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For Chip Gaines, his devotion is entirely on the biggest commitments in his life.
Chip Gaines Discusses His Priorities in Life
PEOPLE got an exclusive look into the summer issue of The Magnolia Journal, which will be available this Friday, May 7. Chip, 46, and his wife Joanna, 43, each wrote about the biggest things in their life and how they continue to stay committed to each other as a spouse and as the proud parents of 5 children. (The journal is published by PEOPLE’s parent company Meredith).
“When I look out across the whole landscape of my little corner of the world, there are plenty of places where I fall short,” Chip writes. “I’m known to be easily distracted, for one thing. In general, I and time have this way of losing track of one another. And sometimes, I can let some of the commitments I’ve made slip through my hands.”
The Fixer Upper star continued by writing about his other commitments, the ones he never loses sight of, his “non-negotiables” that he’d never let go of.
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“But there are other commitments—the big ones—that I hold on to with everything I’ve got. Honoring Jo, being a good dad, my faith, trying to do what’s right even when it’s not easy, building something that helps other people. Those are commitments I’ve made that I won’t compromise. My non-negotiables,” he continued.
“No matter how much the details and circumstances of my life may change, and no matter what storms come my way, you watch: I’m going to get those right.”
He admits that he does get distracted from time to time by the little things like “status, what kind of car we’re driving or getting our kids onto the right sports teams or who said what,” but he says he’s focused on not losing sight of what the bigger picture really is.
The HGTV alum and the co-creator of the forthcoming Magnolia Network with his wife Joanna want his first commitments to be to his marriage and the 5 kids the couple share: Drake, 16, Ella, 14, Duke, 12, Emmie, 11, and Crew, 2.
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The Home Renovator Shares His Most Important Takeaway From Life
“When I start to feel the pressure of a world that is trying to sway or dictate my behavior to make one of my non-negotiables negotiable, I go back to the list of things in my life that is unwavering part of who I am,” the home renovator writes. “It took me a while, but do this enough times and you start to realize the importance of safeguarding what matters to you most.”
“’cause I’ve seen the way it plays out,” he adds. “People who are willing to negotiate everything can end up standing for nothing. People who hold fast to their nonnegotiables, on the other hand, erase the space between who they are and who they want to be.”
The summer issue of The Magnolia Journal will become available on newsstands where you can pick them up on Friday, May 7.