Valueism
Identify intrinsic values and use effective methods to create them
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 99%
Valueism is Greenberg's two-part life philosophy. First, determine what you intrinsically value and distinguish it from instrumental values. Intrinsic values are desired for their own sake, while instrumental values matter because they enable something else; happiness can be intrinsic, while money is typically instrumental. Second, use effective methods to create more of what you intrinsically value. The mechanism prevents a common drift in which a useful means, such as money, becomes a self-perpetuating target detached from the ends it was supposed to serve. Valueism does not eliminate conflicts among intrinsic values or provide an objective answer to every choice. It establishes the destination and requires practical methods, leaving trade-offs to further reflection.
Origin
Spencer Greenberg developed Valueism as his personal answer to what someone should do with life without an overarching belief system.
Core principles
- 01Intrinsic values matter for their own sake
- 02Instrumental values matter only because they produce something else
- 03Means should not silently become ends
- 04Effective action should create what you intrinsically value
How to run it
- 1
Identify candidate values
List the outcomes, experiences, qualities, and resources you currently care about or pursue.
Pro tip Include obvious means such as money so they can be classified rather than ignored.
- 2
Separate ends from means
Ask whether each item matters for its own sake or only because it produces something else.
Pro tip Imagine the item stripped of its ability to create any further benefit.
Watch out People often label instrumental goals as intrinsic even after hearing the distinction.
- 3
Clarify intrinsic values
Retain the things you fundamentally care about even when no deeper justification is available.
Pro tip Use examples and quizzes if the distinction remains unclear.
- 4
Select effective methods
Choose goals, plans, and actions likely to create more of the intrinsic outcomes.
Pro tip Judge a method by results rather than symbolic association with a value.
Watch out Do not pursue an instrumental metric after it stops serving the underlying value.
- 5
Audit alignment
Periodically compare how you spend time with the intrinsic values you identified.
Watch out The audit may reveal uncomfortable inconsistencies in status seeking, honesty, or consumption.
In the wild
A person notices that increasing a financial number has continued long after it produces additional happiness, freedom, or help for others. They classify money as instrumental, identify the intrinsic outcomes it was meant to support, and redirect effort toward methods that produce those outcomes more directly.
→ A means is restored to its proper role instead of becoming an end in itself.
Common mistakes
Calling a possession intrinsic
A car or money may be valuable because of what it enables, not for its own sake.
Assuming values never conflict
Honesty and avoiding suffering can point toward different choices in the same situation.
Stopping after self-discovery
Valueism also requires effective methods that actually create the valued outcomes.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for people who lack an overarching belief system or suspect they are pursuing means as if they were ends.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for anyone seeking an objective universal ranking of values because it starts from what the individual intrinsically values.
From the transcript
“first work to figure out what you intrinsically value, separate that out from what you instrumentally value.”
“try to use effective methods to create what you intrinsically value. That's it. That's our life philosophy.”
From the episode
The 5 Most Effective Techniques To Hack Your Habits - Spencer Greenberg - #705
Spencer Greenberg