By Kent Johnson

What is a life mission statement? Think of it as a business plan for your life. A life mission statement is the blueprint for your future career, and a life that is in alignment with your core beliefs and values. You can write a mission statement for yourself, or you can include your business or family members in your plan (just be sure to share the details with them).

Once you’ve identified your life purpose, you can begin the process of drafting your mission statement. Don’t worry about getting it right the first time, you won’t be handing this into a teacher for grading. It can be as short or long as you want. And you’ll probably be altering your mission statement many times over the coming months and years as events occur and your life changes. 

So how does your ideal or dream career fit into the process of writing a life mission statement? Ideally, your target career should be one that fits perfectly into the details of your mission statement. If you choose a career that doesn’t fit into your mission statement, you’re not likely to be happy with your choice, and your life and career will be in conflict with each other. This is how many people become unhappy with their jobs in the first place.

The first step in this process is to grab a notebook or journal and find a quiet place to sit where you’ll be undisturbed for an hour or so. I have a hardbound journal (purchased at a stationary store) that I write all of my dreams, goals and mission statements in. Then you’ll want to answer the following questions to the best of your ability. Remember, this isn’t a test. There are no right or wrong answers.

As you sit down to write the first draft of your mission statement, carefully consider the following questions and write down your answers in complete sentences:

• My purpose in life is to:
  

• The things that give my life true meaning are:
  

• I’ve always dreamed of doing:
  

• The reason I’m here on this planet is:
  

• I’m at my best when I am:
  

• I’m most passionate about:
  

• I’m most joyful when I am:
  

• My greatest strengths are:
  

• My greatest talents are:
  

• My most important values are:
  

• I would like to do this for my family:
  

• I want these things in my life:
  

• My perfect adventure would be:
  

• My ideal career would be:
  

• If I could do anything at all, it would be:
  

• Before I die, I would like to:
  

• I would like to be remembered as:

Feel free to add or subtract from this list as needed. Everyone has their own path to personal discovery, and what is an important issue to one person may be insignificant to another. What matters is that you answer each question openly and honestly, letting your true feelings come through your writing. I’ve found that many people are surprised at the answers they come up with to these questions. 

Once you’ve compiled your list of answers, you’re ready to write the first draft of your personal mission statement. Don’t worry about punctuation or grammar here, just keep the words flowing unit you’ve fleshed out all your thoughts, desires, career dreams and wishes for your future life. List these as a series of goals that you’d like to achieve in the next five, ten, and twenty years.

And make sure you’re not representing someone else’s life mission here. Many people bend their own lives to fit the mold created by those around them. Living to please the desires of others will not lead you on a path toward happiness, and may even stifle your quest for your true life purpose.

Lastly, you want to put a timeline on your mission statement. It has been said that a goal without a deadline is just a dream. One idea is to draw a line on a sheet of graph paper, starting at today and ending twenty or thirty years in the future. Along the line draw a series of arrows, one for each of the goals identified in your mission statement. 

In the future, you can refer to your mission statement to keep you on track, and help keep you going when you experience an unexpected challenge or setback. With a solid game plan, you can better weather the storms that are bound to come your way, and even thrive as you see your goals ahead of you.

Now that you have a better understanding of your life mission, you now have a “blueprint” for the design of your life. You have a path to follow as you move toward your career and life goals. And don’t be afraid to change your mission statement over time, as we all grow and change with the passing years.

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