Personal Mission Statement

I have posted before about my quest for a personal mission statement. It started when I said yes to something I didn't completely understand and found myself trapped by a commitment I shouldn't have made.

I have read Michael Hyatt's blog entry about a Life Plan. I have read Laurie Beth Jones' book called  The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life and used some of the tools on her website. I was still struggling with a mission statement that worked. I knew it had to reflect who I am today, but also leave room for the future. It had to work in general terms where the specifics could flow with the different seasons of life. I was set on verbs like "create," "inspire," and "nurture" but I couldn't get anything else to work. So I set it aside.

This winter I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my writing students this spring. My project idea for last fall did not go over well with my students and I was feeling like I did when I was trapped in the commitment I mentioned above - floundering with the best of intentions but poor execution.

So I took a few days and crafted a mission statement for Writing Club: The purpose of Creative Writing Club at [School] is to encourage self-expression and foster a love of stories and story-telling. I'm not running an English class - they have regular teachers for that. I want a place where students can write what is in their hearts and minds, regardless of form. It also works with the books I try to share with students as examples (and to introduce them to new material they might like).

Wow. It felt great! I felt like I could use that as the core for my future planning and promotion - as well a starting point for myself.

And now I have a personal mission statement - well, at least a draft. I'm about 85% sure this is a good reflection of who God has created me to be. Here it is:

I am called and equipped to 

• inspire others to self-discovery
• encourage in others self-expression
• foster in others a love of stories and story-telling.

I'd love to know what you think, or hear about your own efforts toward building a personal mission statement! 

Inspired by... mission (part 2)

I mentioned on Thursday that I am on a quest for a personal mission statement - and a quest to re-discover and re-connect with myself.

Toward this end I am reading Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally and this book - The Path. The Path is another book with exercises and questions that lead you toward building a personal mission statement.

To be honest, I would love to hide in my bedroom or a quiet corner at the bookstore or library to really dig into both of these books. My daily responsibilities are keeping me from going through them as quickly as I would like. There is probably an advantage to taking my time, though. Some of the questions are hard. Right now I am wrestling with what element am I: earth, wind, fire, or water....

Any ideas?

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