Be amazing - Develop a personal mission statement (part 1)

People are inspired by dreams of what the future might look like. We imagine a better world and life for ourselves and those around us. The dreams we have, motivate us to keep moving forwards.

It's not what we do that inspires but the dream itself. When Martin Luther King stood in front of hundreds of thousands of people, he had a dream for what the future might be like. His dream greatly inspired the civil rights movement in the US. He didn't come with a 10 point implementation plan. That isn't inspiring, the plan comes later.

Over a year ago I wrote about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

Begin with the end in mind

Stephen Covey

By focusing on our end goal, we give ourselves purpose and direction. Without a goal, we are just wondering aimlessly through life.

But is our dream the right dream?

We need to dig deep. Sometimes what we believe is our goal is only really a stepping stone. Always ask yourself, why is that goal important to me? Dig deep. Ask yourself why?

Start with why?

Simon Sinek

Covey describes a process in his book where he encourages us to imagine our own eulogy. What would you like people to say about you? What type of person would you like people to say you are? What are the important character traits you would like them to say you had? Why are these things important to you?

When we consider and meditate on these questions, most will come with some core characteristics. For example, generous, kind, helpful. We don't tend to think of more superficial things like, "he made loads of money".

So now you are getting a good flavour of what is actually important to you. And if this is what you want to be like at the end of your life, then it has to be part of your mission and your goals need be aligned. Otherwise, you are not being genuine in life.

Genuine people are true to themselves. Their actions are aligned to their beliefs. They don't just talk the talk, they walk the walk.

So, really dig deep and create a inspiring mission statement for your life.

Thanks for reading, in the next post on this subject I will delve more into what a good mission statement might look like and how to create one. Check back soon.

Image sourece: Pexels

---