Version-control your values — document old value, new…
When a value shift occurs, document both the old value and the triggering experience in a timestamped changelog rather than overwriting your value records, because the trajectory of revision contains information that the current state alone cannot provide.
When This Fires
- When any significant value shifts — through deliberate examination (Trace each value to its origin — if you acquired it before…), life experience, or crisis
- When you notice you "used to believe X but now believe Y" — document the shift
- During annual values reviews when comparing current values to documented history
- Complements Timestamp beliefs with validity windows — convert apparent… (belief validity windows) with the values-specific changelog
Common Failure Mode
Overwriting without documenting: "I used to value financial security but now I value creative freedom." The old value disappears from your records, and with it the context of why you shifted. Five years from now, if creative freedom hasn't produced fulfillment, you can't trace the shift back to its trigger to evaluate whether the evidence still supports it.
The Protocol
(1) When a value shift occurs, create a changelog entry rather than updating the existing record: Date: when the shift occurred or was recognized. Old value: what you previously held, stated clearly. New value: what you now hold. Trigger: what experience, evidence, or reasoning caused the shift. Confidence: how certain are you that the new value is better than the old? (2) Keep both the old and new values in your records — the old with a "superseded by" note, the new with a "supersedes" note. (3) Periodically review the changelog: are values shifting frequently (potential instability) or rarely (potential rigidity)? Is the trajectory showing convergence toward something stable? (4) The changelog becomes your values autobiography — the story of who you became and why.