We all have a story of our lives whether we write it or not. It contains our perspectives of the things that happened in our lives, the ups and the downs and how we have dealt with them. Whether they are challenges in our upbringing, education, career, business, relationships or simple day-to-day issues, how we handle them in our story reflects our values, beliefs, desires, dreams and goals. We may not realise it but they’re there, good or bad. It makes us who we are and it’s what makes us tick.
We each write our own Story.
Our paths are a collection of all our experiences and whether they are successes and personal victories or trials and tribulations – they colour our paths. We can write this story because we have lived it – we walked the path and so we think we know the way forward.
What is a Personal Mission Statement?
What if we could do better than that? Companies and other organinsations take the time to organise a retreat and hire consultants to help them write a mission statement for the company. The most powerful way for an organisation to chart its path, plan its strategies and decide its action programs is to understand why it exists – what is it in business to do?
Similarly, what if we had a personal mission statement? Of course, we’ve travelled our path in the past, and we’ve done it without any particular purpose in mind – it’s a life lived by default and we develop into who we are now in the process. Just like an organisation, we could also create purpose in our lives by deciding how we are going to live it. It allows us to chart our path and live our lives with focus.
My Story
In 1995, I sat and tried for the first time in my life to write my personal mission statement. I gave myself a block of time – a whole afternoon – and sat down with pen and paper.
Not surprisingly, my mission statement became about material “things” – what position I wanted in my career, by what age, how much money I wanted to make, what car I wanted to drive etc. It didn’t feel right but I couldn’t think of anything else. I was young. Well, younger.
It went on for a while and nothing much changed. Then I asked the magic question: “Could someone else take this “mission statement” and call it their own?” And the answer was a resounding “Yes!” I knew then that it wasn’t unique to me.
It took me four whole days of reflection after that before I discovered that my mission, and hence, my path and my journey. And it was about who I wanted to become, how I would live my life, my values and what’s important to me. It was almost spiritual and it made me cry. I recognised then that my path was not about what I wanted to have or do but who I wanted to be and it was as if I had finally discovered my true purpose.
I’ve not had to change my mission statement ever since because it’s timeless and it’s unique to me. No one else could take my mission statement and put their name to it. No one else could walk my path. Every goal I’ve set since then checks back with and is consistent with my mission and every experience, up or down, is a lesson unique to me. And that’s my story.
The High Road or the Low Road?
No two paths will ever be the same as our experiences are unique to us.
In everyone’s path there will be times when we have to decide if we should take the high road or the low road. There is a life philosophy that says that “The high road has less traffic”. It means that you follow your inner compass and your values, at all times, no matter how challenging it may be. You don’t compromise your principles and values just because it feels difficult in the moment. Taking the high road means you can live with yourself and wake up every single day being proud of how you acted, or reacted, when dealt with some kind of disappointment.
It means that you had an opportunity to respond in a negative manner, and you chose not to.
The low road is the easy way out, where all the traffic is. It is the quick-fix, the band-aid and you act against not only your values but timeless universal principles. For a moment, you lose your inner compass and you give up your values. You might think that the low road is the faster way and soon you’ll be back on the high road. You can’t stray onto the low road thinking you can come back on the high road when it’s convenient to do so. We are the collective sum of our thoughts, choices, and actions. Character is indivisible.
You Are Your Path
You are the one who must walk your path. You can’t have someone else walk your path for you and neither can you walk somebody else’s path for them. When you look at someone else’s achievements do you feel envious? Do you start comparing yourself with them and stray onto a path strewn with limiting beliefs where you allow yourself to feel diminished, unaccomplished and doubt your own capabilities and potential?
That is their path and you have your own – your skills, your capabilities, your strengths, your goals, dreams and aspirations put you on a different path with different opportunities and different outcomes. So what if you don’t get the same results? It’s ok. Your path is a collection of experiences unique to you and comparing your achievements with someone else’s and feeling inadequate because of it is self-sabotage. You may use another person’s experience to motivate you to do something about your life or your career but never to diminish your value.
Having a personal mission statement helps you deal with the many challenges life throws you. You have to make decisions every day and without any blueprint, how will you decide?
Your mission statement IS your blueprint. In the most difficult times – at work or at home, you make your decisions consistently, courageously and you never need to ask anyone “What’s the right thing to do here?”
You know.
As we travel our path, we can now plan and chart where we want to go next but we may not choose what happens to us. And so our path might change, and that’s ok. The important thing is that we understand that no one else may walk the path for us. We have purpose, values and beliefs which we have incorporated into our mission and we walk it.
Experience spices up our lives and makes our story interesting. It makes each of us different, unique, from one another. If it turns our life upside down, let it do so because it gives us the opportunity to chart a whole new path, but it’s our path. It may change our beliefs and we may give new priorities to the values we have held close to our hearts and lived, or it may give us a whole new realisation about our values. If it pulls us into a new upward spiral, embrace it, connect with our values and follow the path.
