Write a Personal Mission Statement

Write a Personal Mission Statement

Would you like to focus your life on what really matters to you and who you want to be in your life?
Covey described the following pearl of wisdom in his book Seven Habits:
"The key to the ability to change is a changeless sense of who you are, what you are about and what you value."

An interesting instrument Covey describes to acquire this sense is to write a Personal Mission Statement (PMS) about yourself. It's a unique document that can help you focus on your values, beliefs and about how you want to behave in life. In fact it could be a text document, a PowerPoint presentation, a short video, a picture, or a mind map. Its form is not what matters. Irrespective of its precise form, it will help you stay on the path you want to be on, and, in conjunction with the goals you write down, can help you live the life you want.

Just like for a business it is a good idea to have a Corporate mission statement, your PMS can help you think about how YOU want to conduct YOUR life! Note that a PMS is different from writing down your goals, it is generally more about your values and principles and how you want to move in the world. What kind of person do you want to be? What value(s) do you consider most important?

How to Write your Personal Mission Statement

Remember your PMS should help guide your decisions and help you achieve your goals in life. Even in troublesome, turbulent or difficult times.
To get started, open up a Word document or take a blank sheet of paper and answer the 3 following questions:
1. Who do I want to be?
2. What do I want to do?
3. What do I value?
Just write what immediately comes to mind. Your PMS may take some time and several rewrites before you are comfortable with it.
A variant to achieve the same is to write your own goodbye / farewell speech. This will typically reveal the gap between who you are now and who you want to be.

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		2 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	Your Personal Mission Statement Will Change over Time A Personal Mission Statement (PMS) is not cast in stone. In fact, it's quite normal that your perso... Sign up

		1 Sreejith M Business Consultant, Netherlands
	How to Prepare Yourself for Personal Growth and Change in Life Let's further explore some guiding principles of defining personal goals, preparing for change as we... Sign up