Personal Mission Statement

In Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey asserts that before we begin a project we should “begin with the end in mind.” What exactly does this mean and how do we do it? What do we want from our life? How do we want to “end” our high school experience? One way to answer these questions is to create a personal mission statement detailing how you are going to live your life. This is nothing more than a simply worded written document which contains your philosophy of being (character) and acting (doing). Basically, you need to ask yourself which virtues, principles, traits, and qualities are important to you and decide how you are going to live by them. Each of us is different and perhaps each of us has a different focus in life.

Covey believes that all great companies, organizations, and individuals benefit from having a personal mission statement, and he illustrates this by stating that the Constitution of the United States serves as “the personal mission statement” of our country. He comments on our country’s success and strength by quoting Thomas Jefferson who once said, “Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written Constitution.” Covey attributes our nation’s ability to adapt to and recover from dramatic changes such as war, social conflict, and terrorism to the fact that we continually refer back to the very document that is the backbone to our country. Consequently, our country remains strong because we endeavor to follow the principles put forth by our founding fathers and the ideals they left behind. On an individual basis, we too will remain strong and be able to adapt to changes in our lives if we endeavor to follow the principles and values that are meaningful and important to us.

Further, if we are to be successful and happy, we need to believe our life has meaning. This meaning differs from one person to another. Viktor Frankl, a survivor of the Holocaust and author of the book Man’s Search for Meaning, states that a person’s personal meaning “is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it.” He goes on to say “Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.” You are responsible for yourself. Creating a personal mission statement will help guide you throughout this year and throughout the rest of your life. Tips for developing your personal mission statement:

 Spend private time thinking about your past, present, and future o How have your past experiences and relationships influenced who you are today? o Where are you now, why are you here, and where are you going? o How are you going to get to where you want to be and why do you want to be there?

 Spend private time thinking about your own uniqueness o What is important to you? o What do you stand for and what would you be willing to die for? o What do you believe in? How can you align your behavior with your beliefs? That is, how can you “practice what you preach” and can you do it each and every day? o What do you want out of life? What do you think life wants out of you?

The following questions come from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, written by Stephen Covey’s son, and may help you clarify your thoughts. Answer them honestly. They are for you and will help you start the process of creating the document that will serve as your anchor and as your guidepost.

1. Think of a person who made a positive difference in your life. What qualities does that person have that you would like to develop? 2. Imagine 20 years from now that you are surrounded by the most important people in your life. Who are they and what are you doing? 3. If a steel beam (6 inches wide) were placed across two skyscrapers, for what would you be willing to cross? Money, Fame, family, boy/girlfriend? 4. If you could spend one day in a great library studying anything you wanted, what would you study? 5. List 10 things you love to do. 6. Describe a time when you were deeply inspired 7. Five years from now, your local paper does a story about you and they want to interview three people…a parent, a sibling, a friend, or a teacher. What would you want them to say about you? 8. Think of something that represents you…a rose, a song, an animal. Why does it represent you? 9. If you could spend one hour with any person who ever lived, who would it be and why? What would you ask them?

Remember, all mission statements are different and there is not a common format. The only thing to keep in mind is that it must be important and clear to you and it must be something that inspires you to be the best you can be and get the most out of your life. As we grow and change, we may find it necessary to modify our mission statement. However, you are old enough now to lay your foundation upon which you can build the rest of your life.