Did you know that a well-defined personal mission statement can help you reach your goals by leveraging your unique strengths? Even if you’re not sure what exactly a personal mission statement is, chances are high that you’ve seen a personal mission statement template somewhere. Taking a strengths assessment like the HIGH5 test can provide valuable insights into your natural talents and abilities, allowing you to craft a personal mission statement that aligns with your authentic self. By understanding and capitalizing on your strengths, you can create a compelling mission statement that resonates with your core values and propels you towards achieving your aspirations.
Not only companies, but you can also create your own personal mission statement to declare your purpose, identity, and motivation. But writing a personal mission statement isn’t easy. There are plenty of things you should take into account to make it the most powerful tool for pursuing your goals. In this article, we will describe the meaning and benefits of creating personal mission statements, offer tips about writing personal mission statements, and provide specific examples for both students and leaders.
What is a personal mission statement?
A personal mission statement can be defined as an objective statement that declares your values, objectives, your unique perspective of life, and in general, you as a person. It’s a written declaration of your intentions or purposes that demonstrates how you define success. By taking the HIGH5 strengths assessment, you can gain a deeper understanding of your core values, motivations, and what truly drives you. This self-awareness can help you craft a personal mission statement that genuinely resonates with your authentic self and leverages your natural strengths to achieve success on your own terms.
The main aim of a personal mission statement is to show why your life goals are so important to you and how you plan to achieve them. As Austrian-American author and management consultant Peter F. Drucker believes, every mission statement should contain three important aspects:
- Opportunities: We should define what our purposes are, what we like to achieve, and how we plan to pursue these goals.
- Competence: A mission statement should show why we do what we do, how competent we are, and what our skills are in the work we do.
- Commitment: It should be clear how dedicated we are to this goal, and why we want to be remembered.
Pro Tip From HIGH5
When crafting your personal mission statement, consider taking the HIGH5 strengths assessment to identify your top strengths. Reflect on how these strengths can contribute to your mission and incorporate them into your statement. For example, if one of your top strengths is “Strategist,” your mission statement could highlight your ability to devise innovative strategies to achieve your goals.
Importance of personal mission statements
A personal mission statement is accompanied by plenty of benefits either for college students or business executives. It doesn’t matter whether you are in the process of determining your career goals or already know what you want to do in life, a personal mission statement will help you better plan your life and pursue your dreams.
People often experience stagnation in their career paths. As research shows, the reason is that they don’t know whether they have an opportunity for career growth or not. But since career development is a crucial factor for job satisfaction, they feel they lack engagement with their career.
A personal mission statement helps us to prevent career stagnation because it’s a useful instrument to focus on long-term goals and plan our careers productively. Moreover, people often find themselves unable to change.
They are resistant to growing and developing because they have self-doubt and feel uncertainty about their true purpose and motivation in life. According to Forbes, self-doubt and resistance to change are some of the reasons why you need to create a personal mission statement.
A personal mission statement can be used as a guide for the journey through life. It aids people to determine their life principles and shows them where exactly they want to go in life. Generally, one of the main reasons why people fail at work is that they don’t have clear goals which makes them lose focus.
That’s why successful people tend to realize the benefits of having a personal mission statement. This one small statement will help you maintain focus, set long-term goals, and track your progress. As a result, you make decisions more easily during your entire career.
Pro Tip From HIGH5
Leveraging your strengths can significantly enhance the benefits of having a personal mission statement. Take the HIGH5 test to uncover your unique strengths, and then explore how you can leverage them to maintain focus, set meaningful goals, and track your progress more effectively. For instance, if “Time Keeper” is one of your top strengths, you can use it to stay committed to your mission and overcome any obstacles that may arise.
How to write a personal mission statement?
Although personal mission statements seem very simple and straightforward, actually creating a powerful statement requires plenty of time and effort. However, your time is worth a great personal mission statement.
Try to focus on your values and life goals and follow these four steps if you want to create an outstanding statement:
Identify your values
What do you value in everyday life? Brainstorm and write down everything that seems important to you. Your values could be everything – either something related to your career path or completely irrelevant interests of yours. Try to order your values according to your priorities.
Focus on your goals
After identifying your values and priorities, now it’s time to set the real goals. What are the biggest professional or personal goals you have always dreamt about? How do you imagine your future career path? What would you like to achieve in the future?
Answer these questions by writing down your answers explicitly. Why? Because neuroscience proves you need to write down your goals if you want to actually achieve them.
Point out your skills
What are you good at? What is your superpower? What makes you stand out from other people? Think about your strengths. It could be anything from creative thinking to expressing empathy towards people. Try to be objective and ask your peers about your strengths. Write down the core skills you want to use in the way of achieving your goals.
Choose the target audience
Who are the people you would like to use your talents for? Picking the target audience will help you to narrow your focus and determine your exact plans. So, think about the people who will receive your help. It could be children, teenagers, women, businessmen, students, or anyone.
Add details to your personal goals
The last step is to add some specific details. Now as you’ve already created general life plans, it’s time to narrow your focus by pointing out some details. Think about the milestones in the process of achieving your goal, but keep in mind your general vision. Which skills are you going to use to get what you want? How do you want to make a change?
