Last year, I attended a seminar where the attendees had been asked to define their individual mission or purpose in one sentence. Out of about a group of about 3 hundred people, fewer than a dozen had been able to articulate a mission statement.

It’s not that living with purpose is a reduced priority for most of us. Study by Richard J. Leider and David Shapiro, authors of Repacking Your Bags, discovered that the quantity one deadly fear of most people is &quothaving lived a meaningless existence.&quot

Why, then, does writing a mission statement seem like such a daunting job?

I believe the main reason lies in the lack of sensible resources. Although you can avail yourself of prolific advice about writing mission statements from management specialists and from publications, the Web, and so forth-most of this information is complex and confusing. Also, most of these resources target companies and organizations, providing little sensible advice for an person who wants to craft a individual mission statement.

When you had been a child you most likely learned how to start a fire by focusing sunlight through a magnifying glass. Sunlight on your own could not start the fire it had to be centered through the magnifying glass. This reflects a basic principle of photo voltaic energy-though a big amount of sunlight falls on the earth, the light is diffused. For the sun to be utilized for heating, photo voltaic energy units must be created to collect and concentrate the light.

The exact same principle applies to purpose. It must be centered to produce results. With no focus, there is no mechanism for creating direction or objectives. As Diana Scharf Hunt said, &quotGoals are dreams with deadlines.&quot

Committing yourself to defining your purpose is the perhaps the most important job you could ever before engage in. &quotDiscovering your purpose will place your existence into crystal-clear perspective,&quot says Mark Victor Hansen in an Web article &quotConceptualize your Objective.&quot &quotYou will see another globe, one in which you are a essential and intricate spoke in the wheel.&quot

Your Individual Mission Statement

What is a mission statement? Because the focus of this article is on individual existence purpose, as opposed to a company or organizational purpose, I’m going to simplify the process with the intention of generating it easy for people who desire to articulate their purpose. Let’s use the following definitions:

Mission Statement: Concise statement of your existence purpose. Vision Statement: Concise statement of the unique and distinctive ways that you will accomplish your purpose.

The first location to start is your mission statement. I will use the terms &quotmission&quot and &quotpurpose&quot interchangeably. Choose the term you like greatest.

Believe of your mission statement as a general statement encompassing your reason for existence-in other words, a broad statement of what you hope to accomplish. It does not include the distinctive ways that you intend to accomplish your purpose that will be articulated in your vision statement.

Your mission statement will assist you stay on program. In First Issues First, Stephen Covey emphasizes the determination and energy that result from an effective mission statement. &quotWhat we’re speaking about here is not simply writing a statement of belief. We’re speaking about accessing and creating an open connection with the deep energy that arrives from a well-defined, thoroughly integrated perception of purpose and which means in existence.&quot

Prior to you create your mission statement, it is important to comprehend what a mission statement is not. It is not a to-do checklist. Nor is it a statement of strategies or techniques. It is not a task description. Work and roles alter through life’s various seasons purpose embodies a broad vision that encompasses all your roles.

You might not see a clear picture right now, and that is good. Relax. Do not sweat it. Enjoy the process.

In other words, your mission statement is not written in stone. You can and ought to revisit it periodically. Most most likely you will revise and good-tune it time and again. Do not be worried about whether or not it is exactly accurate. Pray and inquire God to lead you in this endeavour.

Consider time out from your busy routine to prayerfully reflect on your individual mission, as you comprehend it at this stage on your journey. Look at the large picture, and inquire yourself questions like, Who am I? Why am I here? What are my desires and dreams? What is my mission, or purpose?

Defining your purpose ought to be a stimulating and motivating exercise. It ought to stir enthusiasm and excitement.

Many people feel that purpose must relate to a vision of attaining something of fantastic magnitude or something that affects a nation or even the entire globe. But purpose does not necessarily involve grandiose suggestions.

I like what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, &quotEveryone has the energy for greatness-not for fame but greatness, because greatness is established by service.&quot

Defining your passions inside a bigger context will assist you articulate your purpose.

Successful people not only have a clear vision of what they want to do, but why. The why is as important as the what, for it is the why that fuels vision and retains you motivated when you face setbacks.

Understanding why you want to do something will assist you define your purpose. For example, perhaps you believe you are called to leadership in the company arena. Inquire yourself, Why do I want to do this?

