Personal Mission Statement Activity
Writing a personal mission statement can be a great way to anchor yourself during transition. Take time to reflect and consider questions like these:
- What is your purpose in life and work?
- What difference are you committed to making?
- What is truly most important for you?
If you get stuck trying to answer those questions, here is a short cut exercise to help focus on your purpose:
- Think about your 80th birthday, what do you want others to be able to acknowledge at your party?
- What would you want to be able to say you achieved?
- How do you want to be remembered by your loved ones?
Once you have Jotted down your answers to these questions, you may want to take a look at the Values Exercise below.
Journaling about your answers is a powerful way to move through transition. Research shows that people who write down their reflections move through transition more quickly with less stress.
Values Exercise
Friendship |
Growth |
Family |
Problem Solving |
Love |
Public Contact |
Respect |
Variety |
Challenge |
Open Communication |
Sense of Community |
Structure |
Adventure |
Helping |
Integrity |
Cooperation |
Equality |
Learning |
Power |
Recognition |
- Look at the list above, which of the values are most cherished by you?
2. Which of these are vital to your health and happiness in life and work?
3. If you could be living the most creative, fulfilling life one year from now, what would it look like?
- Whom would you interact with?
- What activities would fill your day?
- What would your physical environment look like?
- How would you feel? Emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually?
4. In order to be living that life what would you want to let go of?
5. What would you add to your life?
6. When you look at your values, where did they come from? Are there people who have influenced you?
7. Whom do you most admire from your past or present life? Why?
8. What qualities did or do they exhibit that you would like to replicate?
9. How do you already represent those qualities? How do they relate to your personal mission?