that her deepest value was caring for others. Beginning here, we were able to discuss how this has manifested itself in her life, the ways in which she has shown it and the effect of its absence. Additionally, it led us into interesting conversations about what sorts of enterprises (not specifically careers) that she might want to involve herself with throughout her life to access this value more effectively. The exercise was successful in my perception because it provided her with some sense of agency and control. It also led her to a greater sense of self-awareness.

Something to try with the right student!