How Having a Personal Mission Statement Can Help You Reach Your Goals

Most highly successful people share one important trait: focus. They know what their purpose is and what they want to achieve, and everything they do and say aims to bring them closer to their goals. But maintaining that intense level of dedication and drive takes effort.

When striving toward any goal, it’s important to find ways to remind yourself why that goal is so important to you so you can stay focused. Creating a personal mission statement gives you a way to identify your values, commit to your goals, and put yourself on a path toward success.

QUESTIONS FOR CREATING A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT

To create your own personal mission statement, start by asking yourself these questions:

• What are my strengths and achievements? To know where you want to go, you first have to know where you have been. Take stock of the things you have already accomplished and the routes you took to get there. That process might help shed light on your personal strengths, which you can rely on to make even greater strides in the future.
• What matters to me? A personal mission statement summarizes the things you want to do, the person you want to be, and the life you want to live. It sums up your purpose in life. That vision will be hard to bring to reality if it doesn’t represent the things you find most important in life.
• Who do I want to be? Think about all the roles you play in life: Are you an employee, a parent, a friend, a spouse? Then decide what would be the best possible way for you to live up to that role. Your vision for your role could be totally different from someone else’s.
• What are my goals? What are the things you want most? This is your chance to commit to a goal and define your life’s purpose. This could be something broad, like being an inspiration to others, or you could choose a very specific goal like becoming a millionaire by the time you’re forty. There is no such thing as a bad goal, as long as it challenges you and represents your values.
• How will I deliver on my promises? In other words, what will you contribute? What work will you do or what actions will you take to help you get you to your goals? This is the “how” part of how to reach your goals.

THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT

There are many benefits to creating a mission statement to help you reach your goals:

• Defines who you are and what you want: For some people, this can be the hardest step of all. Writing your mission statement forces you to dig deep and really think about what matters most to you.
• Prioritizes for the big picture: We all may hope to achieve a variety of things, but a personal mission statement can help you put those things in perspective and decide which are most important.
• Builds confidence: Having a mission statement can help you feel more confident, because you know that everything you’re doing is getting you closer to a goal that truly matters to you.
• Creates focus: Many successful people write their mission statements down and look at them every morning before they start their day. Try it to stay focused on your goal, helping you go through your day with purpose and drive.
• Keeps you motivated: A personal mission statement can act as a reminder that, eventually, all your hard work will pay off. Reflecting on the end goal can help you put in that extra effort daily and give you the endurance you need to overcome any roadblocks that come your way.
• Simplifies decision-making: When faced with a choice between two opportunities, choose the one that helps you get closer to your goal.
• Helps you stay on track: A personal mission statement is a great way to spot your own weaknesses or areas that need improvement, because as a concrete statement of your values, it will be obvious when your own actions fall short of the standards you have set
• Holds you accountable: Having a personal statement and reflecting on it regularly is a great way to make sure you are continuously taking actions to reach your goals.

PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENTS FROM NAMES YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE

High achievers in many industries live by a personal mission statement. Here are a few:

Gary Polson, CEO, Cydcor

“As CEO of Cydcor, I will assure the long-term growth and health of Cydcor and the opportunity by 1) attracting, developing, motivating and recognizing our people; 2) developing a culture of sustainable success; 3) overseeing the strategy; 4) focusing on the financial health of the field; and 5) building relationships with our key people and connecting with the newer people.”

Richard Branson, CEO, The Virgin Group

“To have fun in (my) journey through life and learn from (my) mistakes.” (Motivated Magazine, 2011)

Oprah Winfrey, CEO OWN

“To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.” (Oprah.com, 2009)

Amanda Steinberg, CEO, Dailyworth.com

“To use my gifts of intelligence, charisma, and serial optimism to cultivate the self-worth and net-worth of women around the world.” (Forbes, 2014)

Creating a personal mission statement is just one more way you can position yourself to reach your goals. Writing down your goals, values, and vision for your future is a form of commitment in itself, but creating a mission statement does not guarantee success. In order to make your mission statement work to your benefit, you must imbue it with importance. Whether daily, weekly, or monthly, check in with and remind yourself of your mission statement to keep yourself faithful to its message. Consider keeping it by your bedside, taped to your bathroom mirror, or posted at your desk. You could even use your mission statement as part of your social media profile as way to subtly invite others to hold you accountable as well.

While the act of creating a personal mission statement can help you learn a lot, committing to its message could help you transform it from words into reality.

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We are Cydcor, the recognized leader in outsourced sales services located in Agoura Hills, CA. From our humble beginnings as an independent sales company to garnering a reputation as the global leader in outsourced sales, Cydcor takes pride in having exceptional sales professionals and providing our clients with proven sales and marketing strategies that get results.