Writing a personal mission statement

[Pages:5]Writing a Personal Mission Statement

(from Time Thoughts - )

A personal mission statement is a brief description of what you want to focus on, what you want to accomplish and who you want to become in a particular area of your life over the next one to three years. It is a way to focus your energy, actions, behaviors and decisions towards the things that are most important to you.

Personal Mission Statement Guidelines

While there is no unique format or formula for creating your personal mission statement, the following guidelines may be helpful:

? Keep it simple, clear and brief. The best mission statements tend to be 2 to 6 sentences long.

? Your mission statement should touch upon what you want to focus on and who you want to become as a person (character) in this part of your life. Think about specific actions, behaviors, habits and qualities that would have a significant positive impact in this part of your life over the next one to three years.

? Make sure your mission statement is positive. Instead of saying what you don't want to do or don't want to be, say what you do want to do or become. Find the positive alternatives to any negative statements.

? Include positive behaviors, character traits and values that you consider particularly important and want to develop further.

? Think about how your actions, habits, behavior and character traits in this area affect the important relationships in your life.

? Create a mission statement that will guide you in your day-to-day actions and decisions. Make it a part of your everyday life.

? Think about how your mission affects the other areas of your life. Is it consistent with your other personal mission statements? Will it conflict with or contradict something else? Is it balanced?

? Make it emotional. Including an emotional payoff in your mission statement infuses it with passion and will make it even more compelling, inspiring and energizing. Say it out loud (to yourself) to see how it sounds, to see if it resonates with you.

Remember that your mission statement is not cast in stone. It will continue to change and evolve as you gain insights about yourself and what you want out of each part of your life.

Personal Mission Statement Sentence Templates

Here are some sample personal mission statement sentence templates to get you started (use the items chosen from the values exercise to help construct your statement). Use these templates as seeds to get your creative juices flowing.

"To ... [what you want to achieve, do or become] ... so that ... [reasons why it is important]. I will do this by ... [specific behaviors or actions you can use to get there]."

"I value ...[choose one to three values]... because ...[reasons why these values are important to you]. Accordingly, I will ...[what you can do to live by these values]."

"To develop and cultivate the qualities of ...[two to three values/character traits]... that I admire in ...[an influential person in your life]... so that ...[why you want to develop these qualities]."

"To live each day with ...[choose one to three values or principles]... so that ...[what living by these values will give you]. I will do this by ...[specific behaviors you will use to live by these values]."

"To appreciate and enjoy ...[things you want to appreciate and enjoy more] by ...[what you can do to appreciate/enjoy these things]."

"To treasure above all else ...[most important things to you] by ...[what you can do to live your priorities]."

"To be known by ...[an important person/group]... as someone who is ...[qualities you want to have]...; by ...[some other person/group]... as someone who is ...[other qualities]...; ..."

Feel free to combine these sentences in any way to carve your own unique personal mission statement. Here is a part of a potential mission statement for the health & fitness area using the first sentence template:

"To be healthy, fit and energetic so that I can enjoy life to the fullest and have the energy to pursue all my goals. I will do this by exercising regularly, following a nutritious diet and eliminating negative habits that are impacting my health."

If you are having trouble getting started, choose one of the sentence templates (whichever one appeals to you the most) and copy it into your word processor; then erase the "...[...]..." parts and read the sentence from the start. When you get to a gap, pause for a moment, and then let your mind fill in the gap. Just write whatever pops into your head. Repeat this a couple of times and then choose the sentences you like the most as your starting point. Later, you can add or refine your personal mission statement using more of the sentence templates.

Why is it important to create a personal mission statement? An article by Andrea O'Neill () illustrates ten reasons why developing a personal mission statement is important, as follows:

1. Significance in Your Life 2. Clarity for Your Role in Life Circumstances

3. A Measuring Stick for Life Decisions 4. A Magnet for Staying On Track in Life 5. Ability To Communicate Clearly What You Bring To Personal and Professional

Opportunities 6. Motivation to Do Your Best 7. Maximize Your Talents 8. Strength to Stand Tall in the Fluctuating Winds of Change 9. Creates Action Rather Than Reaction 10. Attracts People and Opportunities That Support Your Life

It is also important to review your personal mission statement every few months to avoid it becoming outdated. Periodic review and evaluation can help you keep in touch with your own development and keep your statement in harmony with your deepest self. Continually ask yourself the following questions (from lgr_missionStatement.pdf#search=%27personal%20mission%20statement):

? Do I feel this represents the best that is within me? ? During my best moments, do I feel good about what this represents? ? Do I feel direction, purpose, challenge, and motivation when I review this(these)

statement(s)? ? Am I aware of the strategies and skills that will help me accomplish what I have written? ? What do I need to start doing now to be where I want to be tomorrow? ? And the final test ... does this statement inspire me?

Sample Mission Statements

(for more samples, visit: )

I WILL... attempt to further my knowledge everyday either through taking classes, reading books, or educating experiences so I can be as intelligent and insightful as my parents. I WILL... be a better daughter, sister, student, teammate, and friend by improving on my inferior qualities like organization, responsibility, and compassion. I WILL... continue to exercise my body a few times a week in order to become lean and fit. This way I will have the muscle and endurance to achieve my goals and live a long, healthy life. I WILL... find a job every summer until I begin attending college in order to at least triple my current bank account. The money I earn will be used to pay for college expenses, and left untouched otherwise. I WILL... treasure time spent with my family and friends above everything else by putting aside time for them no matter how busy my schedule may become. I WILL... become a respected and noted leader to those who surround me through taking charge and succeeding in difficult situations."

