Getting to What’s Important

Whether you believe in God, Allah, something else, or nothing at all, THIS IS IT.  This is your one life on this earth… the big question most of us ponder at some point in our lives is “now what do I do with it?”

Few people are born with the gift of knowing themselves inside-out, upside-down; really knowing who they are and what their gifts are.  Fewer still know how to take who they are and turn it into a life that makes a difference.  Yet, ALL OF US are capable of being more caring, more focused, more intentional and more faithful to whatever are our highest ideals.

Today, we will begin to explore a practical method for making one’s life a message of hope, love, and purpose… becoming the best YOU you can be… discovering what you were MADE to do.  Where we need to start is with what’s important.

Let’s start with your highest ideals.  What’s important to you?  Take a moment to jot down a list of all of the words that you can think of that are important to you.  Perhaps values like integrity, faith, generosity come to mind.  Maybe you are committed most to freedom, abundance, creativity or adventure.  There are no wrong answers; just list whatever comes to mind and don’t stop until your head is empty.

Now review that list and pull out your top 3-5 favorites.  Choose the words that speak most to you in THIS moment.  Don’t worry if some of your other favorites get left behind, you can come back to the list at a later date and claim them.  But for now, choose just 3-5 and write them at the top of a clean sheet of paper.  (Or, you may print the Mission Planning Tool form from this website under the tab “free tools.”)   These are your foundation values for your mission statement.  From here, we will begin to create a vision plan that will make it clear who you are and what you are up to in life. 

Across the top sheet of your paper are your foundation values.  Now jot down a list of all of the roles you play in life.  For instance, some of mine are: mother, daughter, wife, coach, business owner, Racinian, Christian, cook, PTA President, etc.  Again, keep listing until your mind is empty.  Now, go back and choose 3-5 roles that are most important to you.  Write these just under your values, or if you are using the Mission Planning Tool, in the “Roles” section.

Your homework before the end of the day is to create 4-5 statements using all of these words.  You obviously can add other descriptors; be creative and come up with sentences that describe who you would be in life if you were fully self-expressed in each of these areas.  For example, one sentence of one of my most recent client’s statements was:  “I am a symbol of security and an example of success and leadership to my family.”

This collection of sentences will make up your mission statement.  Between now and next Monday, your additional homework is to read your mission statement every night, last thing before bed and every morning, before you get up.

Remember: What you put in a mind, comes out in a life!