Pro Tip From HIGH5
When setting your goals, think about how your unique strengths from the HIGH5 test can help you achieve them more efficiently and effectively. For example, if “Creativity” is one of your top strengths, you could leverage it to pursue goals that involve innovative thinking or artistic expression.
25 examples of personal mission statements
If you’re still uncertain about how personal mission statements look exactly, you can take a look at the specific examples to get clearer ideas of how to start writing your own statement. After reading these examples, you will eventually find out that you can either focus on your work or general life principles.
Here are some of the powerful personal mission statement examples you can rely on:
- To use my skills to educate women around the world.
- To create new opportunities for students who need help.
- To help as many elderly people as possible.
- To be a life coach and inspire people to become the best versions of themselves.
- To use my creative potential to create stories for children.
- To use my empathy to help people recover from mental problems.
- To provide opportunities for men, women, and children living in poverty.
- To bring education to women around the world by creating innovative software applications.
- To save lives.
- To provide job opportunities for unemployed people in Eastern countries.
- To help today’s youth grow and develop.
- To help every person I meet become more confident and use their full potential.
- To use my empathy to help people increase their psychological well-being.
- To provide resources for students to find their objectives and build their career paths.
- To express unconditional love and treat everyone equally.
- To encourage women to become entrepreneurs.
- To support people in pain around me.
- To inspire teachers around the world.
- To use my medical skills to save lives.
- To inspire people to become active citizens.
- To make the world a better place.
- To inspire children to pursue their dreams.
- To write stories that educate and inspire.
- To be a leader and encourage my team to develop innovative solutions.
- To share my expertise in leadership and team management.
Pro Tip From HIGH5
As a leader, taking the HIGH5 strengths assessment can provide valuable insights into not only your own strengths but also those of your team members. By understanding the collective strengths of your team, you can craft a personal mission statement that leverages everyone’s unique abilities to achieve your shared goals more effectively.
How to use a personal mission statement?
Incorporating your personal mission statement into various aspects of your professional life can be highly beneficial.
How to use a personal mission statement in your job interviews?
Leveraging your personal mission statement during job interviews can significantly impact how you present yourself. It allows you to articulate your values, differentiate yourself from other candidates, and answer questions with a clear sense of purpose.
- Articulate Your Values and Vision: Use your personal mission statement to clearly express your core values and long-term career objectives. This helps interviewers understand your career motivations and how they align with the company’s goals.
- Differentiate Yourself: Highlight unique aspects of your mission statement that set you apart from other candidates. Emphasize specific strengths or experiences that contribute to your personal and professional identity.
- Answer Behavioral Questions: Use examples from your mission statement to answer behavioral interview questions. This can demonstrate your commitment to your values and how they influence your professional decisions and actions.
How to use a personal mission statement in your CV and resume?
Integrating your personal mission statement into your CV and resume can enhance the effectiveness of these documents. It provides a clear picture of your professional identity and career goals to potential employers.
- Professional summary: Include a concise version of your personal mission statement in the professional summary section of your CV or resume. It should convey your professional identity and career goals.
- Align with job description: Tailor your mission statement to align with the job description. Highlight elements of your statement that meet the specific needs or values of the organization you are applying to.
- Inspire your cover letter: Use your mission statement as the foundational message of your cover letter. It should provide a narrative that connects your personal values and career aspirations with the opportunities the position offers.
How to use a personal mission statement in your career?
Your personal mission statement can serve as a guiding tool throughout your career. It helps ensure that your professional actions and decisions align with your long-term objectives.
- Career planning: Regularly review and update your mission statement to guide your career planning. It should help you identify when opportunities align with your long-term goals.
- Professional development: Choose professional development activities that align with your mission statement. This ensures that your skills and knowledge development support your overarching career objectives.
- Networking: Communicate your mission statement in networking situations to attract like-minded professionals and opportunities. This can help build a professional network that supports your career goals.
By effectively integrating your personal mission statement into these aspects of your professional life, you can maintain a clear and consistent focus on your values and objectives, enhancing your career progression and satisfaction.
Personal Mission Statement FAQ
What are the 3 parts of a mission statement?
A powerful personal mission statement consists of 3 elements:
- Target audience – first you need to define the key market you want to focus on to achieve your mission.
- Contribution – point out the results you’re planning to achieve.
- Distinction – what makes your mission stand out? Why should your audience prefer your service over others?
What is a good mission statement?
A good mission statement must be a clear declaration of your future objectives. You should focus on some values that are praised by society as well as your strengths and aims.
A powerful mission statement should reflect your personality, skills, goals, and visions of life. It describes what you stand for and how you’re going to create a life you wish for. A good statement is your personal definition of success.
Can my personal mission statement change over time?
Yes, your personal mission statement can change over time as your values, experiences, and goals evolve.
Is it necessary to share my personal mission statement with others?
It is not necessary to share your personal mission statement with others, but doing so can help clarify your goals and create alignment in personal and professional relationships.
