How to Write a Personal Mission Statement
Fundamentally, your mission statement becomes your constitution, the solid expression of your vision and values. It becomes the criterion by which you measure everything else in your life.” - Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
I have read Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People several times and it still remains one of the most influential books that I’ve ever read. One day I will probably write a more in-depth post about this personal development classic, but today I want to focus on one powerful concept introduced in that book: a personal mission statement. While many companies proudly display their corporate mission statements, few individuals take the time to create one for themselves. The basic idea, however, is the same - a personal mission statement is the statement of your core values, of what is truly important to you in life. The power of having a mission statement lays in enabling you to align your everyday actions with what is truly important to you. When your actions and values are not aligned, you feel depressed, anxious, and dissatisfied. When they are in alignment, you feel happy and fulfilled because you are leaving your life’s purpose. Mission statement serves as a compass to ensure that you stay on that course.
Here are some tips for writing a personal mission statement, adapted from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and my own experience (for an example, see my personal mission statement):
- Create a Vision.
In order to identify what truly matters to you in life, you first have to expand your perspective. You can do that by visualizing your twenty-fifth and then fiftieth wedding anniversary, your retirement from your current occupation, or even your own funeral. In each of these visualization exercises, try to capture the essence of what you want to have created/achieved by that time. Personally, I have found meditation to be a very powerful tool for visualization and a good starting point in formulating my mission statement. The key steps are:- Begin with stretching exercises and coordinate them with long deep breaths.
- Lie on your back or sit in a comfortable upright position.
- Relax your body and empty your mind by concentrating on your breathing. You may play soft music or light a scented candle for relaxation.
- Once you feel completely relaxed and your mind is calm, begin the meditation.
- Visualize yourself at the end of your life, feeling completely content and satisfied with everything you have achieved and having done everything you wanted to do. The key here is to actually feel what it would be like being in that state.
- Translate what you have seen into long-term, ambitious goals for your self, and then work back to more realistic objectives by filling in details of what you need to do in order to reach those goals. If you have never done meditation or visualizations before, it may take several practice trials, but when you do get the clear vision of what you want your life to be, it will be a profound experience. This exercise should also be repeated as many times as necessary and on a regular basis in order to realign yourself with your vision, as well as to accommodate any changes as your life progresses.
- Identify Your Roles and Goals.
A way to achieve a balanced mission statement is to break it down into specific roles in your life (for example, mother, daughter, writer, etc.) and the accompanying goals that you want to accomplish in each of these areas. It is important to balance all of your roles to ensure that one doesn’t completely take over your life. Your goals for each role should be long-term, focused on results rather than activity. They identify where you want to be and give focus and purpose to your everyday activities. - Compose the Mission Statement
Write a mission statement based on what you have learned through the above exercises. It should incorporate your roles and goals, and be specific as to what you want to be (Character) and what you want to accomplish (Contributions and Achievements). It may take days or even months to write a strong mission statement (it took me almost a year to do my first one), and even then it should be consulted regularly and revised as necessary.
If you still want some help with writing your mission statement, the FranklinCovey website has this free tool, which will take you through the entire process step by step. They also offer many other tools and products that help incorporate your personal mission statement into your everyday planning process. (As a special offer, readers of BusyBeeMama.com will get a discount on FranklinCovey products by clicking through the button below).
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