Believe about how you can use your presents to look for other people. Usually look for to comprehend the large picture ? the purpose for your passions and talents.

Now get out some paper or your Palm Pilate or laptop or what ever communications gadget you like greatest, and begin drafting your mission statement. I’ll say it again-do not obsess about obtaining it ideal. I wrote and rewrote my mission statement many occasions. And who understands, I might refine it again in the future.

Maintain revising it till you can define it in one clear, concise sentence.

Right here is my mission statement: &quotTo inspire and equip ladies to reach their divine potential.&quot

Discover that this statement does not include the specifics of how I will accomplish my mission. It says absolutely nothing about the unique and distinctive strategies I will employ for attaining my purpose.

Your Vision Statement

Now that you have defined your mission statement in one sentence, you are prepared to consider the next stage and craft your vision statement. The vision statement adds the all-important how. It defines the distinctive and particular ways that you will accomplish your mission.

As George Barna says in The Power of Vision, &quotWhile the mission statement is philosophic in nature, the vision statement is strategic in nature.&quot Whilst mission relates to general methods, &quotvision relates to particular actions.&quot

Your vision statement propels your mission to particular strategies. Specifying the main actions you will go after to accomplish your purpose, it reflects your unique passions, talents, and abilities.

You ought to be able to define your vision statement in one concise paragraph. The first sentence of this paragraph is your mission statement. The next one or two sentences specify how you will accomplish your mission.

Your vision statement will evolve over time, reflecting your character development and the acquisition of much more abilities and experience.

At one time, my vision statement study as follows: &quotTo inspire and equip ladies to reach their divine potential. This will be accomplished by writing articles and publications and by speaking at conferences and seminars.&quot

As time went on, I revised my vision statement to the following: &quotTo inspire and equip ladies to reach their divine potential. This will be accomplished by writing articles, columns, publications, and e-publications by publishing an online women’s magazine and by speaking at conferences and seminars.&quot

Discover that the first sentence (my mission statement) did not alter. The next sentence, which encompasses how I will achieve my mission, continues evolving.

Thousands of other ladies might have the exact same mission statement as mine but have various vision statements reflecting their unique presents and callings.

For example, one woman might reach the exact same mission as mine through counselling. Her vision statement might study something like this: &quotTo inspire and equip ladies to reach their divine potential. This will be accomplished through individual counselling.&quot

Another woman might have a vision statement like this: &quotTo inspire and equip ladies to reach their divine potential. This will be accomplished by coaching ladies in leadership and company management abilities.&quot

Can you see how the vision statement encompasses uniqueness and specificity? It is the vision statement-not the mission statement-that reflects your unique presents and strategies.

Your vision statement serves as a compass to keep things going in the right direction. It assists you measure your progress, set objectives, establish priorities, and know when to use one of the most important words in your vocabulary: No.

1 of my favorite movies is Apollo 13. I never fall short to be inspired by the courage and resourcefulness of the astronauts amid unimaginable stress and seemingly impossible odds. On leading of a litany of other crippling technical problems, the astronauts had been confronted with the actuality that their oxygen could run out, they could be poisoned by carbon dioxide accumulations, or they could freeze to death. Even if they managed to return to the earth’s atmosphere, they had to enter at exactly the right angle.

If you have seen the movie, you’ll recall there had been many choices and actions that contributed to their successful landing. 1 of these actions was ensuring they stored the earth in sight at all occasions, for they had misplaced their navigational equipment.

In the exact same way, your vision statement will keep you moving in the right direction. It will assist you stay centered on the large picture, even when facing emotional upheaval, discouragement, obstacles, and all the other distractions that existence throws at you.

Mission and vision statements provide focus to your purpose. As Henry David Thoreau said, &quotIn the lengthy run males only hit what they intention for.&quot

Judy Rushfeldt is an writer, speaker, and online magazine publisher (http://www.LifeToolsforWomen.com) whose passion is to assist ladies reach their dreams. This article is an excerpt from her newest guide, Generating Your Dreams Your Destiny – a woman’s guide to awakening your passions and fulfilling your purpose. Generating Your Dreams Your Destiny is available in quality bookstores in Canada and the United States. To study much more about this guide or to order online, go to: http://www.MakingYourDreams.com