One very important thing I shared in the last post which I titled Why does your business need a mission statement? , was that a good mission statement should inspire you to do things that are in line with the company’s direction and away from things that are less important.
I also gave you the key elements of a mission statement and tips to creating your organization’s mission statement. You can check out the article here.
I will continue TODAY by sharing with you what I understand by Personal Mission and how to write personal mission statements.
Before I delve into it, I’d like to remind you that you can still catch up on previous posts on Goal setting here.
What is a Personal Mission Statement?
A personal mission statement is a statement that defines your values, who you are on how you define success. A personal mission statement can be used to guide your decisions and help you stay focused to meet your long-term goals.
A personal mission statement creates boundaries that make decision-making easier, as it’s easier to see whether your decisions align with your long-term goals.
A personal mission statement is rather like the company mission, only applied to your life. It states why you exist and what impact you choose to have. If your individual, team and organisational values and missions are aligned, it will help you to see how you can add value to your organisation.
Why is a Personal Mission Statement Important?
It’s important to have a personal mission statement as it motivates you to have a positive impact on the world and helps you feel more satisfied in your everyday life. It impacts on the degree of passion that you bring to your job. A Personal Mission Statement also helps you to:
- Understand yourself better.
- Rediscover the reason you started your company in the first place.
- Make changes by taking up alternative roles.
- Carry out your current duties much more effectively and happily by focussing on the things you love.
How To Write A Personal Mission Statement
- Identify Past Successes: Spend some time identifying four or five examples where you have had personal success in recent years.
- Identify Core Values: Develop a list of attributes that you believe identify who you are and what your priorities are. The list can be as long as you need. Once your list is complete, see if you can narrow your values down to around five or six of the most important values. Finally, see if you can choose the one value that is most important to you.
- Identify Contributions: Make a list of the ways you could make a difference.
- Identify Goals: Spend some time thinking about your priorities in life and the goals you have for yourself. Make a list of your personal goals, perhaps in the short-term (up to three years) and the long-term (beyond three years).
- Write Mission Statement: Based on the first four steps and a better understanding of yourself, begin writing your personal mission statement.
Here are a few examples of Personal Mission Statements:
- “To equip others with the tools and resources to pursue the life they want to live.”
- “To support and elevate those around me.”
- “To give students the resources and attention they need to grow into confident, effective adults.”
- “To improve the quality of life of my patients.”
- “To create stories that educate, entertain and inspire people around the world.”
- “To pursue lifelong learning and inspire others to do the same.”
You can now see that it is beneficial to have a personal mission statement, it not only helps you but also makes you more efficient in your business venture.
You can still check out other amazing posts on this Goal setting series.
Stay tuned for the next post.
Cheers
