Love: The first of the most important values in life is love. It is an important personal value to open your mind to the concept of love. I don't mean this in a fairy tale kind of way. That is not the only kind of love. The way in which you love your family, and friends, you can love everybody. Love is the bringer of compassion. Once, we are led by compassion, we see the best in others, while they see the best in us. We can have more faith in the world. This will help us to refrain from being suspicious, keeping us more at ease.
Understanding: This is the second important value in life. I see a lot of people around me holding grudges and keeping tempers. They know at the back of their mind and in the depths of their heart that the other person had a reason for doing what they did. Yet, they let their anger take over. Understanding is the key to a happy mind and a caring heart. If you are ready to understand and accept people and circumstances for what they are, you can gain control over it. Understand that people are doing their best, and instead of questioning it, try to find out ways to help them out.
Respect: The third of the important values in life is respect. It is very important to have respect for people. This not only allows you to get inspired by their positive aspects, but also allows you to notice their negatives. Nobody is perfect, neither you, nor me. Respect is the only way we can adopt the best of all that is around us, in the process, making us a better person everyday, every moment. A very important fact about respect is that the more you give, the more you earn. It is in fact one of the most important values in society.
Discipline: The fourth of the important values in life is discipline. Sadly, many people confuse discipline for routine and avoid it. Well, routine is the act of doing the same thing over and over again, due to lack of opportunity or imagination. On the other hand (and far better), discipline accepts the absence of routine, on the condition of responsibility. A disciplined person will have a lot of fun, but will make sure that he completes his duties. He will go out and have a blast, but will ensure that he is back at the decided time. A disciplined and responsible person will respect his as well as other's time. As such, he will always be punctual.
Honesty: The fifth important value in life is honesty. You must be wondering why this value in mentioned at the end. Well, that is because it is the base on which the other values stand. It is the most important value to have. Honesty does not only mean telling your parents when you goofed up. Or admitting to your partner that you made a big mistake. Honesty is admitting to yourself that you are not perfect. It means avoiding to make a mistake. An honest person will try his best to not goof up, but if he does, he will not only admit it, but will willingly accept the consequences. All the other values that are mentioned need to be accepted and followed with honesty. That is the only way in which they will affect your life for the better.
Important values in life differ for different people. Nonetheless, no matter which culture you belong to, certain values help make your life a whole lot better. These are the values that I have known and followed throughout my life.