For those of us who ask the big questions like

Who am I?

What am I doing here?

What impact do I want to have?

—and really, who doesn’t from time to time?—

having a mission statement for your life can help quiet those voices and bring immense satisfaction.

If you’re like me, it can help you establish and define a sense of purpose.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”–Maya Angelou.

I remember the experience I had when I first worked on my mission statement.

It was a sense of deep connection, and it caused a change in the direction that my rational, logical, go-for-the-sure-thing (and dare I say, sceptical?) mind wanted me to go.

It helped to connect me with my more creative and intuitive side.

And in doing so, it made everything clear for me.

Creating your mission statement

It’s a simple process yet one that will take some time.

I invite you to set aside 30 minutes to one hour to really hear your inner voice, to really connect with the process.

You can also do it in 15–20 minutes.

Just be sure you are able to focus and really get deep quickly.

Most of us will find this exercise super easy, though some may struggle with it at first like I did.

Fill in the blanks and then reword as needed

I have been called by ______________ (supervisor, department, spirit, etc.)

to ______________ (provide what product or service)

for ______________ (self, community, fellow humans, friends, family…)

in order to ______________ (for what reason?).

Then once you’ve put together a paragraph that your intuitive and creative sides feel good with, turn it over to your analytical side.

This will ensure you have a mission statement that has balance between heart and practicality.

This is important: if you have a mission statement that feels awesome but a part of you doesn’t buy it, it will be difficult for you to succeed at fulfilling your mission.

Some questions you might consider:

  • What should be included in the mission statement?
  • What shouldn’t be in it?
  • Does it match my values?
  • Does it match my core abilities?
  • Is there a degree of payoff?

Once you have assessed it from all angles, you’ll have a mission statement that inspires and drives you to do incredible things.