A personal mission statement allows you to voice your beliefs and ambitions, as well as defining what is most important to you. It also makes decision-making easier since it explains if the actions you're making are in line with your goals for your life.
A personal mission statement can take significant time and work to construct, but when completed, it gives a tremendous payout. Don’t worry! People spend years perfecting, lengthening and even shortening theirs. And guess what! You can change it whenever you grow and feel it needs to be changed. Nothing is set in stone!
In this post, we'll go over what a personal mission statement is and how to construct one for yourself.
(If you missed the last post and need a reminder on creating your vision, click the link below)
What is a Personal Mission Statement?
A personal mission statement helps you outline your beliefs, who you are, and how you measure success. It helps keep you aligned with your vision and plan for life.
It can also help you make decisions and keep focused on your long-term goals. In addition, it establishes limits that facilitate decision-making by making it easy to assess if your choices match with your long-term goals.
Why is Having a Personal Mission Statement Important?
Anyone who know me, knows I’m all about visuals and painting a picture for you. If I can’t paint it with a visual, I’ll tell you a story. Our life is the story we tell ourselves it is!
Don’t believe me!? When was the last time you convinced yourself that can’t afford something? Instead of asking, how can I afford that?
When was the last time you convinced yourself that you didn’t have enough energy? And then you catch yourself continuing to follow habits that drain your energy and validate your words.
We go through life looking for ways to validate OUR STORY!
Paint the story you want and deserve!
A personal mission statement is significant because it may serve as a decision-making guideline for how you spend your time, connect with people, and do your work. Making decisions about what to do with your time is just as essential as making decisions about what not to do with your time. For example, if you've been requested to execute a task that isn't related to your purpose, it's okay to decline. However, we often volunteer for things anyway because we feel obligated.
In general, having a mission to lead your career may help you reach both short and long-term objectives.
How to write a personal mission statement
By following the four stages outlined below, you will be able to start drafting a personal mission statement that will inspire you and give direction and guidance in your life. Remember that creating a personal goal statement is as much about discovery as it is about production. Don't hurry things or establish hard schedules for yourself; instead, take your time, ask yourself the correct questions, and reflect thoroughly on your beliefs and objectives.
A meaningful personal purpose statement consists of two main components. The first is what you want to do – what you want to achieve, what you want to contribute. The second is who you want to be - what character traits and attributes you want to cultivate.
1. Visualize Who You Want to Be
Step 2: Remember your values
As you begin thinking about who you are and who you want to be; make a list of what is most important to you and what you are most enthusiastic about. Consider what or who you value the most and how your life is linked to those people or things.
Step 3:
Drafting Your Mission Statement
When I first started creating my mission statement, I had just read the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective Individuals by Stephen Covey. It was life changing; however, it was the hardest thing in the world to skim through the hundreds of pages the book was and create my personal mission statement. I eventually came across another book by the same author titled How to Develop Your Personal Mission Statement.
The following statements may help you determine the focus and wording of your personal mission statement.
I am at my best when . . .
I am at my worst when . . .
I am truly happy when . . .
I want to be a person who . . .
Someday I would like to . . .
My deepest positive emotions come when . . .
My greatest talents and best gifts are . . .
When all is said and done, the most important things in life are . . .
Possible life goals for me are . . .
My initial draft looked as follows:
My life’s journey is…
I will be a person who:
impacted the lives of hundreds of people by creating future leaders. I wish to build a family that continues to pursue a legacy of helping others and leading by example of ownership, future leaders and self starters.
Step 4: Review
Writing a mission statement requires deep reflection about who we are and what our purpose is. Review your mission statement when it is still in draft form. Ask yourself the following questions.
Does my mission statement …
Bring out the best in me?
Challenge and motivate me?
Communicate my vision and values?
Address significant roles in my life? (I only addressed my life's purpose in this article)
Represent the unique contribution I can make to society?
It took me quite sometime to create. In the end, I changed it so many times as I grew and achieved more and more goals that I never thought were possible. Today, I go with the short version because it still aligned to every aspect, from my principles to my roles. It's also easiest to write at the top on my journals and daily planners.
My Mission Statement Example
My (short version) mission statement:
To impact the lives of others to achieve amazing things.
I started by changing my story. I can only hope you discover your “ah ha” moment throughout the process as well.
If you still struggle to create your own mission statement, want something a little longer, or would you like something a little more automated, try Stephen Covey’s website and generate your own today.
It’s free! I get no affiliate return. I just want you to get the guidance and tools you need to be more effective!
If you’d like options for creating a personal, family, or even team mission statements, visit:
Just make sure you write your own story and start taking action with where you’re going today!
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