Your personal mission statement

What’s your life mission? It’s not an easy question to answer, but an important one. You can talk about your aspirations and goals all day, but when you write them down, they become, well, more real. It’s a starting point to living the life you want.

When you write a personal mission statement, you’re clarifying what you want to accomplish and how, and committing to it. Businesses and nonprofit organizations develop mission statements for the same reason.

Most students, and adults, don’t realize the importance of writing their personal mission statements. It’s more than just your goals. Your mission statement will help you sort out your priorities and how you want to live your life. It may include short-term and long-term goals, or life-long aspirations. It becomes a guide and provides direction, which comes from you, not someone else.

There’s no right or wrong way to approach your personal mission statement, or what it should include. Everyone’s is going to be different. What’s important is to write it down.

Topics your personal mission statement may include:

• Education

• Career

• Personal attributes, such as honesty, loyalty and dedication

• Family and personal relationships

• How you want to live your life

• Sports

• Faith and spirituality

• Community service

I wrote my first personal mission statement when I was in 7^th grade at the guidance of my teacher and mentor, Mark. I sort of knew what my goals were, but never wrote them down. I made a commitment to myself by writing my mission statement.

It took only a couple hours to write mine. I didn’t follow a process. I talked a lot about my goals with my mentor, so it was in my head. It was up to me to write it down, which was the most difficult part for me because dyslexia makes writing very challenging—scary.  If you want to use a more structured approach, I’ve offered tips here and there are websites that have more suggestions on developing personal mission statement.

The focus of my mission statement probably didn’t seem realistic to anyone, except me. At the time, I was in classes for the learning disabled because of my dyslexia. I read slower and it was difficult—often impossible—for me to verbalize the right answers. I was called stupid by my peers. I was a frustrated bully. My mission statement helped me focus all my efforts on achieving my goals, especially attending Marquette University—and proving wrong everyone who didn’t believe I could achieve it.

Your personal mission statement is only the first step. You won’t achieve your goals just by writing them down and through wishful thinking. Now you need to create an action plan by identifying and taking all the little steps needed to fulfill your mission statement, but that’s another topic.

You may get so wrapped up in our day-to-day activities, you forget why you’re doing what you’re doing. Your mission statement helps you focus on what you’re striving toward. Everything you do today either leads you toward or away from your goals.

Review your mission statement as often as you need to. I reviewed mine every year or so. It may be helpful to review yours more regularly: monthly, weekly, or even daily. Over time, your aspirations may change. Don’t hesitate to update your mission statement to reflect that, maybe annually.

I didn’t realize how of my personal mission statement changed my life until I was out of college. Now, I look at it and realize it really helped me focus on my life goals. I learned strategies to help overcome dyslexia and graduated from Marquette University in 2005 with my bachelor’s degree in business administration.

I now have a new personal mission statement that helps me focus on my current goals and aspirations.

Joe Villmow is a business owner and founder of EmpowerMe Foundation (www.EmpowerMeFoundation.org), Milwaukee, Wisconsin.