We hear about mission statements in organizations and companies all the time and yet do you have a personal mission statement? I had a conversation recently with someone who was considering several business opportunities. I asked, “What’s your personal mission?” There was silence. “I don’t have one, ” they replied.
A personal mission statement is that written statement that identified YOUR reason for being, your purpose, what are you designed to do in this world. I don’t know about you, I have often found myself in jobs or saying yes to opportunities that I later realized were not the right ones for me. That began my journey in identifying my personal mission statement.
If you have not authored this for yourself here are a few ideas to get you started.
- First you have to know who you are. What are your strengths? What do you absolutely love doing so much – you’d do it for free? (then you can figure how to get paid for it). What are your values? What matters to you in the context of your career? You can’t create a personal mission statement if you don’t know who you are.
- If you’re struggling with step one explore some assessments that measure you strengths, attend some personal development workshops and trainings and discover what gets you excited. Laura Beth Jones has a great book titled “The Path” that can guide you. I’ve attached a pdf file from that book HERE.
- Create your mission statement.
- Keep it with you, in front of you and then when that opportunity shows up you can ask yourself is it in alignment with my mission.
Have fun creating!!