Even now my hearts beats a little faster when I hear the theme to “Mission Impossible”. As a child I was enthralled with the TV series: the covert meeting to listen to the ‘impossible’ mission, the self-destructing tape, and finally the team selection – all before the show begun! Exciting stuff!
Missions are meant to be challenging and bold. By creating a purpose and direction, we grow and support others to grow. Success is not simply defined as whether the mission succeeds or not, it’s about the value derived from trying.
For me, one of the most incredible missions in human endeavour was to put a human being on the moon. Think of all the developments (science, engineering, technology, skills), and the world-wide collaboration to take humanity where it had never gone before. Those developments helped to shape our world and set new standards of what we can achieve together in peace.
It starts with you!
My question for you is simply this: “what’s your mission?” It really does start with you, so the first step is writing a personal mission statement.
I think a good mission statement incorporates purpose, direction and values. It is not a vision of what you want to see (vision statements are different and the subject of another article).
In a world full fo distractions, your mission statement anchors you to what is important. Use it as a compass in your life.
Writing one should be done in a quiet place and with introspective intensity and rigour. Take it seriously and write down what’s important to you: it could be family, being kind, generous or trusted. Perhaps you want to serve others using your unique skills? The point here is to be authentic. There is no right or wrong, and it can be as long as you like – but, please, not too long as you have to read it every day!
My mission statement includes “being of service to others to help people learn, grow and thrive, and being caring and authentic in every action”.
For example, I met a person who was upset with his job because he was encouraged to lie to customers. I suggested he wrote a personal mission statement, guiding him in the process. When he did so, he ‘suddenly’ realised how important truth was to him. I say ‘suddenly’ because there was already a conflict inside of him, but “seeing” it on paper woke him up! He later found a job aligned to his values and was much happier for it!
Have a go and I can help you change your life!
