Do You Have One Personal Mission or Many?

When you think about having a personal mission, is it focused primarily on your own achievement and success? Is it focused on your ability to be a supportive and contributing member of your family? Or is the focus more on the specific contributions you make at work and their impact on other people and the world?

Who says you have to choose? Life is multifaceted. Your sense of mission may be, too. 

Mission (or a mission statement) ideally captures and crystallizes a combination of elements that may include but not be limited to identity, motivation, meaning, action, and impact. 

It may take a set of several mission statements to fully capture your personal interests, commitment to family and friends, and work. So instead of trying to come up with just one statement that captures all of that meaning and nuance, give each area of your life the attention it deserves.

Mission at work

What does having a mission at work really mean? 

We’ve all heard the mission statements of big companies and brands. Nike wants to “bring inspiration and motivation to every athlete in the world.” Estée Lauder, where I once worked, focuses on “bringing the best to everyone we touch and being the best in everything we do.”

Those corporate mission statements seem appropriate for the companies and brands they represent. They’re also vague enough that they don’t seem to place too many limits on the activities the businesses might validly pursue in support of their mission.

Does this open-ended approach work for an individual? I don’t think so.

Most people I work with are hoping to achieve clarity and focus. They’re not looking to increase the potential paths in their career. More paths would likely lead to continued indecision and an inability to position themselves clearly in the market. They want to commit to a clear direction and feel good about it.

So what might be an alternative approach to open-ended mission statements like the ones endorsed by leaders at Nike and Estée Lauder? What might provide clarity and focus but not limit your career options too much?

For most of the people I work with, the following construction seems to do the trick:

I [take action] [in a context or for a beneficiary] to [achieve a goal or some impact].

An example might be: 

I plan, implement and champion digital transformation in large, complex organizations to increase efficiency and help ensure the business’ success for years to come.

Often, a work-focused mission statement like this one can be boiled down into a compelling headline for LinkedIn. A headline version of the mission statement I just offered as an example could be:

Leading digital transformation in complex organizations to ensure long-term success.

Shorter, snappier, and to the point. If I were a recruiter reading that headline, I’d immediately have a reasonably good idea of what you do, who you do it for, and what the benefit of that work is.

So what about life beyond work?

Mission at home and in the community

In my experience, a mission statement related to home and community focuses more on what kind of person you consider yourself to be and your sense of responsibility to other people and the world. It’s less about specific actions you might take or expertise you might apply to achieve a goal or impact.

The following construction could work for many of the people I’ve coached over the past ten years:

I am [a particular kind of person] who/and [acts/act in a particular way] to [meet a responsibility or responsibilities that I feel deeply committed to] so that [there can be a benefit to other people].

An example related to family might be:

I am a committed and caring mother who is present and actively involved in my children’s daily lives so that I can help guide and support them as they develop into successful, responsible adults.

An example based on this construction related to community might be:

I am deeply concerned about sustainability and support organizations in my local community working to make the world a greener, healthier place. 

It may take a set of several mission statements to fully capture your personal interests, commitment to family and friends, and work. So instead of trying to come up with just one statement that captures all of that meaning and nuance, give each area of your life the attention it deserves.

Interestingly, most people I coach tend to provide a mission statement related to home or community first when asked what is truly important to them. And these statements tend to stay constant while the ones related to work often evolve.

Personal mission

Mission statements that I would categorize as ‘personal’ often communicate the kind of person a client thinks they are, similar to a mission statement related to home and community. But a personal mission statement also incorporates the attainment of a particular goal or level of success or accomplishment.

The following construction approximates what I see from many of the people I’ve coached:

I [do something regularly] so that I can [attain a goal] and [achieve a level of performance or accomplishment in my life].

An example might be:

I am committed to regular physical training so that I can run a half-marathon and be healthy and fit enough to be there for my family and friends when they need me.

Mission statements that I would classify as personal are often connected to or intertwined with ones related to home and community, but sometimes they are entirely focused on an individual. 

An example of a more individualistic mission statement might be:

I play in a band to be a better guitarist and have an outlet for personal expression through music.

It isn’t surprising that personal mission statements are often related to health and wellness, and hobbies. While these mission statements tend to persist over time, they can and do change with life circumstances.

A challenge for you

What are your mission statements related to work, home, and community, and your personal interests? 

You likely have a few. Or more than a few.

Take some time to consider what your mission statements might be. You may already have a strong sense of what some or all of them are. If so, write them down. The simple act of writing them down can provide additional clarity and help cement them in your consciousness so that you remember why you choose to do some of the things you do. It can also help you stay true to your multi-faceted missions and resist activities and requests that might cause you to stray too far from them.

If you’re feeling a little lost, then consider one-on-one coaching. Helping the people I work with identify, clarify and then commit to these mission statements has been a regular part of my coaching practice for over ten years. I’d be happy to recommend a coaching program that might be helpful. Sign up for a complimentary consultation.