"My purpose throughout each day of my life is to express my commitment to love and cherish my family and friends, improve myself personally and professionally so that I can advance within my career, lead a successful career that I will enjoy, and take on any challenges that come my way."

"I dedicate myself to an attitude of gratitude in order to improve my health and my wealth. With this attitude, I will generously share my time and my talents with my family, my church and my community."

"I dedicate myself to be the best basketball player that I can be. I will be the very best person that I can be. I will become confident in everything that I do in life. I will become a better student, friend, and son. My mission is to become more respectful and more responsible"

"To empower our unemployed and underemployed tribal community members. To provide the support services, assistance with barrier removal, job coaching and life skill workshops that will uplift and bring them to a level of success."

"My purpose each day for the rest of my life is to grow spiritually and serve as a vessel of God's will. I will strive to make a positive difference in every person I interact with and always continue to improve my body, mind, emotions and spirit with truth and love. I remain teachable and grateful."

"To value and live in a manner that shows reverence for all living beings by fostering healthy relationships and mutual respect for all so that those around me so that they may be influenced and encouraged to live positively and fruitfully. Accordingly, I will do this by continuing my education both academic and personal so that I may continue to grow and learn in order to make a progressive, effective, and beneficial impact in my relationships with other people and the environment."

"My personal mission (permission) is to trust my intuition and inner guidance which will provide meaning, purpose and direction in my life. In turn, this will bestow me with the wisdom and courage needed to stand in my truth and become the leader I was meant to be."

"Contentment. Enjoying life to its fullest. In every moment, there is a memory. The seemingly small moments can be some of the most important. A hug, a chuckle, a friendly smile, a quiet time, family and friends. How I receive these times and these moments make my life. To treat others as I would want to be treated. I reap my own harvest. I get what I give. I want to hold on to this: The Golden Rule. It takes me on the Greatest path and a wondrous journey. Dignity, Honor, Justice, Love and Truth I hold these qualities dearly in my heart and soul. I pray to keep them and abide in them, in God and in his Son Jesus. To know my weaknesses and my strengths. With this, I can find my way through the good and the bad times. I can use both of these to help others. Sometimes just a friendly `hello' can cheer, other times, just lending an ear. There are many ways, big and small, that will help others along this path called life."

"To live each day with passion, love, and faith so that I may become closer to the Lord and make a difference in people's lives. I will do this by spending time daily in the Word, seeking out opportunities to help others, and by striving to live as Jesus Christ did."

"To enhance the lives of those I meet by helping them face demanding and challenging situations with enthusiasm and strength."

"I will live each day with faith, achievement, and adventure so that I could live my life with freedom, joy, and success. I will be determined to graduate from a veterinarian college, and explore the world taking care of any animal in need."

"My mission is to give, for giving is what I do best and I can learn to do better."

"I will seek to learn, for learning is the basis for growth and growing is the key to living. I will seek first to understand, for understanding is the key to finding value and value is the basis for

respect, decisions and action. This should be my first act with my wife, my family, and my business."

"I want to help influence the future development of people and organizations. I want to teach my children and others to love and laugh, to learn and grow beyond their current bounds. I will build personal, business and civic relationships by giving frequently in little ways."

"I see each day as a clean slate, a fresh chance to write a new script and seize new opportunities. I value life's experiences and seek to learn and grow from each one. In my daily endeavors, I avoid neither risk nor responsibility; nor do I fear failure, only lost opportunity.

"I am a responsible spouse and parent; I give priority to these roles. I value differences and view them as strengths. I seek to build complementary win-win relationships with family, friends, and business associates. To keep these relationships healthy and to maintain a high level of trust, I make daily "deposits" in the "emotional bank accounts" of others."

"In my profession, I am responsible for results. I act with courage, consideration, and discretion. I prefer to let my works speak for me and believe in achieving visibility through productivity. In planning my weeks and days, I focus on key roles and goals to maintain balance and perspective. Knowing that how I perform affects how I feel about myself, I seek to do my best and record how I feel in daily entries in a personal journal."

"I value my personal freedom of choice and my rights to exercise that freedom. I am more a product of my decisions than conditions. I do not allow present circumstances or past conditioning to determine my responses to the challenges I face. I choose to focus on the positive, to work within my circle of influence ? to act directly on things I can do something about ? and thereby reduce my circle of concern."

"I educate, motivate and enable myself and all those who know me to achieve self actualization and become everything that God destined us to be."

"I am an optimist and enjoy everything that happens to me and everything I do. I am known by my family as a woman who loves and cares; by my friends as someone who is always there; by my employers as a fair, honest, responsible and hardworking individual. I respect the people who work for me and earn their respect in return. I believe that every action I take and every thought I have is directed by a sense of values and integrity that no one but God can question. I live a life without regrets."

Further exploration...

If you want more ideas on writing your personal mission statement and exploring your purpose, visit:



and scroll down to the section, "Personal Mission Statement/Purpose in Life."

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