Personal (personal) mission
Like many researchers on this issue, I constantly refine my knowledge about writing a personal mission statement via the Internet and, less often, through recommended books. Unfortunately, I find only a paraphrase of S. Covey’s ideas. I decided to fill this gap a little and share my own view. The method I propose is based on my personal experience of writing a mission statement and confirmed by repeated training with youth on volunteer projects. Now, for more than ten years I have been regulating my activities on the basis of a mission, resolving many contradictions. When I got a wife, we formulated our family mission, and now we go through life together, assessing the quality of our life by the implementation of the mission. This material is our next step.
Evgeniy Skvortsov
The standard approach to writing a mission is to answer a lot of questions and then, by some miracle, formulate a mission. I propose a more consistent and logical method. It may be similar to some others, which proves that we are all on the right track. Also, in my method, each new step forward will allow you to more deeply understand the previous step and adjust it accordingly.
Synonyms
To understand what a personal mission is, it is best to compare it with similar terms and look for similarities and differences. It is advisable to conduct a group discussion of the terms, finding the meaning of each concept.
I will give some examples of “synonyms”: the meaning of life, a person’s purpose, a strategic goal, a unique role, destiny, calling, core value, “maximum life” (Kozlov), etc. Not everything here is synonymous with the mission, but somehow affects it.
For example, in one lesson we came to the following conclusion:
- Mission and meaning of life: mission goes beyond personal interests.
- Mission, unlike vocation (profession, role in the family), is unique. And we can change or adjust the mission, but the calling (given “from above” or from “nature”) cannot.
- Mission and Utility: Mission is more than just utility.
- A dream is something hidden, but a mission is announced publicly.
A good metaphor is a comparison with a tree, where: the soil is the dream, the roots are the values and principles, the trunk is the mission, the large branches are the roles, the twigs are the goals, the leaves and fruits are the results. You can continue the analogy with a tree by reflecting in the picture “the meaning of life”, “strategic goal”, “value core”, etc. What would a person without a mission look like? Don't get too carried away with the metaphor, otherwise your meeting will be too frivolous.
Dream
Dreams are different! In whatever state of mind you dream, that is what you will dream! Therefore, some trainings, having formed a preliminary setting with warm-up exercises and some examples of personal missions, receive not the deepest aspirations of a person, but what will be welcomed at this training. Further implementation of such a “dream” will only lead to disappointment.
When exploring a person’s dream, it is important to touch upon his deepest desires, values, principles, talents, and worldview. A dream should answer the question: What kind of world do you want to live in? What do you want to become? What will happen to your loved ones and even strangers? The questions “what do you want to have”, “how much to earn” and so on are not significant, because... will be considered later in developing specific goals.
As my practice has shown, the most successful (and fairly well-known) questions are:
- Without what will your endless life not be happy?
- If you only have a month (year, week, 1 day) to live, what will you do?
- If you have 10 million rubles, what will you spend it on?
Not a utopia
On the one hand, if you dream based on the available opportunities, then the dream will be limited. Over time, it will cease to inspire and motivate you to improve your life. On the other hand, the dream should not become a utopia.
No matter how blasphemous it may sound, the author of the dream needs to check it for utopianism. To do this you need:
1) reduce the entire dream image to one or three keywords;
2) find real-life options for realizing such a dream using a keyword and take it to the extreme, i.e. to implementation throughout the world and in the life of every person;
3) if this implementation leads to collapse, degeneration of humanity, etc., then this is a utopia;
4) in each case, a person needs to come up with a principle according to which a balance will be maintained that prevents utopianism.
For example, the keyword is “self-realization”. A possible implementation option is “being your own guru.” If everyone lives like this, then there will be no inheritance of experience, etc. Principle for balance (non-utopianism): 60% trust your elders, 40% trust yourself, i.e. priority is given to the opinions of elders, but you also need to have your own opinion. This method allows you to develop principles that will not allow your dream to remain just a fantasy and will connect it with the lives and interests of other people. Such principles can be called the “Constitution of the Dream World.”
Values
Another method of getting in touch with the lives of other people is to search for universal human values and rank them according to personal significance. We can classify as universal human values those that do not need proof and do not depend on circumstances. In psychology they are called terminal values. Many of them are reflected in Human Rights.
Continue the series: family, health, love, freedom, beauty, knowledge, work, etc. It's better to do this in a group conversation. Some “values” are situational and conditional. For example, “punctuality”: good for an employee, but “deadly” for an artist. It is advisable not to use personality traits at all for this case. Then individually distribute values into four categories: 1) “meaning” - for which you are ready to live your whole life; 2) “development” - you devote several years of your life to them, acquiring knowledge, profession, etc.; 3) “bonuses” - you are ready to do this for a reward, salary, status, etc.; 4) “emotions” – value is caused by temporary positive emotions in you, but no more.
Having a list of meaningful values, you can look at your dream in a new way.
Roles
I advise you to start not with the formulation of roles, but with a list of those to whom you feel responsible at the moment or in the future. Then this list must be ranked in accordance with your dream, “principles of non-utopianism” and “meaningful values” or, simply the way you feel.
Ask yourself a question: Why are my responsibilities (roles) distributed this way? What principles are behind this? And add to the list of your principles. In the future, the priority of your roles and some principles may change, which will entail an adjustment to your personal mission.
