Weekly Wings... a weekly
coaching challenge to motivate and inspire you to realize your dreams
and achieve success! Join in the journey, and if you wish to share your
work, post it on your blog, and then leave a static link to the exact
page in the comments section.
This week's challenge is deceptively simple - simple, because you've already done most of the work, but demanding because you will now cut to the essence of the work you've done to create a powerful Personal Mission Statement.
You, Inc.
Most organizations have a Mission Statement - a cogent statement of values, purpose and goals. I want you to think of yourself as an organization with four departments - Intellect, Emotions, Body, and Spirit. Ideally, these departments should work together harmoniously to move your "organization" forward by making your daily life more efficient, more productive, more profitable – in a joyfully and personally fulfilling way.
Your Mission Statement is a description of how you manifest your personal vision in your daily life; it encompasses who you are, who you want to become, and what you want to accomplish over the next three to five years. It resonates your uniqueness, celebrating both the person you are and the person you are becoming. The business metaphor is a good way to frame your approach to creating a mission statement, as it acknowledges the different aspects of the whole you and the importance of bringing them together in a united process with common values, purpose, and goals. Having a Mission Statement will help you channel your energy to focus your actions, behaviors, and decisions in the direction of the things that are most important to you.
The Formula
Values + Purpose + Goals + Manifestation = Mission Statement. It's a simple formula, but allows plenty of space to reflect your individuality. Use your Journey-Journal to do the following exercises. You may notice that you've already done a great deal of the groundwork necessary to complete these exercise.
Step 1- Identify Core Values
Last week's challenge was all about discovering your core values. Revisit your values strings and pick out the your most essential guiding values. As an alternative, you can choose values from a list as long as they are authentic representations of your present self and not a "wish-list." Refine your list to your top 3 - 5 values.
Step 2 - Identify Life Purpose
Both Your Esteemed Self and Weekly Wings Challenge 2 - Your Zen Suitcase™ provide detailed exercises that can help you respond to the following prompts.
- Define your life roles – in your family, in your job, in your community, in the world – and describe how you would like to be perceived in each of these areas.
- Identify your contributions in the same areas, focusing on the present as well as on ways in which you can make a difference in the future.
- Is there a common theme or themes running through these roles? Write them down.
Step 3 - Identify Goals
- Spend some time thinking about your priorities in life and the goals you have for yourself. Make a list of your short and long-term personal goals, looking first at one year, three years, and then five years down the road.
- Now ask yourself what it is you will have wanted to accomplish by the end of your life. Write this down.
Step 4 - Action & Manifestation
- Look back at what you wrote for Step 3 and brainstorm the specific actions you are taking and need to take to accomplish your short and long-term goals.
- Refine your list to the most important actions that manifest your goals.
Step 5 - Put it in Writing!
- Look back at your responses to the first four exercises and find the most powerful and comprehensive information from each category. Then, for each category, write a sentence or two that summarizes its most essential concepts.
- Use those summaries and the formula – Values + Purpose + Goals + Manifestation – to guide you as you create your Mission Statement. Your statement should be concise - no more than a few sentences - and written in the present tense.
- When you're finished, let it rest a while before re-reading it. Does it sound authentic? Does it inspire you? Do you feel empowered? Remember, your Mission Statement is about you and for you, and should genuinely reflect who you are and who you are becoming. The more connected you are to your statement, the more effective it will be as an inspirational tool.
Bonus Challenge
Make a Personal Logo to go with your Mission Statement. Like your statement, it should be a reflection of who you are and what you stand for, communicated through visual imagery. Combine your logo with your mission statement on a small card that you can carry with you as instant inspiration!
Wrapping it Up
According to Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, creating a Personal Mission Statement is "like deciding first which wall you want to lean your ladder of life against, and then beginning to climb... it will be a compass - a strong source of guidance amid the stormy seas and pressing, pulling currents of your life.” Your Mission Statement will propel you forward in all the areas of your life, keeping you focused on the actions and decisions you take in harmony with your values and life-purpose as you manifest your goals and vision.
Namaste,
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