Your Personal Mission Statement Based upon Sean Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, "a personal mission statement is like a personal credo or motto that states what your life is about. It is like the blueprint to your life. Countries have constitutions, which function just like a mission statement" (81). Covey goes on to say that writing a personal mission statement will "... open your eyes to what's really important to you and help you make decisions accordingly" (82). Step One: Identify Your Values Values are those things that are most important to you. They influence your actions, habits, choices, and lifestyle. Some examples are friendship, family, life, etc. Imagine 20 years from now you are surrounded by people most important in your life. Who are they and what are you doing? List 5 Things You Value Most: AND WHY 1. 3 4. 5 If a steel beam (6 inches wide) were placed across two skyscrapers, for what would you be willing to cross? A thousand dollars? A million? Your pet? Your brother? Fame? Think carefully ...Step Two: Identify Your Principles Principles are the basic guidelines you live by. They are the things that help to center the focus our lives. For example, you may live by the principle of honesty, a strong faith in religion, respect, etc. List Your Top 5 Principles: AND EXPLAIN 1. 2 3 4. 5 . Step Three: Identify one or two people who have been a positive influence in your life. Person #1 Person # 2 Oftentimes, people who have positive influences on our lives have characteristics that we admire. For example, caring, trustworthy, assertive, etc. What 5 characteristics do you admire about the person(s) you listed above? AND WHY 1. 2 4 5 Step Four: Identify Your Strengths and TalentsEveryone has strengths and/or talents that enable him or her to be successful and effective at what he or she does. Some examples are being creative, being articulate, being a hardworking, etc. Think about 5 strengths and/or talents you have and list them below. AND HOW 2 3 4. 5 . Step Five: Identify Your Obstacles and Challenges Sometimes your habits and tendencies are obstacles and challenges that prevent you from being what you want to be or doing what you want to do. Some examples are being prone to anger, being a procrastinator, having divorced parents, being impatient, etc. Think about 5 obstacles and/or challenges you have and list them in the space provided. ABOUT WHAT/HOW/WHY/EXPLAIN N A 5 How can you turn these obstacles/challenges into positives?Step Six: Visualize Yourself in the Future Five years from now, your local news station does a story about you fulfilling your dreams and accomplishing your goals, and they want to interview three people ... a parent, a brother or sister, and a friend. What 5 things would you want them to say about you? SENTENCES N 3 4 . Step Seven: Write Your Personal Mission StatementPersonal Mission Statement To fulfill my dreams and accomplish my goals in life I , will : REMEMBER that the important things in life are: (Step One) LIVE a life centered around the principles of: (Step Two) HOLD IN HIGH REGARD admirable characteristics in others such as: (Step Three) RECOGNIZE that I am: (Step Four) HUMBLE myself by accepting that I am: (Step Five) Therefore, I plan to constantly strive to transform my challenges into strengths. VISUALIZE myself becoming a person who is: (Step Six)