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“Aspirational values are the truths you desire to live out, thus you ‘aspire’ to them.”

A thought by John Townsend from his book, Leading From Your Gut (p. 36). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

So, let’s look at this.

John says, “You aspire to them because you haven’t yet fully achieved them. Even so, they are principles you want to commit to and live out. The apostle Paul described one of his aspirational values when he wrote this about his desire for spiritual maturity and completeness: ‘Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me’ (Philippians 3:12). In the same way, aspirational values inspire us, focus us, and give us a standard to shoot for. Here are some examples:

•​Following God
•​Prioritizing relationships
•​Compassion for others
•​Growing spiritually, personally, and emotionally
•​Living a life of excellence
•​Truthfulness and honesty
•​Engaging in one’s mission and purpose in life
•​Learning to lead others well”

He goes on, “Values are not something we create or make up on our own. Instead, we identify with and follow them. Values exist as universal truths, and are true whether or not we are aware of them or believe in them. Just as gravity causes things away from the earth to move back toward the earth, values are part of the fundamental rules of life.”

We need to take some time, don’t we, to seek out our aspirational values? 

Yes, yes!
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