By Javacia Harris Bowser
I have commitment issues.
No, I don’t mean I can’t settle down in a romantic relationship; I’ve been happily married for nearly 8 years.
I suppose it would be more accurate to say I have overcommitment issues. I say “Yes” to too much, too often.
Me: You betcha!
We women must learn to say “No” because, as I’ve learned the hard way, overcommitment leads to a life of mediocrity. I have become a Jane of all trades, but a master of none. I’m doing a good job at many things, but a great job at nothing.
So what’s a girl to do? Write a personal mission statement. A personal mission statement will help us say “Yes” to the things that matter most and “No” to everything else.
I’ve written a personal mission statement before and it certainly helped me cut out some activities. But I sit here today still in need of margin in my life. So I suppose it’s time to revisit and revamp my statement.
For help I turned to Karen Florence of Iron Tribe Fitness in Birmingham. “Goal setting is a huge part of our Iron Tribe culture both internally with the staff and with our clients,” Florence says. And I figured setting the right goals would help me focus on what matters most.
- When you lie down at night, what do you imagine being a part of or accomplishing?
- What do you already do and enjoy even though you don’t get paid for it?
- What are your talents?
- What scares you a little to try, but excites you just as much?
- What have you tried before and failed? Why does the failure bother you so much, and why do you still want to achieve the original goal?
Florence stresses that while it’s important to think about what goal you want to accomplish, it’s even more important to consider why you want to do it.Why does it keep you up at night. Why will it change your life? Why will it make a difference?
After talking with Florence I came to this conclusion: a personal mission statement should be about two things — passion and people.
Your personal mission statement should be centered on what you’re most passionate about, but it’s important to remember life isn’t all about you. Consider how you can take that passion and help other people. But chances are, you’re always thinking about helping other people. So perhaps you need to write a personal statement that reminds you to sometimes think about yourself.
My first personal statement was as follows:
To empower women through language by writing inspiring, informative, and entertaining works of creative non-fiction and motivating women to create literary art of their own.
And here’s my new one:
To live a life worth writing about and to use my passion for feminism, fitness, and the written word to empower women and girls.
My new statement is a bit broader than my first but in my new statement I’ve clearly defined my passions and the people I want to help. And in my new personal mission statement I’ve also remembered not to forget about myself.
Love (love, love) the line “To live a life worth writing about” Thanks for the great post. Here’s to us all finding our passion, living it and sharing it with others.