Understanding the
​Flourish Values Model (FVM)

1. We are all born different - which (as an estimated 113 billion people have lived so far) is amazing and important. But no matter where we are born, we all share the same core needs. And these needs are always trying to bring us into wholeness and balance. Our values are a reflection of whether or not these needs are being met.
   
   
2. Both nature and nurture matter for our wellbeing and growth i.e. we are not ruled by our genes. But we carry forward our unresolved family patterns and the rules and rituals of our cultures i.e. the 'ties that bind'. Which is why understanding 'why we are the way we are' and self-kindness is so important.
   
   
3. Our early experiences literally shape the architecture of our brains - and that is why protecting the wellbeing of children and families is so important for societal wellbeing. Security and relationship are the most important needs that need to be fulfilled before we can become curious and independent learners.
   
   
4. Brains need lots of experiences to grow - and in the early years it is important that this means real experiences in the real world. Social and emotional learning is critical for our wellbeing as we are innately social animals and we constantly learn from our interactions with others.
   
   
5. Brains never stop changing and adapting - we are not defined by our backgrounds or labels and can always learn new things. That means we can transcend old stories and ways of thinking that are not serving who we really are. 
   
   
6. We have lots of different intelligences - we are not designed to be interested in or good at the same things. Our interests and passions reveal what we have been designed to contribute to the world. Success is therefore not only about what we have in the way of status, celebrity or material possessions, but what we bring to the world.
   
   
7. Our intelligences are dynamic - we are designed to constantly seek out new learning and challenges and if we can't do this we lose our energetic 'flow'. We need to examine current traditional education models and to ensure that they are serving the needs of the future and not the past.
   
   
8. Risk and failure matter - we will not learn unless we take risks and challenge what we already know. That includes stepping out of our cultural contexts and boundaries.
   
   
9. Playfulness and creativity matters - we are designed to think out-of-the-box and be playful and generative explorers of the world. 
   
   
10. Flourishing happens when our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs become integrated through our experiences in the outside world. Our individual wellbeing depends upon the wellbeing of others and the planet.                        

​And one thing that brings it all together

                       We are all connected as one living system.
               We are both unique and unified, individual and whole.
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