Why having a Personal Vision and Mission Statement Matters: A Step by Step Guide to Creating Yours

In business, a leader has a responsibility to specify the purpose of the organisation they lead, define its identity and clearly state what it is supposed to accomplish.

Creating this vision and mission statement is like creating a compass: it guides everyone’s decision making within the organisation to keep things on course, avoiding anything that distracts from the mission.

Few people realise that creating a personal mission statement is like creating a compass for ourselves; it’s a way of staying focused on the things that are of ultimate meaning and importance in our lives.

Creating a personal, value-driven vision/mission statement makes us alert to opportunities that will add value to our lives that could be otherwise overlooked in the busyness of day to day life.

This statement will motivate us to find the resources we may need to make the most of those opportunities.

It sharpens focus, boosts determination, cuts through distractions and helps us to live a more powerful life.

Sounds pretty excellent!

If you don’t have one yet, and you’d like to create one, read on and we’ll tell you how it’s done. We’ll start with the Mission then onto the Vision.

But first, let’s define. There is a subtle difference between a vision and a mission statement.

Mission is all about purpose.

It’s the solid outcomes you want to accomplish that can be clearly seen and measured.

Vision is about tapping into your emotional centres.

It’s about identifying the values that feel most important to you ,personally, and how those values will be put to work in the service of your mission.

Writing your ‘Mission’ for a Mission / Vision Statement

Start with your Strengths

Fill out the VIA strengths survey to identify your top strengths.

Our strengths are not the same as our skills. Skills we can learn, but strengths we are born with.

You tell when something is a strength rather than a skill when:

A. You really struggle to understand how anyone could find doing that thing difficult.

And…

B. Doing things that require the use of that strength actually energise you rather than wear you out over time.

Define Success

Who do you view as truly successful in your own life and in public life?

What is it about them, or what they’ve achieved that makes you see them this way?

What achievements in your own life do you look back on and feel were truly valuable?

From these reflections, write down some keywords that define success for you.

Take Aim

What do you truly desire for your life, professionally and personally?

Create a brainstorm

Then looking at the content of that brainstorm, which things jump out the most? Which exert the greatest emotional pull when you look at them?

Those are the goals to focus on.

Triangulate

Take those goals, strengths and definitions of success and define the single goal you would most like to accomplish…

Try to word it in the most compelling language that you can come up with and make sure that it is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timebound.

Spend time tinkering with this until you have come up with a punchy sentence or two that describes what you intend to accomplish, by when and how you’ll know when you’ve nailed it.

Want to see an example mission statement?

Let’s use my own mission statement as an example

• Start with your Strengths: A couple of my top strengths are compassion and creativity.

• Define Success: To me, one important dimension of success means attaining a level of material security that allows me to take good care of myself and my loved ones and have access to many opportunities and experiences.

• Take Aim: My most important goal, at this time, is rolling out our company’s Human Nature Project nationally so that it can support the mental health of many more people than it currently does.

• So let’s triangulate! My mission statement is this:

My mission is to have the Human Nature Project operating in five cities nationwide by March 31st, 2027. I will build reliable income streams through trading activity and nurturing a strong staff team around me. In this role I want to exercise my creative problem solving, see the positive impacts the project makes on people’s lives and my salary will reflect the high value of this work.

Writing your ‘Vision’ for a Mission / Vision Statement

Emotions

Which emotions does this touch upon – Read your mission statement, what would be the most satisfying thing about accomplishing this goal? Where does it ‘get’ you, emotionally? How will it benefit others? What will be the emotional impact on them? Imagine all these emotions. Try to conjure them up in your body.

Write down your key values

Read this values list (link) and tick the ones that emotionally resonate most strongly with you.

Paint a Mental Picture

Look into the future and see the person your mission statement describes. What are they like? Where are they? Who are they with? What are they wearing? What are they doing? Describe what you see. Describe what they would be like to know.

Triangulate

Now combine the emotions, values and picture to create an inspiring vision statement which speaks to you and makes you feel enlivened when you read it.

Let’s see a Vision Statement Example

Again, using my personal example…

• Emotions: I realise I love to be creative because it feels like playing and it makes me feel childlike, absorbed and truly alive. I feel so fulfilled when I’ve spent my time being creative.

• Values and Paint a Mental Picture: Freedom and compassion are the most resonant values for me and when I picture who I’d like to become I see someone who is having a lot of fun being alive and enabling the people around her to do the same.

• Time to Triangulate. Here’s my vision statement:

I want to help other people really enjoy being alive. I'll use my creativity to grow our business and roll out our community work. I’ll make sure I respect the autonomy of other people and their need to feel valued and supported every step of the way.

Make it happen

Recite your statements inwardly at least once a day each morning. Have them on the bathroom mirror and as your phone/computer background to keep them front of mind. Make efforts to memorise them.

Remember to revisit your statements and update them when need be - as we grow we change and sometimes so do our desires.

These statements are not about being locked in and rigid, they are about having a dynamic compass that keeps us heading in the direction we want to go in.

Let us know how you get on, and enjoy the process… It’s a powerful one!