At my trainings, I use cards where on one side it is written to whom the person is responsible, and on the back the corresponding role. By preparing a sufficient list of roles in advance, you help the person pay attention to additional roles or deliberately ignore them.
Goals
Everyone knows the SMART criteria (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, with a time frame) when formulating goals, but in this case we need to formulate one or two strategic goals for each role without specifying a specific deadline. I advise you to start with the highest priority roles and work your way down. For example, if for the role of “a believer” in relation to God you have already indicated “to be a moral example and adhere to the basic commandments”, then you do not need to indicate the same in relation to children in the role of “parent” - you will automatically be an example for them or otherwise a hypocrite. Think about what exactly you should do for your children and no one else will do it except you?
You can probably add specific criteria for goals with our method: uniqueness (only you!) and strategicity (for several years, sometimes for life). You can formulate more specific goals later when drawing up an annual or monthly plan, where you indicate the specific planned result.
Mission
Firstly, the mission should be no more than 20-25 words, because... Not only do you need to memorize it, but others were able to roughly repeat it. If you are unexpectedly asked about your mission, it will be ineffective to read it from a cheat sheet. By the way, you can write your mission on a business card.
Secondly, the mission should not be too short, because... should reflect your dream, strategic goals, some core principles and/or roles. People need to understand what you are about to do or are already doing in this world. The mission is formulated to be announced and therefore must be understandable to others.
Thirdly, the mission should inspire you to achieve achievements. Be creative! Here form matters, not just content.
Fourthly, it is advisable to formulate the mission in the present tense. You must realize that right now you are living in accordance with your mission. The mission is not good for the future, but for the present, so that you can decide now how to use your resources and time.
If you can’t come up with something special, then just take the highest priority goals and formulate one sentence. Over time and with experience in using your mission, inspiration will come to you and you will reformulate your personal mission.
As soon as a more or less satisfactory mission statement appears, it urgently needs to be communicated to everyone! A promise made to yourself can be taken back, but if you promise something to others, you will have to fulfill it. Don't let yourself back down, challenge yourself to tell everyone about your mission.
Read the mission out loud, close your eyes and dream again, plunge into the world of your dreams, imagine people dear to you, etc. (further on, somehow ourselves).
Vision
Vision (emphasis on the first syllable) is additional text that reveals how you will implement the mission in the near future, i.e. specific goals, ways to achieve them and the necessary resources.
1. Set a deadline. For example – “during university studies”, “for the next five years”, “before starting a family”. The more specific the better.
2. Start from the end. What do you want to achieve at the end of this period, what to become, what to have, etc. in accordance with your mission, main (relevant) roles and goals.
3. When formulating a vision, I recommend taking into account four aspects and SMART criteria:
- condition: your physical health and mental attitude. How do you monitor them to remain useful to yourself and others? How do you stay well at work and at home?
- relationships: your relationships with your spouse, parents, children, friends, employer, coworkers, and others. How do they see you?
- development: your skills and ability to learn. How do you learn and how can you continue to succeed in the future?
- finance: financial stability. How capable are you of meeting your financial needs?
Your continued success in implementing your personal mission will depend on how you apply time management, whether you find like-minded people, whether you turn to your mission to resolve moral dilemmas, and whether you love or hate your personal mission.
As far as possible, I have told you the basic logic of my approach. In some ways it is similar to others, in some ways it is original, and in others I have reduced the non-essential psychological techniques of training and personal consultations. I hope you have benefited from reading my article for yourself and others.
You can contact me for advice, organize a group for training, or wait for the next training. You can complete the lesson on your own by watching the video and answering questions. For your convenience, please request the My Life Mission form.
Some useful literature on the topic:
- Arkhangelsky G. et al., “Time management”;
- Kozlov N. “Formula of success or Philosophy of life of an effective person”;
- Rampersad H., “The Concept of the Individual Balanced Scorecard”;
- Covey S., “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”
Why do we need a mission and a dream?
The most important thing is to define your version of success. Otherwise, how will you understand that you are working for your dream, and what decisions you should make for this?
Achieving dreams and realizing the mission leads to the emergence of goals. Goals without a dream and mission do not motivate and turn your work into a routine. With proper prioritization, attention is focused on important things, you stop wasting time on empty, unnecessary things.
When you have several coherent goals that shape your mission, you gain a lot of extra energy and focus on resources and opportunities that can help you. Without such a sharp focus, your attention will wander, you will become disorganized and you will not understand why you wake up in the morning.
Metaphorically, goals are the stepping stones you climb towards your mission and dreams. However, remember that you should not focus solely on achieving goals - enjoy today and do not think that you will be happy only when you achieve your goals.
A dream and mission are needed at least because they move you forward, force you to develop every day and never lose heart. It doesn’t matter whether your ideals and goals are high or low, you must act and it is your mission and dream that will help you do this.
Mission VS Dreams
So what is the difference between a mission and a dream?
- A mission defines your purpose. This is what you want to achieve ultimately: in your career, life, personal life. The mission is specific and can be measured.
- A dream is something more emotional and inspiring. It expresses your core values and how you will apply them to your mission.
With experience, your dreams, ideals and values may change. Therefore, review them from time to time so as not to end up in a dead end.
