Free tool · From the book
The Junk Values Audit
Like junk food, junk values taste like satisfaction and leave you hungrier — chasing status, approval and quick relief instead of the things that actually nourish a life. This audit, from Start With Values (Penguin, 2025), uses your own regret as the diagnostic: spot where it shows up, name the junk value behind it, see the real need underneath — and build a plan for next time.
Where does regret show up?
Regret is the signal that a value has been violated — it’s the most honest data you have. Pick the ones that feel familiar (up to 5), or add your own.
Where “junk values” comes from
The term was popularized by Johann Hari in Lost Connections, drawing on psychologist Tim Kasser’s research linking materialistic values with lower wellbeing: values that prioritize money, status and appearance simply don’t deliver the psychological nutrition of connection, growth and contribution. Start With Values builds on that idea with a practical observation — junk values surface most under stress, and regret is the tell that one has just overridden a value you actually hold. For the fuller picture, see how values change under stress and values-based micro-habits — the if-then plans you build here are micro-habits by another name.
The other half of the audit
You’ve named the counterfeits. Now find the real ones.
Junk values are easiest to drop when there’s something true to replace them with. The free assessment surfaces the values you genuinely hold — it takes nine minutes, and it’s the natural next step after this audit.