Sorting Values Using a Pendulum

By

Karimkron@aol.com

Used with permission

Elicit Values list

Example JOB/CAREER

1.      What is important about your JOB/CAREER?

2.      What else? (loop)

3.      If you had all of those, what would make you leave your JOB/CAREER?

4.      If you had all those and the thing that would make you leave, what would make you stay? (loop 3 and  4)

Calibrate your pendulum

1.      Draw a semi-circle and label one side important and the other side indifferent.  In the example below, to the left is important, and to the right is indifferent.  It doesn’t matter which side is which.  Just choose one way for the exercise.

2.      Think of something very important to you while holding the pendulum over the center of the semi-circle (the yellow dot in the example) and watch the pendulum swing to the side labeled important. 

3.      Think of something you’re indifferent to (not something you hate, just indifferent) while holding the pendulum over the center of the semi-circle and watch the pendulum swing to the side labeled indifferent.

Map your values on the semi-circle

1.      Think of one of your values (picture, words, feeling, sound) and hold the pendulum over the center of the semi-circle. 

2.      Watch the pendulum swing from the center towards the outer edge. 

3.      Once it’s clear which way pendulum is swinging, draw a line from the center to the outer edge in the direction the pendulum was swinging and label the line with the value.

4.      Do steps 1-3 for all your values.

5.      The resulting semi-circle will have all your values lined up from important to indifferent with their positions and space in-between indicating the relative importance.

Using the Pendulum to determine Towards and Away

1.      Calibrate the pendulum to the new semi-circle.

2.      Make a list of the values and ask for each value “What does that value mean?” .  Repeat the question until  you have a clear representation of the continuum between away and towards.

3.       For each value select a word or phrase that clearly defines the towards end of the scale and do the same for the away end of the scale.

4.      Select a value and get a clear representation of the scale of towards and away of the value.

5.      Holding the pendulum over the middle of the semi-circle and think of your value. 

6.      Watch the pendulum swing from the center towards the outer edge. 

7.      Record the % towards and % away for that value

8.      Do steps 4-7 for each value. 

Once you get used to the exercise, you may be able to skip steps 2 and 3 and just go straight to the semi-circle.