How to Jumpstart Your Career With a Personal Mission Statement

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You’ve just graduated college, degree in hand, and are excited to conquer the world. Or, after years of raising a family or caring for a parent, you want to reinvent yourself andyour career. Problem is, you’re not exactly sure where to start. As you look to make that next step, a personal mission statement can help you determine your direction and chart your course.

“A personal mission statement declares your impact and how you will get there. It encapsulates your vision, values and goals and is often focused on who you will serve or help,” explainsLinda M. Perry, a Mindset Coach. “A personal mission statement is important because it guides your choices and keeps you connected to your deep why.”

A personal mission statement sounds inspiring, but how do you create one? And how can it help you to jumpstart your career, no matter what phase of life you’re in? Read on to find out more.

How to Make Your Personality Work for You

Crafting or Refining Your Personal Mission Statement

Before you sit down to plug away at creating a mission statement, you should understand the purpose for having one. It’s not necessarily something you give to others. A personal mission statement is to guide and focus the person who is the most important key to your success—you.

“The biggest reason to create a mission statement is to create clarity and direction for yourself and others to achieve the goals that are most important to you. Your mission should be big-picture, long-term, and meaningful,” statesMary Olson-Menzel, Founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development.

In terms of implementing it in your career, your mission statement will help you further clarify the type of job you want, your desires for how you want your day-to-day interaction to look, and the type of companies you want to work for.

“Crafting a personal mission statement is an introspective process, which means you’ll need to do some self-reflection. I know, maybe not the most fun, but it’s crucial if you want to use mission statements as a tool for growth,” saysKatie Hostasa, Founder, KMH Leadership.

Consider what values matter to you and why, and what are your strengths and weaknesses. Then, it’s time to get started taking steps to put your personal mission statement together following these steps:

These steps also work if you already have a personal mission statement, and you need to refine or update it. Brush off what you wrote in the past and use the steps above to help you figure out where you’re headed for the future.

“This is a living, breathing document, and you should always be refining as you develop and grow yourself.  As you evolve and change, sure, your truest values may stay the same, but the impact you want to have on the world may shift,” Hostasa says. “Continue to beself-reflective.”

Simple steps like putting your mission statement as a screensaver on your phone can keep it at the forefront of your thinking. That helps you consciously implement it in practical ways, like choosing between two jobs or whether a position works for you. Compare it with your mission statement to see if the two align.

How to Boost Your Self-Awareness

Being Inspired

You may still feel stumped thinking about what your personal mission statement can look like. Individuals and companies have statements to help guide them on a daily basis. These statements can not only be a blueprint for you but caninspire and motivateyou to keep plugging away.

“So many people get stuck on a plateau and don’t know how to move forward. [I use] a mindset-first approach to support individuals and teams in tapping into their core motivations and strengths, freeing them from their blocks so they can soar past seven figures,” Perry says of her own personal mission statement.  Another mission statement she lauds is from Netflix. “I love this one because it’s so simple, yet perfect: ‘To entertain the world.'”

Boxing champion Lennox Lewis showed what a mission statement looked like in action. His statement became the template for his career: “The mission I set out in the beginning—to become heavyweight champion of the world, undisputed, lineal champion—you could say that mission is complete."

Ultimately, jumpstarting and maintaining a fulfilling career hinges on finding work that you enjoy and that keeps you motivated. Your personal mission statement can help point you in the right direction.

“Creating your personal mission statement is like giving yourself a compass that always points to your true north. It guides you in everything—from career moves to personal relationships. Understanding your purpose gives you clarity on the impact you want to make, and reflecting on your values, passions, and strengths ensures your mission is authentically you,” Hostasa concludes.

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