Follow your values. You might meet the love of your life.
Sometime in 2015 I became a vegetarian. Four years later I was introduced to Mia, the love of my life. We've been married three years to this day.
There are many reasons why I became and continue to be vegetarian, some of which I may explore later, but there is one way to simplify it: "it aligns with my values."
On that day in 2015, I was watching a documentary called Mission Blue. A switch flipped. I started feeling tension inside me that I couldn't shake - a cognitive dissonance. My decision in that moment to become vegetarian was the first time that I'd consciously aligned a life decision to my values.
In the years leading to that decision, my work with microfinance organisations had specifically focused on the conscious alignment of their operations with their mission and values. I wasn't practicing this in my own life.
Years later, in 2019 I was living in the Philippines, a country where it is rare to find vegetarians. One evening I was out with some friends and one of them introduced me to Mia - "Hey, you're both vegetarian, you should date."
One decision, made years later based on following my values, led to this moment.
A couple of days later we went on that date. We talked about our values. It lasted 5+ hours, and I knew then that I'd met the love of my life.