What do you stand for? What is your value system?
Identifying your main drivers, values/needs/emotions, will give you a map to guide you through your life, in pleasure and in pain.
Or, as Mark Manson puts it in The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*ck, we need to choose what we value; because this will influence our emotions, which will influence our actions.
A reason why this matters: when we act according to a coherent, elevated emotion (joy, gratitude, love, etc.), our whole brain works as one: a coherent, healthy whole that connects all parts.
Different parts of the brain start beating rythmically together
The electro-magnetic field our heart and body emits becomes orderly (Oxford's Master of Physics' Jack Fraser explanation's of our electromagnetic field here).
Source: www.heartmath.com/science
It then stabilizes life conditions in the body by facilitating free-flowing communication (Understand What is at Play), and around us (The Observer Effect). It's all about vibrations, man! See this amazing video for a clear illustration of how sound (=beats per second = vibrations) order matter.
For a down-to-earth, relatable example, think of how you influence on your children, partner or friends, when you are upset and ranting - versus happy, kind and open. We simply respond to each other's emotional states. And think of the actions you take when you are feeling sad, ashamed or afraid - versus the ones you take when feeling amazing, hopeful and loving.
What are my values?
What are the top five of your values? What do you need to feel every month, week, day, to live an authentic life?
Values are time-based Needs (see NVC's list here) made universal. They also translate into Emotions, or (Bodily) Feelings, Sensations. For example, if I now have a need for Authenticity, the universal value (applicable to everyone, at all times) could be Truth. I could feel it as a clearing in my heart area, and a sense of self-confidence, with legs and feet anchored in the ground. 
Your values come from your environment (upbringing/culture/exposure to experiences and reinforcement), or are uniquely specific to you (you came with a few when you were born) -typically our deeper personality, that comes up when we stop caring about what other people think: that unique 'feel' of you when you are alone or connected in the best conditions - when you are fully in your power, without the need to diminish yourself, nor anybody else, connected in recognition of our oneness of emotions, of struggle, and of evolution.
Values evolve from our initial conditioning and agreement. Our agreement to an existing reality can be unconsciously chosen -like in trauma, where intense emotions directly 'write' into our brain; or we could consciously choose, by admiring something or someone, what we value. Your value system may become more inclusive through bringing to light what you don't really agree with, but exists as truth within your system. Through an angle of curiosity and/or appreciation for what sits in you, you can expand. The travel starts within.
Close-up of grains of sand: the key word is diversity!
All deeper values are shared by everyone, we just rank them differently, with different expressions, at different times and in different places. So everyone is able to relate to ALL values (see one non-exhaustive list here: Non-Violent, Compassionate Intercultural Communication).
The reason we focus on Values is that thinking in universal terms allows us to see from a safe distance what our common humanity is, and what the long-term objective is.
We often solve many problems that we were stuck with, because when we humanize, we relax, and we think better: it is easier to think if we feel connected (check First, Relax: uniting heart and brain is good for our health and our thinking).
What we are after here is the deeper need (= the 'Why' of Simon Sinek). The details of the what, and how, are negotiable between all parties, and subject to change (to fit evolving circumstances). The 'relational glue' is being seen, and cared for, in our (sometimes beautiful, sometimes flawed) humanity.
How is your body feeling right now? What Value does it mean you have been embodying today?
What else do you need for the rest of the day?