A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT

PROMISES TO KEEP
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. –– Proverbs 16:

What is your mission in life? Have you thought about it? Have you taken all of your talents and experiences along with the desires of your heart and boiled them down into a concise understanding of the mission you are on? Would any friend or family member be able to accurately tell what mission you are on? Does anyone know your goals and how you are trying to accomplish them? Do you?

If you responded with a lot of noes, it is time that you lay the cornerstone to the foundation of everything you are doing professionally and personally. That cornerstone is a personal mission statement that reflects who you are, what are you doing, and the way in which you are doing it. You may be caught up in the momentum of earning a living, fulfilling your roles as a spouse and a parent, nurturing friendships, and meeting obligations without having a conscious awareness of where you’re headed. You’ve never stopped to analyze what your life’s purpose is all about. You function, do your best, and hope and pray that everything comes out all right.

A mission statement provides you with a compass. It states in black and white what you want to be, what you want to accomplish, and what your governing values are. It becomes both an anchor and a rudder. It is an anchor because it allows you to stay steadfastly in place while you decline offers and temptations that would distract you from your mission. It is a rudder because it helps you stay the course while your are moving toward your goals. A good mission statement can prevent a thousand failures and wasted effort. When you are confused by outside influences or internal emotional turmoil, the mission statement can be the solid rock that grounds your decisions in reality.

Writing a personal mission statement is, in a sense, the ultimate goal-setting exercise. Actually, it is the distillation of multiple goals into a central theme. If you haven’t thought concretely about the goals you can and would like to accomplish, now is the time to do it, especially before you compose your first draft of a mission statement. When goals of a mission are balanced and healthy, they include family priorities, not just business concerns. They incorporate values, not just ambitions. Goals on the way to a mission involve relationships, not just productivity.

Words, especially written ones, have power. Writing a mission statement does not guarantee compliance with it, but the act of writing it out is almost like making a commitment to yourself and others. When you have composed yours, I think you will be surprised at just how much power is there to help you make good, solid decisions about today that will lead you to the tomorrows of your dreams.