Do you ever struggle to find the time for what’s important to you? Prioritizing your passion can be a struggle, but a personal mission statement can help you decide on your priorities ahead of time. Let me share with you how a personal mission statement can help you prioritize your passions.
If you’re like most of us, the noisiest demands on your life get your attention. This leaves what’s important to you at the bottom of your to-do list.
How my Personal Mission Statement changed the course of my life
Crafting my personal mission statement has been one of the best things I’ve ever done. My personal mission statement has saved me much time, money, and frustration in my life.
I think many of us, when we hear the phrase “mission statement”, don’t think of ourselves. You think of a large organization or business. Yet, a personal mission statement can help us better manage our lives and our family. Family mission statements are also helpful.
I wrote my first personal mission statement after reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Covey’s book helped me more than any other to keep my focus on what I value. I’ve learned not to get pulled in every direction by life. It’s written with business people in mind but can apply to anyone. The 7 Habits apply to pretty much any area of life.
My personal mission statement put into writing what I wanted to do with my life. I could keep a target in front of me to aim at, even if I missed it in the beginning.
How Can a Personal Mission Statement Help You?
As you write your personal mission statement, you think through and decide what you value most. You write about what is important to you. A personal mission statement puts your priorities in writing.
Sometimes, as life comes at us, it takes extra mental energy to respond to opportunities, ideas, and other shiny objects coming our way.
That can be stressful.
Having a mission statement means you did the heavy lifting ahead of time. You already decided what you value, and what will be a priority.
Your mission statement helps you decide what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to. A personal mission statement lets you judge these opportunities based on what you’ve decided ahead of time.
With your this tool, you’re deciding ahead of time who you are and what you value most.
This frees you up to continue to become more of who you are and who you’re called to be. Instead of wondering what you should do every time a new opportunity or suggestion comes your way, you refer to what you already decided.
Think of it as putting a boundary around your energy and attention.
If I decide I believe I am supposed to make time for free time and not just client work, I’m going to say no to anything that controls my precious free time unless it’s a serious emergency. When someone calls me about web design on Christmas (as just happened recently), I already know that person is a poor fit for me because they do not respect work-life boundaries.
Because a huge part of my personal mission is to have a good work-life balance, I’m going to stick with the marketing efforts that are working for me, rather than trying to get more engagement on social media, knowing that isn’t where my best clients have come from, so why spend too much time and energy?
These are just a couple of examples of how I decided ahead of time with mine. By taking the time to figure out what I valued most, I could figure out my priorities and stick to them. I could say no with confidence, when something will not be a good fit.
It’s very freeing.
I have a Pinterest Board you may also enjoy full of things relating to personal mission statements and goal setting. Check it out.
