Would a pilot fly the plane without knowing where he’s going? Do construction workers start building houses with “whatever” is lying around? Did you “wing it” the first time you made biscuits from scratch?
I certainly hope not.
Creating personal statements allows us to stay on track and put first things first.
Mission statements, help us say no, or yes, in difficult situations.
Creating the Personal Statement is a Process. Take your time. Although some statements are created in a day, unless you have done lots of work beforehand yours will take more time.
Go easy on yourself and enjoy the process.
Think about some key questions. Let’s play “get our feelings out on the table.” We need a place to start. A brainstorming session, if you will. Take some time and think about:
· How do I want to feel?
· How will I resolve differences?
· What kind of person do I want to be?
· What are my roles?
· What creates happy feelings for me?
· What creates feelings of unhappiness?
· What did I enjoy from childhood and want to continue?
· What are my unique gifts and talents?
· What do I want to feel at work, home, with my family, or spouse?
Write. Tweak. Dream. Repeat. With an arsenal of ideas swirling, it’s important to get them in one place and start looking for patterns and repetition. You’ll quickly notice that there’s some consistency in what you desire most out of life. Take time. Write, and put down your findings in any expression that you like; poem, paragraph, acrostic, or bulleted key words. It really doesn’t matter. Just do it. What’s most important is that the personal statement lives in your heart and becomes part of your being. There’ll be many drafts. I suggest that you write a version, think about it, try it on for size and see how it feels for a few days. Tweak it. Dream. Live with the statement for another week. Repeat until you decide if the statement is something that you believe in and can commit to.
Make it matter! Now that you’ve gone through the work of creating your mission statement, use it to stay on track. You can enlist the help of your mission statement when prioritizing obligations, creating your weekly schedule, or when confronted with request from others.
Sharing is caring. Get crazy.
Need some help reigning in the crazy?
Post your vision statements in the comments, and let’s work on your drafts together.