Part III: Figuring Out What You Want Using A Personal Mission Statement

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So far we’ve been focused on your career in our series about figuring out what you want, but life is about more than just work.  A personal mission statement will help figure out your goals for work, but also for your life as a whole.

What do you stand for? What do you want your life to stand for?

Once you figure that out, you can look for things you can do, either as hobbies or as a job, that help you express that.

A personal mission statement is about values as much as it is about goals. How do you want to live your life?

A personal mission statement helps keep you from getting caught up in the day-to-day matters of your life by giving you a reference point. Throughout the day, ask yourself whether what you’re doing is helping you accomplish your mission. If the answer is no, you know you’re spending time in the wrong quadrant, as Stephen Covey noted.

It’s ok to reevaluate your mission statement and change it as you see fit. In fact, if you refer to it as often as you should, it should change.  You do want to grow, right? As you grow, your mission statement will change.

Here are some tips for an effective mission statement:

Keep it short. Think: elevator speech about who you are and what you want.

Keep it positive. It’s all about what you want and what you want to be about, not what you don’t want.

Keep it focused. What have you been good at in the past, and how has that helped you become who you are today?  How will you use those skills to help you reach your goals in the future?

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Here’s the current version of mine: Through finding and following my bliss, I want to help people help themselves find and follow *their * bliss. I want to help willing people in a positive way by igniting their imaginations about what could BE.

I’m grateful that I’ve created a situation where my work feels like a hobby, so for me my statement blends my whole life together.  For you, yours could instead focus on the charitable work you’ll do outside of the office, the donations you’ll make with the money you earn, or how you’ll use your creativity to make beautiful things.

What do you think? What’s your personal mission statement?

Be sure to check out Figuring Out What You Want and Figuring Out What You Want Part II as well.