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Stephen Covey Personal Mission Statement

Stephen Covey Personal Mission Statement

Stephen Covey personal mission statement refers to a statement by an individual that outlines what that individual wants to do, what he/she wants to be and the principles or values on which the doing or being is based. The statement is based on some of the habits that are highlighted in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” which is a book by Stephen R Covey– thechangeblog.com. A personal mission statement is different from a mission statement of a company because it is aimed at helping a job seeker identify his/her core values as well as beliefs. A personal mission statement simply articulates what a person is all about and what he/she considers as success.

Importance of a Stephen Covey personal mission statement

Having a mission statement is very important because it enables you to know who you really are and what you want in life. It also enables you to identify entitles that have values and beliefs that are similar to yours. The basis of a personal mission statement is your principles which include your personal constitution which the foundation of major life-changing decision. Thus, the statement is based on the principles which are the basis of the decisions that you make every day when faced with emotions and circumstances that affect your life- stephencovey.com.

Generally, a personal mission statement is important because:

  • It creates self-knowledge

To write a personal mission statement, you must self-analyze, introspect and express yourself in writing. This statement is not something that you can produce in five minutes. You need weeks or months to come up with a comprehensive statement. While writing this statement, you need to clarify inner-most feelings and thoughts. This way, you understand yourself, what is important to you and what makes you as a person better.

  • Decision making

A good personal mission statement is like a constitution that you can always turn to anytime you are about to make life-changing decisions or even daily decisions. Although the statement may not make decision making easier, it can add direction and focus in your life. Thus, it acts as a roadmap that you can always refer to for guidance in life.

Writing Stephen Covey personal mission statement in four steps

When writing a personal mission statement, it is important that you take time to reflect on your life. Find out what you value most, what your ambitions are, what you want to do and what you want to be. After reflecting on your life, follow these steps in writing your personal mission statement.

  • Identify your ambition or vision

This is what you like doing or what you find exciting. It can be an idea or activity that gives you joy or inspires you. Among the things that you may find exciting include helping children learn to read, training dogs, promoting the production of clean energy, sharing information with other people, acting, hosting radio shows or public speaking among others. Some people have passions that cannot be quantified or measured with ease but these are not a problem when writing the statement. You just need to be certain that you are passionate about something. Passion is a very important driving force and it is what will enable you to accomplish what you desire. Even if you have a less specific ambition, you can set yourself towards achieving measurable goals in that route. For instance, if you want to promote the production of clean energy, your goals can be to purchase a vehicle that is more energy-efficient, look for a job in a company that produces green energy and then educate people in your community about the alternative sources of energy.

  • Recognize the driving force behind your major ambition

When you know the underlying force behind your ambition, you get greater motivation and power that you depict in your personal mission statement. Therefore, ask yourself why you are passionate about something as you think about your major ambition to determine why you desire or aim at a specific target. For instance, you may be motivated by the desire to live in a healthy environment while ensuring that future generations enjoy a clean and healthy environment. Maybe you are motivated by your desire to encourage and educate people so that they can understand the essence of personal responsibility when it comes to ensuring personal health. There are also people who are motivated by helping certain people in the society realize more independence. Take your time to identify the motivation behind your ambition before you proceed.

  • Revisit your values

Values change as people grow but what they do every day is based on those values. It is therefore important that you revisit your values to ensure that they are prioritized properly in your Stephen Covey personal mission statement. Familiarize yourself with your values so that you can prioritize them on the basis of their importance. Such values may include freedom, love, compassion, education, integrity, financial abundance, organization, honesty, physical activity or health among others.

  • Write and structure your personal mission statement properly

The basis of the structure of a personal mission statement is the findings of the three steps above. This is because these findings are at the core of a personal mission statement. Your mission in life is the combination of passion, values and the driving force or purpose in life. When all these are put together, they show the highest goal in your life. Therefore, a personal mission statement should be structured by joining them together in a meaningful way.

Remember that after reading your personal mission statement, readers should know not just your values and ambition or vision but also what you are doing to realize those ambitions. They should also know how you want your life to be in the future. Therefore, start by outlining your personal mission statement. The outline of a personal mission statement should indicate what you intend to do, who you would like to be and the principles or values on which your doing or being is based. You can write the statement in form of a narrative paragraph or a list. You can also write it in few sentences- personal.kent.edu.

Attributes of a good personal mission statement

A well-written and structured personal mission statement should:

  • State your major goal or ambition in life on the basis of your highest purpose, core values and passion.
  • Employ positive language in communicating your vision.
  • Include positive emotion in energizing it.
  • Be written in present tense so that it can act as a positive affirmation.
  • Use short paragraphs and concise sentences.

A personal mission statement should be personal just like the name suggests. However, if you want to be certain that you are being honest in the statement you can share it with close people in your life. Their feedback will tell you whether you are really honest with yourself- inspired-personal-development.com.

Samples of personal mission statement

To write a great Stephen Covey personal mission statement, use these personal mission statement samples as your guide:

  • Personal mission statement of Denis Morrison, the Campbell Soup Company CEO.

“To act as a leader, lead a balanced life as well as apply ethical principles in making a significant difference.”

  • Personal mission statement of Joel Manby, Herschend Family Entertainment’s CEO.

“My definition of personal success is being consistent to personal mission statement which is: to love others and God.”

  • Personal mission statement of Oprah Winfrey, the Oprah Winfrey Network’s founder .

“To become a teacher and be a known as a person who inspires students to become more than whom they ever thought they would become.”

  • Personal mission statement of Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group founder.

“To have more fun in life’s journey while learning from mistakes.”

  • Personal mission statement of Amanda Steinberg, the Dailyworth.com founder.

“To use charisma, serial optimism and intelligence gifts in cultivating net-worth and self-worth of women world over.”

These personal mission statements have made these people reach their current positions in life. It is important to note that people acquire new knowledge, skills and experiences as they get older. Therefore, personal mission statements should also change with time.

Stephen R. Covey in his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People” suggested that writing a personal mission statement should start with having its end in mind. Today, Stephen Covey personal mission statement has become very popular among top achievers- fastcompany.com.

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Sources

http://www.thechangeblog.com/how-a-personal-mission-statement-can-help-you-change/

https://www.stephencovey.com/sample-mission-statements.php

http://www.personal.kent.edu/~kcunning/nonviolence_theory_practice/nonviolence_handouts/planning_for_change_vision_.pdf

http://www.inspired-personal-development.com/personal-mission-statements.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/3026791/dialed/personal-mission-statements-of-5-famous-ceos-and-why-you-should-write-one-too