Your Unique Personal Mission Statement in 9 Steps
Whether you’re a student, a businessman, or any professional, you should have a navigational tool that governs your life. This compass that guides your life should be written down as a personal mission statement.
A personal mission statement is not only guides your career or business, but it also guides your whole life. It has a bigger meaning that encompasses every sphere of your life and becomes a set principle that you always keep in mind whenever you are about to take any step, whether it’s any big life decision or your everyday choices.
All the big personalities in the world have clear personal mission statements they use to realize their goals and spend their life according to their values. Just like businesses and websites have mission statements, personal mission statements display a bigger picture of your life. They seem lofty but are achievable.
Want to write a personal mission statement of your own and don’t know where to start? Keep on reading to learn more about personal mission statements, some examples for inspiration, and how to devise your unique personal mission statement.
What Is a Personal Mission Statement?
Your purpose in life is signified by your mission statement. It represents your ambitions, your values, and your identity. It lays out your purpose in life.
It’s basically just a statement or three or more sentences about who you are and how you will live. But the meaning behind it is bigger. Consider it as a short phrase that sums up all your goals and your purpose of being in the world.
Businesses began to develop mission statements in the 1960s as a more structured approach to translating the company’s plan into reality.1 Similarly, a personal mission statement can give a structured approach to your daily routine.
Why Have a Personal Mission Statement?
Growing up, we are led by the personal mission statements or goals of others like our parents, guardians, or our culture. We abide by the goals they have in mind for us.
As we age, we realize we need to face the world alone sooner or later. For this, we need our mindset and set principles and goals that will help us overcome obstacles in life. Here are some other ways you can overcome obstacles in life.
1. Helps in Self-realization
Self-realization becomes more and more important as we age because it guides us to develop as an individual. For this devising, a personal mission statement is a big help.
It helps us channel our goals and meanings into a few lines that serve as a guide. It keeps us motivated to move in one direction.
2. Reminds You of Your Goals
A personal mission statement isn’t a set goal; it offers guidance, letting you keep in mind what goals you should have at a particular time. But there is always room for change. You can revisit your mission statement as you set your annual goals and resolutions or are entering a different aspect of your life.
Sharing your personal mission statement with others helps you keep aligned and keeps you accountable for what is most important to you.
In addition, reviewing your mission statement will always inspire you and remind you how you view life and why you are passionate about your career. By having a personal statement, you will always have an answer to why am I doing this? Or, if you’re going to do something, you’ll always think if the act fits your personal mission statement or not.
3. Helps You Realize Your Talents
Everyone is full of wonderful abilities and unique talents. If we don’t have a personal mission statement, we would not be able to realize these abilities or apply them usefully. Thus, devising a personal mission statement with principles you already abide by helps you live your life as your truest self and helps you influence the world in your specific way.
4. Helps You Advance as a Professional
Once you have developed your personal mission statement, you will likely find many opportunities to use it to advance your development as a professional.
First, it can help guide you as you consider new opportunities. Does serving in a new institution align with your mission? If not, should you turn it down? Some opportunities that would not align with your mission might be of great interest and make you want to explore new areas. This would lead to you having to broaden your mission. This change in perspective will ultimately influence whatever you do.
Devising a personal mission statement isn’t easy; it takes some thinking and some analysis of life and ourselves. Once we have one, it will serve as a map to guide us through life, and we will be on our way to ultimate success.
Steps to Make a Personal Mission Statement
For ease, let us break down all the steps you need to formulate your personal statement:
1. What are your Purposes and Values? What Principles do you go by?
Question yourself about what basic principles you abide by, keeping in mind your values, your culture, and your environment. What is the purpose of your existence, and what value can you provide to someone, your community, or the world? Is the purpose big enough to govern your life?
If you can write down these principles and purposes that make you you, you will be able to define the main outline.
2. What are Your Targets?
Is it yourself or your children? The elderly, less fortunate, any gender, or everyone? What is your personal mission statement all about? Who will you focus on influencing, helping, or changing?
Your personal mission statement should clearly define what your focus is on and what the recipients are. This will make it specific.
3. What is Your Superpower?
What are your specialties, talents, or superpower? Some are good at maths; some are good at teaching, others can dance, others love doing charity work, and some are good at art. What’s your forte?
List down all your personal and professional strong points and talents, keeping in mind those attributes you often fail to notice, like being compassionate, being a good friend, or being organized and determined.
4. What are You Passionate About?
Is your passion related to a particular profession? Are you career-oriented? Or does your passion include traveling or helping others? Make up your mind and decide what your priority is.
