Your Ballast: Increasing the Weight of Core Values
One of my most cherished gifts is getting away for some downtime on a boat and going deep into the ocean waters, skin diving. Sometimes, I have been caught in stormy waters, rocking and rolling – not the musical kind. I’m grateful for the captain’s knowledge and steady guiding hands, and for being secure in a good boat. The vessel’s core that holds it in the deep, turbulent water is its ballast. It lies deep in its core, not seen from the ship’s top and beneath the water line, allowing the boat to weather storms and reach their destinations.
Core values matter and are our personal ballasts.
Each New Year turns our thoughts toward how we will live differently and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year and our future. If our core values (our ballast) are not weighted correctly, the chances of reaching career and life destinations can be in question. Success depends on one’s core value choices. “The Lord expects you to be fair in every business deal, for He is the one who sets the standards of righteousness. Kings and leaders despise wrongdoing, for the true authority to rule and reign is built on a foundation of righteousness.” Proverbs 16:11-12 (Passion Bible).
What size boat are you building?
When building, we use a measuring tape to know how things will fit together. The Bible is our ultimate measuring stick for career and life goals. What we measure as essential core values affects our choices and sets the standards for our character and key decisions. We also use a level when building to keep things balanced. When considering future plans, a balanced perspective is necessary. That includes what people, messaging, and activities we allow to enter our lives and inform us. We determine our boat’s size by the waters in which we want to sail. Our ballast must have a measured and balanced core to float the size of the boat we’re building. We load it with weighted values based on our choices.
Core values define identity and bring acceleration.
Wandering off course happens when identity has not been weighted down in the foundations of Biblical truth. Key plans sink when core values are not firmly secured. However, when core values align with right decisions, explosive energy erupts, forming brilliant creativity and confident bold leaders. Everyone wants to be around and work with visionary, forward-thinking, and artistic people. Like magnets, we are drawn to them, feed off their endeavors, and want to go with them. They are our King Davids. When leaders are confident in their identity, it sets them apart as dynamic influencers in our culture. They are the people God is calling us to be in 2025.
This year, I want to strengthen my ballast. Want to join me? Here’s what I’ll be working on…
Gratefulness – Celebrating those tedious, mundane jobs and tasks – “Whistling while I work!”
Grace – Loving others like dogs love their owners.
Hope – Embracing life milestones without negativity but with childlike expectations.
Patience – Trusting with holy abandonment in God’s timing, and not mine.
Obedience – Taking unquestioning forward steps towards God’s desires and not my own selfish wants.
Personal Identity – Focusing my eyes on who God says I am and not cultural chatter.
Destiny – Learning more about heaven and traveling with Jesus to His destinations.
Intentionality – Turning up the volume of God’s voice within me so I can be tuned into others.
Longevity – Choosing healthy lifestyle decisions rather than what the world declares as beauty.
Mindfulness – Refocusing negative thoughts by worshipping the King of Kings.
Priorities – Spending more (and still more time) with Jesus in prayer and not on a screen.
Knowledge – Knowing God intimately because knowledge of Him informs me on all things.
Joy – Remembering that “the joy of the Lord” IS my strength.
What core value will you be working on?
Will you build a strong core to reach your destination in 2025?