Personal mission
statements provide daily guidance and focus on those values that are most important.
A personal mission statement is a written culmination of values, roles, objectives, and self-reflection and self-evaluation. It has the flexibility to change as you change and the ability to keep you focused when you travel down a path that is not acceptable to your own morals and values. Creating a personal mission statement is the first step to a life of success and satisfaction, and anybody with a little time can create one.
Values
Begin with values. Values are those characteristics most important to you. Example values include commitment, loyalty, duty, respect. To begin writing your personal mission statement, make a list of your top ten values and defines these as they apply to you. Here is a good example for a personal clarification statement for commitment:
Commitment:
I am committed to accomplishing my goals.
I am committed to my relationship with my wife and family.
I will always accomplish my personal tasks.
Roles
Next consider the roles that you play throughout your day-to-day life. Answer the question of "Who am I?" by first defining both your personal and professional occupations. Examples might include: I am a student, I am a husband, I am a teacher. As with values, write a statement for each occupation. It is important to identify who in your life may be related to this role. For instance, the role of son may be written as follows:
Role: Son
Key people related to this role: Parents.
Clarify: I will show my parents the respect they deserve. I will do my best to make them proud and remain involved in their lives.
Starting Point
Answering the question of "What one thing could I accomplish in my professional life to have the most positive impact?" and the same question for your personal life will provide a good starting point toward writing your final mission statement. For a teacher, one example of a professional starting point answer may read something like this:
Contribute to the development of childhood studies by writing a book that reflects on my own research and experience to provides parents with coping methods for developing slower readers.
Be, Do, Have
"What do I want to be when I grow up?" As important as this question was in the past, when writing a personal mission statement, it is still just as important. Make a list of traits that reflect the kind of person you would like to be, the things you would like to do in your life and the material objects that would reflect your accomplishments. Examples of "Be, Do, Have" include:
I would like to be driven, compassionate, hardworking.
I would like to travel to every continent, obtain my Ph.D., learn Spanish.
I would like to have five acres of land, a sailboat, a new house.
Evaluation
The difficult part of any personal mission statement is the honest self-evaluation that must take place prior to writing. In order to begin writing, take some time to reflect on your past and your accomplishments. These events will identify strengths and weaknesses. Use these for developing your final mission statement. For self-evaluation ask the following questions:
What have been some of my greatest moments of happiness and fulfillment?
What activities do I most enjoy and find most fulfilling in my professional life?
Ware are the activities of most worth in my personal life?
Example
Writing your personal mission statement takes time and a great deal of reflection. By following the steps above you will have a strong foundation from which to begin. Below is an example personal mission statement for you to consider:
I will live each day as if it were my last, building relationships that last a lifetime, focusing first on my marriage, second on my family and third on my friendships.
I live to create, build, nourish and grow. I will live life within the constraints that are acceptable to me. I will never live life under the control of values that are not acceptable to anyone but myself.
I will never fail in my mission to succeed.
I will never quit in my desire to achieve.
