On personal mission statements
I was a junior in college when I first read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. That was 2003. It didn’t stick the first time.
I read it again in 2011 as part of a professional development program, and something clicked. The book became foundational for me. In the book, Covey recommends writing your own personal mission statement.
So I did.
Defining my personal mission and writing it down forced me to reflect on (A) what is actually important to me and (B) whether my priorities and habits aligned with what I wrote down.
Before I wrote anything, I read examples from others. Here are 4:
Most people want to live authentic lives, and having a personal mission statement can be a roadmap.
You should write one too.
And if you’re interested in reading an example of a personal mission statement from someone who isn’t Mahatma Gandhi, here’s a link to mine.
A note on sharing my personal mission statement: I can’t help but acknowledge strong feelings of vulnerability sharing mine. Personal mission statements are, by definition, personal. And I fall short of mine. Every. Single. Day. But I figured if corporations have the courage to publicly share their mission statements so customers can hold them accountable, I can publicly share mine so my friends and family can hold me accountable.
