writing a personal mission statement, writing mission statements, examples of good missions statements

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Writing Mission Statements and Writing a Personal Mission Statement

In writing mission statements, you are creating a brief description of what you want to focus on and what you want to accomplish in a particular area of your life over a period of time. Writing a personal mission statement is a way to focus your energy, actions, behaviors and decisions – what motivates you -  towards the things that are important to you.
Noted author Stephen Covey refers to writing mission statements as “connecting with your own unique purpose and the profound satisfaction that comes in fulfilling it.”

Covey says writing a personal mission statement is an important principle to success. The idea is that if you live by a personal mission statement of what’s really important to you, you can make better decisions and focus efforts towards a specific objective.

Writing mission statements may be valuable, but how in the world do you go about crafting one?

Writing Mission Statements

In writing a personal mission statement contains two basic elements:

The first is what you want to do – what you want to accomplish, what contributions you want to make. The second is what you want to be – what character strengths you want to have, what qualities you want to develop.

While there is no unique format or formula for writing a personal mission statement, the following guidelines may be helpful:

  • Keep it simple. It should be clear and brief. The best mission statements tend to be 3 to 5 sentences long. It should touch upon what you want to focus on and what kind of person (character) you want to become over the next 1-4 years.

  • Your mission statement should say what you want to do or become instead of saying what you don't want to do or don't want to be. Use positive statements.

  • Your mission statement should be specific in actions, behaviors, habits and qualities that would have a positive impact over the period. Include positive behaviors, character traits and values that you consider important and want to develop further.

  • A mission statement should guide you in your day-to-day actions and decisions. Make it a part of your everyday life by repeating it to yourself 10 times every morning when you awake and 10 times before you go to bed at night.

  • Your mission statement should be in keeping with your purpose in life.

You shouldn’t consider your mission statement to be cast in stone. As you continue to change and evolve as you gain insights about yourself your mission statement should be updated as you progress. Periodic review and evaluation can help you keep in touch with your own progress and keep your statement in harmony with your life purpose.  It’s more like plotting a sailing course. Just like you’d make allowances for current and wind if you were captain of a ship, you want to update your position - your mission statement as you move along the journey of life.

If you're looking for some examples of personal and corporate missions statements, click here to find examples of good mission statements.