personal mission statements
or one way to give your life a little direction
I graduated college almost 10 years ago. Most of my memories from campus are gone but the one I still remember crisply is my personal mission statement. One night I read an article, I believe in Fast Company, talking about how one way to have more direction in your life is to have personal mission statement.
A personal mission statement is like a corporation’s mission statement and helps guide you whenever you need to make a decision in your professional or personal life. This strategy helps you align the strategy you use to make the most out of your life.
To do this we’re going to write a lot. Begin by writing down how you want to spend your days. Are you energized by talking to people or do you prefer to be alone? When do you most feel in flow, that state of mind when you forget about everything else in your life and are present in the moment.
Then write about your passions and interests. Ask yourself the question “What do you love to do? What excites you? What makes you feel warm when you do it?” Then try to write even further why you like those things or activities. For instance, if you love a band you might say I enjoy feeling the energy of the crowd and I love the community that comes with it.
Then write about what your strengths. In doing this, think about work but also think about times with friends. Are you good at planning events? Are you someone that people come to talk to about their problems? Think abstractly.
Another exercise I like to include is what I call the philanthropist test. You are a philanthropist but you can only center your philanthropy around three causes, what are they and why? Do you want to end homelessness? Create more education equity? Help victims of domestic abuse? Aid mental health efforts? The choice is yours!
Another important thing to add to this unstructured essay is your values. Write what your values are by questioning what’s important to you and why. Another way to get answers for this is to think of what you find most important in a partner and then write about that.
Okay, you just wrote a lot. Now read your essay and try to find common threads. Write down the common threads you see and then find common threads within the common threads! Keep doing this until you have one or two succinct sentences. And there you have it, your personal mission statement!
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