Stephen Covey and other personal coaches advocate the use of a personal mission statement to help guide you in reaching your goals. Writing a mission statement is not as difficult as you might think. Follow the questions below to begin to construct your personal mission statement.
- Ask yourself what you would like people to say about you after you’ve accomplished your goals.
- Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
- If money were not an issue, what would you do?
- How do you want to relate to others?
- What is most important to you?
- If you were to be evacuated from your home, what would you take with you?
- What do your friends say of you now? What do you wish they would say?
- What sorts of activities do you do now that make you feel as though you are accomplishing something?
Once you have answered these questions, think about how you would put that together in a mission statement. For example, my personal mission statement is:
To continue to grow as an individual, help others achieve their goals through my writing and editing, and spend quality time with family.
Once you have formulated your mission statement, look at your various sub-goals, projects, and activities. Do they contribute to your mission? If not, you may want to edit some of them out – or change your mission statement. By having an ultimate purpose in mind, you can be more productive and you can find yourself more content with your life.
What is your mission? Share your mission statement in the comments.
