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When I posted the article on writing a personal mission statement a few days ago, some of you may have been left wondering, “What does having a mission statement have to do with my everyday life?”  The truth is, anyone can (and should!) have a mission statement, whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a career executive.  It doesn’t have to be grand, but it has to reflect who you are and what is important to you as a person - as simple as that.

To illustrate what I mean, I would like to share with you as an example my personal mission statement.  It has evolved somewhat over the years, but still remains remarkably close to the original version. 

Elena’s Personal Mission Statement

Love others as I love myself.
Pursue Growth – personal and spiritual.
Strive for Excellence in everything I choose to do.
Maintain my Integrity through each decision and action.

• I will strive to be in closer communion with God through regular practice, study, and my everyday thoughts and actions.
• I will build a strong relationship with my husband, based on unconditional trust, respect, love, support, patience, and devotion. Together, we will create a home that is a place of joy, comfort, peace, and happiness for our family and guests.
• I will love my daughter unconditionally. I will make spending quality time with her a priority. I will pass to her my knowledge, wisdom, and values. I will teach her by example. I will support her in the choices she makes.
• I will show love and respect for my parents, be forgiving of their shortcomings, give them generously of my time and attention, and be thankful for all the love and support that they have given me.
• I will always be present in the lives of my brother and sister. I will strive to be an example and inspiration to them, as well as a source of unconditional love and support.
• I will be generous, loyal, and dependable friend. I will actively maintain connections with my close friends and be a source of joy and support to them.
• I will have confidence in my abilities and determination to pursue my goals. I will be an inspiration to others and share with them what I learn. I will work toward having complete financial freedom and independence while maintaining a balanced life and staying true to my values.

If you are interested in creating a mission statement for your own life, I would suggest that you start with this article, which will take you through the entire process and provide suggestions for additional tools and resources.

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Fundamentally, your mission statement becomes your constitution, the solid expression of your vision and values. It becomes the criterion by which you measure everything else in your life.” - Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

I have read Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People several times and it still remains one of the most influential books that I’ve ever read. One day I will probably write a more in-depth post about this personal development classic, but today I want to focus on one powerful concept introduced in that book: a personal mission statement. While many companies proudly display their corporate mission statements, few individuals take the time to create one for themselves. The basic idea, however, is the same - a personal mission statement is the statement of your core values, of what is truly important to you in life. The power of having a mission statement lays in enabling you to align your everyday actions with what is truly important to you. When your actions and values are not aligned, you feel depressed, anxious, and dissatisfied. When they are in alignment, you feel happy and fulfilled because you are leaving your life’s purpose. Mission statement serves as a compass to ensure that you stay on that course.

Here are some tips for writing a personal mission statement, adapted from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and my own experience (for an example, see my personal mission statement):

1. Create a Vision.
   In order to identify what truly matters to you in life, you first have to expand your perspective.  You can do that by visualizing your twenty-fifth and then fiftieth wedding anniversary, your retirement from your current occupation, or even your own funeral. In each of these visualization exercises, try to capture the essence of what you want to have created/achieved by that time. Personally, I have found meditation to be a very powerful tool for visualization and a good starting point in formulating my mission statement. The key steps are:
   1. Begin with stretching exercises and coordinate them with long deep breaths.
   2. Lie on your back or sit in a comfortable upright position.
   3. Relax your body and empty your mind by concentrating on your breathing. You may play soft music or light a scented candle for relaxation. 
   4. Once you feel completely relaxed and your mind is calm, begin the meditation.
   5. Visualize yourself at the end of your life, feeling completely content and satisfied with everything you have achieved and having done everything you wanted to do. The key here is to actually feel what it would be like being in that state.
   6. Translate what you have seen into long-term, ambitious goals for your self, and then work back to more realistic objectives by filling in details of what you need to do in order to reach those goals. If you have never done meditation or visualizations before, it may take several practice trials, but when you do get the clear vision of what you want your life to be, it will be a profound experience. This exercise should also be repeated as many times as necessary and on a regular basis in order to realign yourself with your vision, as well as to accommodate any changes as your life progresses.
2. Identify Your Roles and Goals. 
   A way to achieve a balanced mission statement is to break it down into specific roles in your life (for example, mother, daughter, writer, etc.) and the accompanying goals that you want to accomplish in each of these areas. It is important to balance all of your roles to ensure that one doesn’t completely take over your life. Your goals for each role should be long-term, focused on results rather than activity. They identify where you want to be and give focus and purpose to your everyday activities.
3. Compose the Mission Statement
   Write a mission statement based on what you have learned through the above exercises. It should incorporate your roles and goals, and be specific as to what you want to be (Character) and what you want to accomplish (Contributions and Achievements). It may take days or even months to write a strong mission statement (it took me almost a year to do my first one), and even then it should be consulted regularly and revised as necessary.

If you still want some help with writing your mission statement, the FranklinCovey website has this free tool, which will take you through the entire process step by step. They also offer many other tools and products that help incorporate your personal mission statement into your everyday planning process. (As a special offer, readers of BusyBeeMama.com will get a discount on FranklinCovey products by clicking through the button below).

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