12 TIPS TO DEVELOP A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT
It is a reality today that our children struggle to find work. If they can’t get a job it could let them feel discouraged and disappointed. Parents also find it difficult to accept that after 12 years of schooling the future suddenly looks bleak and meaningless.
What can a parent do to help create more clarity and meaning about a child’s future? What is a powerful starting point of creating more meaning and a sense of purpose in a child’s life?
The most effective way I know to understand and clarify life purpose is to develop a personal mission statement. -Greg Anderson
Consequently, the humble purpose of this article is to help your child to focus and stay on the road to his/her personal destination.
What is a personal mission statement?
A personal mission statement has a strong emotional component and reflects your uniqueness and integrity. It not only opens the window to the chambers of your heart but indicates specific aims and actions that you personally feel very passionate about. You will do everything in your human power to fulfill these goals and live according to the actions. The well-known expression “talk the walk and walk the talk” is very appropriate here!
Stephen Covey describes it in his very special way: It focuses on what you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values and principles upon which being and doing are based.
Your mission statement will include or refer to the most important things in your life that you can’t live without -your personal needs, vocational interests, the life roles that you prefer to play and the beliefs that form part of your daily existence as a unique human being.
Why is a personal mission statement so important?
It replaces the negative writings on your walls. It serves as a motivational tool that gives clarity, meaning, guidance and direction to your life. It is a human well of energy!
How can I create my own mission statement?
There are no hard and fast rules but the following guidelines can definitely help.
1. Choose the specific form. Write it in telegram style if you prefer or in full sentences. You can even draw it and add a couple of notes, if that is your way of doing things!
2. Use the present tense because it is more real. It will feel as if it is already happening and encourage you to keep on doing it.
3. Put the action words (verbs) in front to give it more power! (For example: Listen always carefully before react.)
4. Keep it simple, clear, honest, easy to understand and remember, it does not have to be pages. Even one or two sentences can be very powerful. I remember a specific group discussion with health care professionals. On the spur of the moment I asked the participants what their mission statement was, meaning the formal statement of the organization. During the uncomfortable 15 seconds that followed I thought I had to help them with this one! Then, very much to my surprise, one employee only said softly but with confidence and a little smile at the corners of her mouth: We stand together. Yes, we stand together, no matter what! For a moment I was dumbfounded. I have just learned what a powerful statement only three words can be. Why do I say this? I could feel they really mean it. It is in their minds. It is in their hearts. It is in their bodies. It is in their spirits. In actual fact, the message flows from the sender’s heart directly to the listener’s heart! It is pure and clear. You can’t understand it incorrectly.
5. Present it in a way that is easily measurable.
6. Put it in two beautiful frames –one for your home and one for the workplace. Hang it where you can see it in the morning, during the day and before you go to bed at night. You can even imagine how the words of your mission statement are written in a special way on the inside of your scull!
7. Keep it alive by including it in your daily prayers and spiritual life. Download an app onto your phone to help remind you. Read and repeat it aloud at least once a day to yourself.
8. Remember it is always a process –a work in progress that you can’t force, it must develop naturally over time and you should feel comfortable with it. You identify completely with it because that is what your conscience is telling you at the moment.
9. Review it every six months, change or replace parts of it if you wish, or add completely new aims and actions, and put the new version in the frame.
10. Share it with somebody close to you. You are serious about it because it is a personal statement and commitment that you make. It is not a secret.
11. Share your mission statement with other people in an honest, open and natural way. People and the world should know about it and take note of it! Don’t be afraid or hesitant to tell them what you are doing, even if you are still uncertain about the process. They will appreciate your humbleness, vulnerability and human courage!
12. Remember, you are not going to allow other people to discourage you. In fact, part of your legacy is to influence them in a positive way!
Why are other people’s mission statements important for us?
Seeing that we can learn a lot from other people’s mission statements it is also a good idea to ask and encourage your friends, family members and colleagues to create their own mission statements. Share your guidelines with them. Notice, admire and acknowledge their achievements and unique qualities. Inspire and support them in an honest way to write their own mission statements down in their own unique handwriting. Tell them that you will really appreciate a copy of it.
When you receive their statements show your gratitude as well as:
-try to identify the differences between the statements; and
-see what you can learn about the characteristics, vocational interests, principles and values of the different people behind the statements?
This could be an unbelievable enriching and inspiring experience.
PLEASE REMEMBER:
<strong>Goals help you channel your energy into action. -L. Brown
Leo Steyl Stress-management and Career consultant