The best leaders have principles that guide them. These principles prevent emotional decisions and help avoid mistakes. They are like a decision-making tool you can rely on. Most people don’t write down their principles, but they should. Writing them gives clarity and direction in life.
If you want to start, ChatGPT can help. Here are 8 helpful ChatGPT prompts to create principles you’ll truly follow. Copy and paste them into ChatGPT, then personalize the square brackets. Keep the same chat window open to maintain context.
Write your personal principles: ChatGPT prompts to set your rules
1. Define Your Values
Your principles must reflect your core values. But first, you need to identify them clearly. Many people think they know their values but struggle to define them. Use this prompt to uncover your true values.
Prompt:
“I want to understand my core values better. Ask me 10 questions about my beliefs and what drives me. After each answer, ask a follow-up question for deeper insight. My background is [describe your upbringing and key life experiences]. My current role is [describe your job or business].”
This process will reveal the values that truly matter to you. For example, if your values are honesty and growth, you’ll discover how to integrate these into every decision.
2. Put Yourself in Difficult Situations
It’s easy to have principles when everything is going smoothly. But how will you handle tough situations? This prompt simulates real-life challenges where your principles will be tested.
Prompt:
“Create 5 challenging scenarios where I face ethical dilemmas or tough decisions. Offer 3 possible actions for each. My business is in [your industry], and I’m facing challenges like [describe your business challenges].”
These scenarios will help you figure out how your principles hold up under pressure. For instance, if you’re in a business situation where profit conflicts with honesty, you will see how important transparency is to you.
3. Identify Your Behavior Patterns
We often repeat behaviors without realizing it. Understanding your decision-making patterns helps you refine your principles. ChatGPT can help you uncover these patterns by reviewing your past decisions.
Prompt:
“I want to understand my behavior patterns better. Ask about 5 recent decisions I’ve made. Analyze my thought process, emotions, and the outcomes. My business goals are [outline your objectives].”
With this prompt, you’ll learn if your decisions align with your values. For example, you might discover that fear influences many of your choices, leading you away from your principles.
4. Create a Shortlist of Principles
Once you understand your values and patterns, it’s time to create your principles. These principles should be clear, actionable, and reflect your true values.
Prompt:
“Based on my previous answers, create a list of 7 guiding principles for me. Each principle should be a short, memorable statement that reflects my values and guides my decisions. Consider my role as [your role] and my business goals of [your objectives].”
This will result in principles like “Always act with integrity” or “Embrace continuous learning.” These statements will be simple yet impactful enough to shape your daily decisions.
5. Live by Your Principles
Creating principles is just the beginning. To make them effective, you need to practice living by them. This prompt will guide you in applying each principle in your daily life.
Prompt:
“I’ve created these 7 principles: [list your principles]. For each principle, give me 3 specific actions to follow in my daily life and business. My typical day involves [describe your daily routine], and my biggest business challenges are [list your current challenges].”
For instance, if one of your principles is “Always act with transparency,” you could have actions like sharing progress updates regularly or being open about mistakes with your team.
6. Use Your Principles in Team Settings
Your principles should also guide how you lead and work with others. If you’re managing a team or working in a collaborative environment, it’s important to ensure your principles influence your leadership.
Prompt:
“Help me apply my principles in team settings. Ask me about recent team interactions, then show me how my principles could improve my leadership approach. My role is [describe your role], and my team faces [describe team challenges].”
This can help you identify ways to communicate more openly, foster teamwork, or ensure fairness in decision-making.
7. Adjust and Refine Over Time
Principles aren’t set in stone. As your life and business evolve, your principles might need tweaking. Use ChatGPT to reflect on your principles regularly and adjust them when needed.
Prompt:
“Review my 7 principles and suggest improvements based on my recent challenges and growth. My current role is [describe your role], and my recent challenges include [describe your challenges].”
This reflection will ensure that your principles stay relevant and aligned with your goals as circumstances change.
8. Test Your Principles in Daily Decisions
Finally, once your principles are in place, test them in real situations. You can use ChatGPT to simulate daily decision-making scenarios where your principles are put to the test.
Prompt:
“Create 3 real-life scenarios based on my current business challenges. For each, ask how I would use my principles to make a decision. My challenges include [describe your current challenges].”
These exercises will help you see how well your principles guide you in your daily life. For example, you may face a choice between sticking to quality or cutting corners to save costs. Applying your principles will show you the right decision based on your values.
Writing your principles and living by them isn’t just for business leaders. It’s for anyone who wants to lead a purposeful, values-driven life. ChatGPT is a valuable tool to help you clarify your values, create actionable principles by this prompts, and live by them in daily decisions. Following these prompts will help you become more confident in your choices and lead a life that aligns with your core beliefs.
Now, no more winging it. Create principles that guide you and start making decisions you’re proud of.
