A ship relies on its rudder to steer in the direction of its destination. Without the rudder, the ship goes where the sea takes it. Your life, without a mission statement, is like the rudderless ship, following the tides with no direction.
Your mission statement is your rudder. It identifies what you are doing here.
To be effective, your mission statement needs to be just that–a statement. You should be able to repeat it when people ask you what you do. Not like a doll with a cord that is pulled on her back, but as something you are passionate about, that steers your life forward in a clear direction.
(Speaking of passion, read about marrying your passion with purpose in this post)
Three Parts of a Mission Statement
Your mission statement has three parts: the problem you see, how you help, and your big why.
Your mission statement will evolve with you as you evolve and address new problems. It’s living, just like you.
Mission Statement Examples
Here are four examples of mission statements from women I work with:
- Carol
It’s incredibly hard to lose weight and keep it off, especially after a certain age. It requires a whole new mindset around food and eating. I’m Carol and I help women think about eating in a whole new way so that they can lose the weight they want successfully and live in joy as they keep it off.
2. Jacqueline
Teaching your kids at home requires you to take on a whole new career and think in a whole new way. I’m Jacqueline and I help families develop systems for homeschooling that enhance the learning process for your kids and smooth the whole process for the parents so that the kids can reach new heights in learning and achieve like never before.
3. Melanie
Selling on Etsy can be daunting with all the tricks and ins and out you need to know. I’m Melanie and I have taken my ten years of experience selling vintage products on Etsy and culled out exactly what you need to do to build a successful Vintage Shop on Etsy so that you can achieve the dream of a successful online vintage business.
4. Kimberly
People take relationships for granted, like having healthy ones is easy, but I’ve found many women find it challenging to meet the right man, and develop meaningful relationships. I’m Kimberley and I take my wisdom and the wisdom of the women who have gone before me and distill the essence of it to help single women understand how to find their life partner and develop a deep, meaningful relationship. Once they understand these skills, they can use it all of their relationships to improve their whole life.
You can see through these examples that each statement identifies a problem, introduces the speaker, tells what they do and why. By the end, you have a clear understanding of exactly what they do.
Time for you to focus on writing your mission statement.
Part I
The Problem/Topic You Address
The first question is, what is the key pain point, problem, or topic you address with your life. It could be work-related, volunteer work, or home-focused.
Here are some examples:
- People thrive in neat, organized spaces and in predictable environments…
- Information that is available is limited in perspective…
- Achieving goals and living as an example for others…
Once you have the problem or area you are focusing on, the second step is to introduce yourself and how you deal with the situation.
Part II
How You Help
This step walks you through what exactly you do.
Here are some examples:
- People thrive in neat, organized spaces and in predictable environments. I help my family to be the best they can be by maintaining the environment and planning healthy meals for them…
- Information that is available is limited in perspective and often biased. I create articles that dive fully into topics of interest to others and uncover what has been left unsaid…
- Achieving goals and living as an example for others motivates me. I am a student and I want to be the best I can be…
You can see how the second step fills in missing information and moves the mission forward.
Now, Part 3 answers your “big why.” Why you do what you do.
Part 3
Your Big Why
The last step gives the reason for the mission.
Here are some examples:
- People thrive in neat, organized spaces and in predictable environments. I help my family to be the best they can be by maintaining the environment and planning meals for them so that they can reach their potential and thrive in a chaotic world.
- Information that is available is limited in perspective and often biased. I create articles that dive fully into topics of interest to others and uncover what has been left unsaid so that my readers have a clearer perspective and can make informed decisions.
- Achieving goals and living as an example for others motivates me. I am a student and I want to be the best I can be so that I can make the contributions to this world I am meant to make.
Now it’s time to put your mission statement all together.
Part IV
Putting It All Together: Writing Your Mission Statement
Now put your three partial statements from above together.
How does that sound? Does it feel like it fits what you do or you want to do? Try it for a few days. Repeat it to yourself. You might nitpick a few words here and there. Use it to see how it feels. It might feel awkward at first because you aren’t used to saying it but stay focused on it and it will act as your rudder.
Coupled with your core values, you are on the path to greater clarity.
If you have found this information helpful and would like to continue your journey to greater clarity on your path forward, click here to schedule a free 60-minute call with Alicia.
Before you go, enter your info here to get a simple checklist to help you identify your values, understand where you’re coming from and where you are going, and start you moving forward with assurance.
Did you learn a lot about writing a mission statement in this post?
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