How to Write a Personal Mission Statement
You have probably read mission statements of leading companies in the world, including the Fortune 500. A mission statement guides an organization towards achieving its objectives. It is an enduring statement of purpose. It explains a company’s reason for being. Have you ever thought of writing your mission statement? Learning how to write a personal mission statement is important to keep you focused on your goals in life. Read more on why companies have mission statements here.
A personal mission statement gives a sense of clarity and purpose. It gives an identity and defines how you will live. Now you know why you need one as soon as possible! There are many ways of writing a personal mission statement. There are also guidelines to follow when drafting a personal statement. Remember that having a personal mission statement will give clarity of your goals, values and relationships in life.
Everyone needs a personal mission statement. As a student, employee or entrepreneur, you need a clear path as you endeavor to realize your goals. Are you ready to learn the steps? Grab your pen and let us go.
Steps on How to Write a Personal Mission Statement
Are you wondering how to write a personal mission statement? Well, below are simple steps to follow:
- Step 1: Discover someone you admire. Everyone has someone he or she admires in life. Who is that person you have always wanted to follow his path? Examine that individual you have a high regard for in life. Identify specific qualities, which you find admirable in them. Be sure to list them down and think of ways of inculcating them into your life. Ask yourself if this is possible. Make the list as detailed as possible to capture all aspects of your life. Go ahead and start practicing these qualities in your life to become that person you want to be.
- Step 2: Visualize who you want to become. The main purpose of having a personal mission statement is to shape your life and future. Ask yourself the kind of person you will be several years to come by following a particular path. Picture who you exactly want to be. Here, base you analysis on your current accomplishments, personality and the kind of future you want to find yourself in. At this point, do not think about the process of achieving this but focus on what you want to achieve in life.
- Step 3: Think of your roles: How do you relate with the people around you, including friends, family members, workmates etc? Find out the role you play in different areas of your life. After this, think of how you would want these people to describe you because of how you relate. Is there something you want from these people?
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Developing as a Personal Mission Statement
Provide answers to life questions with your statement. Your personal mission statement should give answers to questions in life and how you intend to live. These answers will help you live a focused and informed life, where you understand your bearing. Here are some of the questions that your mission statement should answer:
- What do I want in life?
- What are my values?
- What am I good at?
- What do I want to achieve?
- What legacy do I want to leave?
Know Your Beliefs: When learning how to write a personal mission statement, you should be able to list down what you believe in. Think about this until the beliefs are as clear as possible. Since everyone has beliefs, an understanding of this will guarantee you a unique approach to life.
- Clarify your beliefs further to make them clear
- Focus on applying your beliefs to specific issues in life
Discover yourself. Have in mind that writing a personal mission statement is not about establishing a path alone. In the end, this statement should help you better your life in every way. It should bring change in your life in all spheres.
At the heart of a personal mission statement, is discovery as opposed to creation. The statement will not make you a different person but help you discover who you are.
Knowing who you are will enhance your relationship with the rest of the world.
Read more on discovering yourself here.
How to write a personal Mission Statement and Further It
Knowing how to write a personal mission statement alone is not enough. You must further your statement to make it a reality. How you do this matters a lot.
Here is how to further your mission statement:
Focus on your roles. Your mission statement will be a major tool that defines your general life. For effective application, establish how your mission statement relates with your roles. Are they disjointed or the two connect somewhere?
By understanding your roles, you will know where to lay your focus, depending on your priorities in life. Once your mission statement is in place, go ahead and apply it on your roles directly.
Have goals. Ensure that your focus remains on your mission statement by setting goals on different roles, which you play in the society. Remember that goals define the most specific aspect of any mission statement. Think about the goals as if you are applying your values and beliefs to particular roles and deadline.
What to know about goals:
- They form the basis of our roles and mission
- They are time-bound and with specific details
- They help us perform our roles better and actualize our mission statement
Begin living your mission statement. Once you have a mental picture of how your mission statement looks like, move on and start living it. In such, your life begins to shape up according to the statement. Examine how this statement is working for you and whether you still hold the goals and directions, which you had in the beginning.
Guidelines on How to Write a Personal Mission Statement
Once you have a grasp of yourself, the goals you intend to achieve and the mission statement, it is enough to start writing. Let us go through the steps systematically.
Step 1: Draft your mission statement. This is a very important stage in understanding how to write a personal mission statement. Here, you actualize your mission statement in writing. Do not be bothered by how rough it may appear. Having a list of qualities and ideas is equally enough. Keep it safely and start the work once you gain the motivation to start refining it. Besides an outline, your personal mission statement should capture the following elements:
- Your name
- Your general statement
- Your source of inspiration
- The qualities you intend to gain
- Your roles and future legacy
- Your specific goals
- Your beliefs
At this point, evaluate how your draft represents a true picture of your values and actions. Since this is your first draft, feel free to make additions or deletions as you fine-tune it into a masterpiece.
Step 2: Do your final draft. Penning your final statement should not be a cause of headache especially if you already know your goals and how they appear in the statement. Remember to keep this draft safely as you will refer to it oftentimes.
Ask yourself how your actions relate with your statement and ensure that you become what you intend to be.
As you learn how to write a personal mission statement, remember to work it though all facets of your life to give you bearing and sense of direction.
Confirm that you are meeting your goals without contradicting yourself in any way.
Add or subtract parts of your statement to make it befitting for you
Step 3: Evaluate your statement occasionally. As you live, your views and goals may change to a great degree, rendering your mission statement obsolete. Thus, it is necessary to revisit the statement and make adjustments so that it remains in tune with yourself. This review ensures that you are aligned with what your mission statement says. Make adjustments on your statement whenever need arises.
Mission Statements of Famous CEOs in the world
Probably the fact that all powerful men and women on earth today have mission statements should tell you something about their benefits. Here are some examples even as you discover how to write a personal mission statement:
Denise Morrison, CEO, Campbell Soup: “To serve as a leader, live a balanced life, and apply ethical principles to make a significant difference.” According to Morrison, you can only lead others if you know yourself and what you stand for.
Oprah Winfrey, Founder of OWN: “To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.” Oprah believed in becoming something big. However, as a qualified teacher, she never imagined being on TV and influencing the world.
For more examples of personal mission statements, visit fastcompany.com.
From the above tips, we now hope you know how to write a personal mission statement.
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Online Sources:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3026791/dialed/personal-mission-statements-of-5-famous-ceos-and-why-you-should-write-one-too
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Personal-Mission-Statement
http://www.quintcareers.com/creating_personal_mission_statements.html