5. What are Your Needs?
Never underestimate your desires. Not everyone has a goal to serve the whole world. You might just want to explore and have fun. Therefore highlight what your needs are, and do you put your needs before others? Even if you want to contribute to world prosperity, do consider the things you want for yourself.
6. How Would You Want Others to Describe You?
Consider whatever people describe you as if it is empathetic, caring, selfish, or goal-oriented. What others describe you as is mostly accurate to how you view yourself.
7. What are Your Goals?
After deciding on your values, purpose, target, abilities, and needs, think about your goals. What do you want out of life? What’s the finish line for you? Goals should be realistic and achievable. Your goals should encompass all the aspects of your life like career, social life, relationships, family life, hobbies, and all others.
8. What Legacy Would You Like To Leave Behind?
When formulating a personal mission statement, keep in mind what you want to be remembered as? What should people remember you by, or should they even recall you or not? What do you want to contribute to your legacy? Keep that in mind to delineate a goal for your future generations as well.
9. Print Your Mission Statement
After thorough thinking and analysis, you will have an assortment of what path you would like to embark on and what would be the governing principle of your life. With the steps above, you’ll have a strong list of items to include in your mission statement. Concise all you’ve thought about into one statement that makes you inspired and fulfilled.
Get a clear-cut statement using what you would do, for whom and why to describe what you want, and then take the statement to print. Hang it on a wall or place it on your desk, so you’re reminded to follow that whenever you feel stuck at some point.
A personal mission statement could also be different for your career and your family. Specific mission statements will assist you in directing the other aspects of your life. A family mission statement is similar to that of an organization so that all your family members uphold a particular value and achieve a common goal.
Personal Mission Statements Templates:
You can use these templates to make a personal mission statement.
To use my strengths to achieve these changes. For example:
- To use my positivity to bring happiness and betterment to the lives of those around me.
- To use my generosity to bring down poverty in my state as far as my abilities allow me.
I will achieve this because I value this particular thing. For example:
- I value exploring and the discovery of new things, so I will try to explore the whole world to discover its wonders.
- I will use my energy to strive for equality for women in all aspects of life because I value equality.
Examples of Personal Mission Statements:
Going through some examples of a personal mission statement can help you with writing your own. Each one is highly individual, and you would only get to yours by following the steps mentioned above.
Personal Mission Statements of Highly Influential Figures:
- Martin Luther King’s mission statement was “Equality for everyone through peaceful means.”
- Oprah Winfrey said that she had the motto, “To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.”
- Walt Disney’s drive behind everything he did for entertainment was “To make people happy.”
An Individual’s Mission Statement:
- To become the most popular vlogger and social media personality by providing valuable knowledge to a large audience.
- To provide assets that will assist young men in overcoming academic, socioeconomic, ethnic, and governmental injustices and obstacles.
- To be the top self-improvement coach in the world, with sophisticated programs that generate income while assisting millions of people in transforming their lives.
- To help every woman increase her total value and achieve economic freedom. This will keep them from going further into debt by allowing them to invest in profitable areas that will transform them into millionaires.
A Student’s Mission Statement
- To prioritize my studies above all else. It will help me maintain my grades, allowing me to progress and accomplish my career objectives.
- To resist societal pressure and the desire to fit in within the school setting in the face of potential challenges.
- To put my private life aside and concentrate on achieving my educational goals and constructing a solid career for myself.
A Teacher’s Mission Statement:
- To avoid burnout during the workday by trying to manage my work-life balance. It will assist me in pursuing my other goals in addition to teaching. I will work to reduce stress in my life and achieve a state of balance.
- To find a stronger way to accomplish tasks much faster by working more efficiently. I will constantly improve my efficiency to be recognized as the best teacher, which will help me get promoted.
- To stop putting off important decisions and become more proactive in my career decisions. I will complete the tasks at hand without the assistance of others.
Live Your Personal Mission Statement
Once you’ve formulated your specific personal mission statement, it’s time to put your personal mission statement into action. You have learned how to write and create one that will continue to inspire you. Place it on a wall, or somewhere you’ll see it frequently, as the first page of your diary.
Consider your personal mission statement regularly and give yourself self-assessments. Are your actions up to par with your mission statement? Are you devoting your time and energy to what is most important?
Final Words:
A personal mission statement lays the foundation for everything you do in life. If you want to make a change in your life, understand that it will take time. Allow yourself some time and prioritize progress over perfection. If you think your long-term goals have changed, you may need to refine or revise your personal mission statement.
We hope you find writing a personal mission statement to be a worthwhile experience. Share your mission with us and with other people in your life to hold yourself accountable and inspire others!