The Market of True Matters: A Novel Approach for Taking Stock of Personal Values

Abstract

The field of personal visualization has seen significant advancements, driven by increased personal data and interest in self-improvement. While traditional personal visualization tools focus on behavior tracking, this paper explores an innovative approach to visualizing personal values aligned with users' professional mental models. We present the development of a tool that uses the stock market metaphor to represent individual values, leveraging the business backgrounds of the co-authors. Data collected over a year tracked four values: wisdom, security, curiosity, and love. These values were visualized as stocks, reflecting their daily fluctuations and overall trends. Our work demonstrates that aligning personal visualization tools with a familiar metaphor enhances user engagement and personal development, suggesting new directions for personal visualization research and for one’s approach to life.