A night sky, mariner’s compass, nautical chart, sextant, radar, GPS. Without them, global navigation at the open sea is impossible. At sea, you are either a skilled seaman able to find his port or a castaway searching for the nearest land.
When thinking about your work, having a mission statement is an incredibly important navigational tool. What is it you stand for? Why do you create the work you do? What drives you? Where does your intrinsic motivation rise from? The answer is hard to find.
“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” — Nietzsche
In “Start with Why”, Simon Sinek brings forward examples of Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers to illustrate how great leaders, businessmen, or movement leaders, have something unique in common. To inspire action, they do not talk about their “product”, but rather put forward the WHY. He says: “They realized that people won’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it”. Simply put, he proposes a simple, three-step process to think about anything: WHY — the purpose, cause, or a belief behind what you are doing; HOW — what actions are required; and WHAT — the product, service, or job function.
In “Drive”, Daniel Pink talks about three elementary ingredients needed for achieving motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Armed with persuasive arguments, Dan considers having the freedom at work (autonomy), areas we can continuously improve at (mastery), and a reason we do things (purpose), to be keys that unlock high performance and satisfaction — in work, school, or at home.
Both gentlemen have something in common — they call it WHY or PURPOSE. They call for a very hard question to be answered — why do you do it? What is your PURPOSE? How do you answer your WHY?
“The two most important days in life are the day you are born and the day you discover the reason why.” — Mark Twain
In photography, knowing these answers can help you in many ways. It clarifies your vision, photographic style, and you find your voice. Your decisions come easier. You know when to say yes, and when to say no. It will be easier to find ideas. With a sense of direction, you’ll feel motivated and more confident. Your art will be purposeful. You’ll feel less of an amateur, less of an imposter.
You’ll become a skilled seaman. The seaman is on course. On a mission.
After all, understanding our purpose is one of the greatest questions in life, isn’t it?
Breaking it down
To help you along, let’s look at a few ways to get this done. A personal mission statement is a declaration of your purpose in life. Aligning this with your creativity, be that photography or something else, can unlock magical things. A single sentence statement, or a short paragraph, your mission statement should include these elements:
- make clear what your values are,
- state what services you offer,
- convey a sense of direction and the work you want to be doing,
- and be unique and meaningful to you.
An ideal way to clarify your vision, your WHY, is to write it down. Allow yourself the comfort to write down everything you do, everything you want to do, and all your values. Consider who you are and who you want to be. Consider what and who you most value and how your life is connected to those around you.
The next step is about articulating your most important goals. Take some time and reflect on what you want to achieve. What is your biggest personal and professional goal? What do your relationships, achievements, and career look like? What is the best version of your life? What do you want to achieve professionally, personally, and for your community? How do you want others to see you?
One last thing to add — your legacy. Think about what would you like to leave behind and how your skillset can help you achieve that. Is there something you’d like to see changed in the world? How would it be different, when you’re done? How can you use your creativity, willfulness, and drive, to make this vision a reality?
As you go on, written notes, bullets, and statements will start piling up. By this time, you may have written half a page? Maybe even a full one? Worry not, the very last step is to make it brief.
Look at your list and rewrite it into sentences. Edit your sentences until they become short paragraphs. Continue editing until you are left with one or two sentences. Ones you consider most important. Ones that identify your very soul. Leave out everything else. To help you even further, start your paragraph with “My mission is to…” and add the rest.
Make sure your statement is short, clear, and reads well. Edit your mission statement to make it concise and to the point. An important and hard thing to do, but by doing so, you will crystalize your PURPOSE and approach to things.
To inspire your creativity, here are some examples of greatly written personal mission statements:
- “To use my writing skills to inspire and educate others around the world to make a change.”
- “To bring beauty into the world through graphic design.”
- “To use my gifts to improve the self-worth and wealth of women around the world.”
- “To inspire change through teaching.”
- “To create innovative healthcare solutions that improve the lives of others.”
- “To use my gifts as a speaker to improve the self-worth of people around the world.”
- “To pursue lifelong learning and inspire others to do the same.”
- “To create stories that educate, entertain, and inspire people around the world.”
For more inspiration, check out this link.
With personal mission statement done, apply it in real life
Discussing, reading, note-making, editing and finally finishing your personal mission statement would be useless if not put in use. Finding your WHY, your PURPOSE, the secret ingredient driving your motivation through the roof, would be a fool’s errand if left unattended, not applied. Your goal with creating your mission statement is to give your work and life a sense of direction and meaning.
Knowing your WHY is your ticket to take action. At your day job or personal projects, knowing their purpose gives them a framework. You will be able to see how every small individual step brings you closer to achieving your bigger picture. You will wake up easier each day, knowing what to focus on and how to spend your time.
Print your personal mission statement and put it up on your fridge or make it a desktop background. Make it visible to yourself. Seeing it each day will be your constant reminder of things important to you.
Show it to your friends, talk to people about it. Put it up on your website, social media accounts, and your email signature. Let the world know who you are and what you stand for. Publishing your mission statement makes it accountable. You are now responsible for your actions to be in line with your statement. The world will understand your actions because they fall in line with who you are. Your actions align with your identity, therefore are easier to do. And as long as your actions and identity are aligned, there will be absolutely no one to tell you any different.
Sailors use their navigation tools. Now that you have yours, use it to find your port.
This is mine
My mission is to make the world of creativity a little less frightening. I hope at least one person each day finds help or inspiration in my writing and photography.
What is yours?
P.S.: Before you go, two more things! First, you should get my stories in your inbox. Do that here. Second, if you like your experience here on Medium, you should sign up and gain access to all kinds of inspiring texts. I’ve been a member for over four years now, and it’s the best 5 dollars I spend each month. If you sign up through this link, you’ll support me directly with a small portion of your subscription and will cost you the same. Should you do so, thanks a million!
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