What is a Mission Statement?
For this project we are asked to write a personal
mission statement. As 16 and 17 year
olds we certainly don’t know exactly where our lives will take us, but this
mission statement is a statement of how we want to live our lives and what kind
of impact we want to make.
Here are some definitions of “Mission Statements”:
- the google definition – “a formal summary of the
aims and values of a company, organization, or individual.”
- entrepreneur.com – “it captures the essence of
your goals and the philosophies underlying them. Equally important, the mission statement
signals what [you’re] all about to your customers, employees, suppliers and the
community.”
- thechangeblog.com – “a personal mission statement
is an individual statement that outlines what you want to be (character), what
you want to do(contributions and achievement), and the values or principles
upon which being and doing are based.”
Ways which mission statements can help you:
- A mission statement requires you to look into
yourself and figure out exactly what you believe in. It can help you clarify your thoughts and
feelings so that you can really understand who you are.
- This mission statement can also serve as a guide
for future decisions. If you know what
you believe in and how you want to live your life you can go back to your
mission statement when you are struggling in making life altering decisions so
that you don’t make a decision that you will regret because it’s not what you
believe in.
Writing this mission statement, if you actually take
it seriously can seriously help you not only for college essays but also for
the rest of your life.
Here is another example of a personal mission
statement that I found online:
- I will be loving and proactive in building and
maintaining my relationships with family and friends, so that I may be
considered a successful husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend.
- I will always act with integrity and never compromise
with honesty, so that it may be said that I am a person who stands for
what is just and right.
- I will approach life with a curious nature, so that I
am someone who continually strives to better understand both my inner and
outer worlds.
- I will look after my health by regularly exercising,
eating well, and limiting the intake of anything that may be harmful to my
body.
- I will treat money as my servant, not as my master. I
will seek financial independence over time. My wants will be subject to my
needs and means. I will spend less than I earn and regularly save and
invest part of my income.
- I will try to help others live a better life by writing
articles for my blog that are both inspiring and motivating.
- When times are tough, I will remember there are still
countless reasons I have to be thankful. As such, I will give something
back to the community, via donation and volunteering, so that those less
fortunate receive a helping hand.
You make a good point that the mission statement is hard to write, considering that we are 16 and 17 years old, and that we do not know where life will take us. But I think the mission statement should be looked at and written as something that we want to achieve, rather than what we think might actually happen. As in talk about goals and desires, and whatever happens in the future happens. It should express future intentions how you want to live your life, and what impact you wish to make on the world.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Carmen! I greatly agree with the fact that as 16 and 17 year olds, we don't necessarily have a clear picture in mind of where we want to go, which is why I am having a harder time to think of my personal mission statement. But after reading this, I have a better idea of how to write my statement and what to include in it. The mission statement, I've noticed, basically states in general, what you want to do and what impacts you want to make.
ReplyDeleteSuper helpful post! I've been having some trouble writing a successful final mission statement but this really helped clear things up! I agree in that it's important to think of a mission statement as goals for yourself and not necessarily something that you think will happen for sure.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm going back and editing my mission statement, this is a good guide to look at. Thanks for including the example of the personal mission statement! All the ones I had found had been from companies, and it was hard to see how this could relate to a personal mission statement. Super helpful, thanks Carmen :)
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