My youngest daughter recently took a trip to Guatemala with her church. They spent a week in Guatemala City, partnering with a missionary couple as they invested in the people of this country. My daughter and her team could not stop raving about this couple; they were so well taken care of and well rested even after a week of hard work. I have been on many mission trips, and it is very rare for a team to return to the States with nothing but good things to say about where they slept, the food they ate, and the people they worked with. I asked Logan why this was, and she informed me that those were the missionaries’ values. They made it a priority for their teams to sleep well and eat well because they believed that those two simple things would improve morale and make people want to come back to Guatemala. They identified the big stuff, and everything else flowed out of that. My daughter, Logan, will always remember this trip as one of the most significant weeks of her life. She will have nothing but positive things to say about these missionaries because they were so committed to their cause. Their priorities and values have become their calling card for every person who was on that trip; they will always remember this couple for their commitment to both the country of Guatemala and to the teams that came to work with them. Their values determined their reputation and inspired the people working with them. They created a culture of hospitality and hard work simply by being committed to their values. But where do values come from? How are they formed? I read an article recently that said values are the core of who you are. Values flow out of what is important to you and what you make time for. Values are the “big stuff”. The priorities in your life very quickly become your values. The things you commit to, invest in, and give to will be the foundation for your reputation. The most incredible thing about values, however, is that you get to choose them. You have the ability to decide who you want to be and what you want to give your life to. You choose what is important and where you will invest your time and resources. The things you believe to be most important become values in your life. [bctt tweet="The things you believe to be most important become values in your life." username="dukematlock"] Deciding what you want to accomplish with your life is important; setting goals and understanding what you are working towards are both vital to your success. I would argue, however, that the more important question is one of your character. Who do you want to be when you accomplish your goals? This question is answered by your values. What you prioritize today will determine who you will be tomorrow. [bctt tweet="What you prioritize today will determine who you will be tomorrow." username="dukematlock"] The good news is that even if you have made the wrong things a priority in the past, today is a great day to change that. Just like the missionaries in Guatemala that I mentioned earlier, you get to decide what is important to you and how you will be remembered. In this moment, you have the freedom and ability to make a decision about your values. What is important to you? Who do you want to become? How do you want to be remembered? Your values answer these questions. [jotform id=”51954776646168″]]]>
