How to Write a Personal Mission Statement (With Examples)

Creating a personal mission statement can help you define your goals and achieve them successfully. You can use your mission statement to guide you at work, especially when making decisions. Knowing how to write a mission statement that aligns with your values can also help improve your knowledge, skills, and experience. In this article, we discuss what a personal vision statement is and why it's important, explain how to write one, offer tips for writing one, and give you examples to help inspire you.

Related: Examples of Personal Vision Statements To Help You Write Your Own

What is a personal mission statement?

A personal mission statement is a statement that defines your values, who you are, and how you define success. You can use this statement as a guide when working and making decisions as it can help you determine which choices align with your goals and values the best. Consider limiting it to 30 or 40 words so the statement is concise and easy to remember. This also makes it easier to reference frequently or include on job application materials, or as an inspirational message in your workspace.

Having a mission statement can help motivate you and make you more efficient. Creating a statement that clearly outlines your values and goals makes it more likely that you will work towards achieving these goals. Sharing your mission statement with employers and colleagues can also be a good way to build stronger relationships as it helps your colleagues and managers get to know you and your values better.

Related: Vision Statement Examples Within Job Descriptions

How to write a personal mission statement

To write your mission statement, consider the following steps:

1. Write what's most important to you

Start by considering who you are and who you want to be in your personal and professional life. Make a list of your passions, what's most important to you, and your values. One way to do this is to consider what or who you value the most in your life and determine why you value them as the qualities you value in other people can reflect your own values. For example, you may value your manager for the support and guidance they offer you, so you may want to offer the same support and guidance to others.

2. Articulate your goals

Next, write down your personal and professional goals. Focus on long-term goals at this stage to determine what mission statement you can create to help you reach these career goals. To get started, consider answers to the following questions:

• How do you want others to see you?

• Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?

• What would you like to achieve in your personal and professional life?

• What would make you happy?

3. Talk to your peers

Self-reflection can be tough, so another great way to get to know your values and goals is to talk to your peers. Meet with your mentors, colleagues, friends, or family members to ask them what they consider your greatest strengths. Write words that come up a lot among your peers, such as kind or communicative. This can help you determine how others view you and if you aren't happy with what they see, you can develop or improve your skills and attributes.

4. Identify the legacy you want to leave

Finally, consider the legacy you want to leave on the world. To help you determine what that legacy is, ask yourself the following questions:

• How would you like the world to be different when you leave it?

• What lasting change do you hope to make?

• Who do you want to support or uplift in your lifetime?

• How can you use your skills and abilities to improve the world?

• What is your purpose in life?

• What motivates you?

5. Write your statement

When you have a clear understanding of what you want to include, you can draft your mission statement. Use information from each previous step to write one sentence that summarizes your most notable skills or attributes, goals, and values. Ensure it reflects who you are now and the person you want to be in the future. Consider writing two or more versions and reviewing them to find the best one.

Tips for writing a personal mission statement

When writing your mission statement, consider the following tips to perfect it:

• Get feedback. To ensure your mission statement reflects you and your values, ask a co-worker, friend, or family member to read it for you. Ask for suggestions of ways you can improve or change your statement to ensure it's perfect.

• Be true to yourself. Your mission statement should reflect your passions, values, and goals, not anyone else's. Be true to yourself when writing it, don't just write a statement that you think prospective employers want to hear.

• Keep it short and concise. Personal mission statements should only be one sentence as it's a summary of your values and goals. This helps you remember it easily so you can use it to guide your decisions and actions.

• Share your mission statement. To help people get to know you better and learn what your values are, share your mission statement. Consider sharing it with prospective employers, managers, supervisors, mentors, clients, colleagues, or networking connections.

• Update it regularly. If your goals, passions, or values change, ensure you update or change your mission statement to reflect those changes. Keeping your statement current helps you stay on track with your short-term and long-term goals.

40 examples of personal mission statements

To help inspire you to write your own mission statement, here are some examples of what personal mission statements can look like:

1. "To be a teacher that inspires my students to work hard and achieve their goals."

2. "To offer excellent medical care to all my patients."

3. "To contribute to a positive work environment and inspire my coworkers to do the same."

4. "To find happiness and fulfillment in everything I do at work."

5. "To give every customer I encounter the best experience possible in our store, encouraging them to come back."

6. "To be a leader that inspires my team to set SMART goals and work to achieve them."

7. "To be a fair and invested leader so my team always feels respected and heard."

8. "To use my creativity and analytical skills to create content that clients are consistently happy with."

9. "To use my influence to ensure marginalized communities have a voice of their own."

10. "To become a social worker and ensure Toronto's homeless community has better access to necessities, such as food and work."

11. "To encourage my team members to speak up and offer innovative ideas that improve the company."

12. "To always be kind to others and myself."

13. "To create a good work-life balance that ensures I can be happy in my professional and personal life."

14. "To create innovative technology that positively changes the lives of people worldwide."

15. "To use my artistic skills to bring beauty into the world."

16. "To offer support to anyone that needs it."

17. "To inspire my students to become compassionate, hard-working members of society."

18. "To write stories that inspire people around the world to write stories of their own."

19. "To improve my patients' quality of life with the help of our excellent medical team."

20. "To encourage others to reach their goals and pursue the life they want to live."

21. "To move abroad and learn more about other cultures."

22. "To use every mistake as a learning opportunity."

23. "To be a motivational speaker that inspires others to make the changes they want to see in themselves."

24. "To support marginalized communities with whatever they need."

25. "To complete an act of kindness every day to brighten someone's day."

26. "To give my team the knowledge they need to become more independent and succeed on their own."

27. "To offer my mentees advice that helps them improve their knowledge, skills, and experience."

28. "To use my writing skills to create content that brings awareness to small businesses."

29. "To travel around the world so I can expand my worldview and improve my photography skills."

30. "To pursue lifelong learning as there's always something new to learn, no matter how long you've been in a particular industry or role."

31. "To help create an inclusive work environment, ensuring everyone feels comfortable and has the opportunity to succeed."

32. "To only submit work that makes me feel proud."

33. "To leave the world a better place than I found it."

34. "To develop new recipes and improve old ones to offer excellent food to my restaurant's patrons."

35. "To encourage forward-thinking among my team so they can develop unique solutions to common problems."

36. "To use my communication skills to build strong professional relationships with my colleagues and clients."

37. "To encourage other women to find their self-worth and reach their goals."

38. "To help abuse survivors find themselves again."

39. "To get to know my clients and help them find their dream home."

40. "To ensure every client that comes into the bank receives excellent attention and fully understands their finances."

Now that we've discussed what a personal vision statement is and why it's important, you'll be better positioned to write your own.

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