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!
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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I am a woman on a quest. I find myself repeatedly in the position of having taken on too many things and wishing I hadn't - of wondering why I said yes - of wishing I would have learned the last time.
I have decided that a good "next step" is to develop a personal mission statement. I want something simple that I can use as a guide when I make choices for where to invest my energy and how to spend my time. I am hopeful that 5 years from now (a) I will look back on this time as one of significant self-discovery and (b) that I will be living in the fruits of this labor, passionate about the things I am doing, connected to myself once again.
Toward that end, I am reading two books that are inspiring me toward this process.
Life is a Verb is something I read about at Women on Writing. The interview inspired me to run to the library and check out the book. After reading the introduction, I ordered it immediately so I could scribble in it and underline and highlight to my heart's content. I have not been disappointed with my purchase! The premise is what would you do if you had 37 days to live? Not a revolutionary question - people ask it all the time (although maybe not with the odd "37" number of days). The idea, though, is to live your "everyday" life in such a way that your answer to the question is that you would continue to live your life as you already are. There are quotes and exercises to keep me thinking and to draw me further in to the journey. I am loving it.
Come back Saturday and I'll share about the other resource I am using.
[I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click to Amazon from one of my blogs and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.]
