Imagine your funeral
- In your mind’s eye, see yourself going to the funeral of a loved one. Picture yourself driving to the funeral parlor or chapel, parking the car, and getting out. As you walk inside the building, you notice the flowers, the soft organ music. You see the faces of friends and family you pass along the way. You feel the shared sorrow of losing, the joy of having known, that radiates from the hearts of the people there. As you walk down to the front of the room and look inside the casket, you suddenly come face to face with yourself. This is your funeral, three years from today. All these people have come to honor you, to express feelings of love and appreciation for your life. As you take a seat and wait for the services to begin, you look at the program in your hand. There are to be four speakers. The first is from your family, immediate and also extended — children, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who have come from all over the country to attend. The second speaker is one of your friends, someone who can give a sense of what you were as a person. The third speaker is from your work or profession. And the fourth is from your church or some community organization where you’ve been involved in service. Now think deeply. What would you like each of these speakers to say about you and your life? What kind of husband, wife, father, or mother would you like their words to reflect? What kind of son or daughter or cousin? What kind of friend? What kind of working associate? What character would you like them to have seen in you? What contributions, what achievements would you want them to remember? Look carefully at the people around you. What difference would you like to have made in their lives?
Source: Stephen Covey
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Stephen Covey’s recommended steps for developing a personal mission statement
- Write about each of the three topics below without stopping. This is free-writing, so don’t worry about spelling, punctuation.
- Identify an influential person. Identify one person who had a positive influence on your life. What are the qualities you most admire in this person? What qualities did you gain from this person?
- Define who you want to become. Imagine it’s twenty years in the future. You have achieved all you ever hoped to achieve. What is your list of accomplishments? What do you want to have, do, and be?
- Determine what is important to you today. What are the ten things that are most rewarding to you today? What do you live for and love in life?
- Review what you’ve written and circle the key ideas, words, and phrases that you would like to include in your mission statement.
- Write a rough draft of your mission statement
- During the week, carry your rough draft with you and make notes, additions, and deletions as needed each day.
- At the end of the week, write a final copy of your mission statement and find a permanent place for it where you can easily access it.
- Source: Stephen Covey
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The 10 second mission statement cheat sheet
- Answer these questions: 1. What’s the main impact you want to make in your life? 2. Why is making this impact important to you? 3. What character traits are needed to make this impact?
- Plug your answers into this formula: “To [main impact] by being [character traits] so that [reason why].”
- BAM! There you go. Mission statement complete. Obviously not as dialled in or actionable as it could be but it’s a start.
- Source: Mitch Glass
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S.J. Scott’s steps for developing a personal mission statement
- Step 1: Look at other people’s lives. Think about someone you admire, and the qualities they posses that lead to your admiration.
- Step 2: Determine your ideal self. Think about the person that you want to be in all of the areas of your life.
- Step 3: What do you want your legacy to be? Make a list of all of your roles, and write down how you would want to be remembered in each of them.
- Step 4: Find your purpose. Write down your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual purposes.
- Step 5: Define your abilities. What are your natural talents? Your mission statement should highlight your aptitudes and strengths.
- Step 6: Define your specific goals. Considering what you have come up with so far, what are your SMART goals?
- Step 7: Draft your personal mission statement. Keep your mission statement simple and concise. It can range from a few sentences to a few paragraphs.
- Step 8: Refine it. Take some time to alter your mission statement until you feel really comfortable with it.
- Source: S.J. Scott
Mitch Glass’s steps for developing a personal mission statement
- Step 1: Get to know yourself. List out all of your roles. List out your top 20 interests and passions. List out your top 20 strengths, talents, and skills. List out your 10 most important values.
- Step 2: Craft your unique personal mission statement. 1. Your mission (shoot for one sentence) 2. Essential three to five characteristics needed to fulfil your mission 3. Roles that will take priority in achieving your mission (e.g. husband, entrepreneur etc.)
- Source: Mitch Glass
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Still more possible steps for developing a personal mission statement
- Step 1: Identify past successes.
- Step 2: Identify core values.
- Step 3: Identify contributions (family, friends, employer, community)
- Step 4: Identify goals: short term and long term
- Step 5: Write your mission statement
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Try this online tool for creating a personal mission statement
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