Choose Your Mission

 

While a Vision Statement outlines the future imaginings of how your Big Wild Dreams will come to be, a Mission Statement describes what happens everyday. What do you want to do now, in order to get to the place your Vision Statement points for the future?

Often these terms are used in building organisations, to define parameters for growth, to stay on track and to direct everything in a strategic direction. I am an organisation of trillions of cells named Hollie, and therefore the same definitions work for me :).

A Mission Statement provides an overview of the habits, actions and behaviours that are most important to prioritise while aiming to actualise your Vision. It identifies the areas where you'll get the most leverage from your time and energy, shaping the productive and reflective spaces of your Self. It defines the type of people you want to spend your time with and the things you wish to do.

Your Vision Statement speaks to the change you will create in the world : your Big Wild Dreams. Your Mission Statement guides exactly how you will do it. Your personal Mission Statement is a great tool for setting clear boundaries as a result of being in your authenticity and integrity. Used with the How Do I Choose? Tool,  you can meet any difficult decision with ease and surity.

With a Mission Statement, you have the motivation, awareness, accessibility and triggers to align your behaviours (the B=MAT formula as found in True Arrow) for the life you desire. When we're talking about creating a life that sets you free, your Mission Statement sets the boundaries and momentum to have the life you ultimately wish to create.

• How are you currently making decisions?
• Are you meeting your primary objectives? i.e. the values you claim to have?
• What drives your actions throughout the day, whether that be the tasks you work on, where you shop, what you eat or the way in which you speak to people. Are your actions truly reflecting your Vision?
• Are you even living on the same page as what you say you want to see / Be in the world?
• Are you Tomorrow Thinking or Big Wild Dreaming?

A Mission Statement invites you to contribute as the person you can infinitely be. When you're directed by your Mission Statement, you can leave behind everything that's not serving your Big Wild Dreams! Having a Mission Statement allows you to get that bullseye on your targets.

You can put anything in your Mission Statement, and here is some simple advice to get started.

Step 1:

Know your Vision :

What are your aims? What makes your heart sing? What do you wish will happen in the future that would absolutely make all the difference to the way the world is now? Pop over to the What if You had a Vision Statement? article to get clear on your Vision.

Step 2 :

Know what you're already doing :

Once you've set some targets, it's time to figure out how you'll get there. Start by taking a look at what you're already doing. What roles do you have in your life? Don’t worry about the correct order or whether or not you forget one right now, just scribble them down. How do I show up in the world already? What do I do? Am I happy with the things I'm doing and the ways I'm being?

You may even like to spend a few days working through a time audit, where you carefully take note of exactly how you spend your time throughout the day. Think you only use social media a few minutes a day? A time audit might show that you're actually there for hours. Tell yourself you spend hours in the kitchen preparing food? You may find out it's a matter of minutes...

The best way I've found for time auditing is to simply create a note on your phone and every 15 minutes write down what you're doing at the time, for 48 hours. You can set an alarm if you need to. I know it will be annoying for a few days but it's a one-off kind of project that will give you information dividends in actualising your Big Wild Dreams.

Step 3 :

Be true to the life that sets you free :

What does “the best so far” look like for you? Describe your best imaginings. You don't actually have to be realistic. Big Wild Dreams are actualised in the world everyday by people who were told they never would. How do you want to Be? Think of a few words you would want to default come to mind when people reflect on who you are and what you do. If people were describing you, what would you want them to be saying? Take note of where you've been Tomorrow Thinking instead of Big Wild Dreaming and address that.

This is your opportunity to give up all the behaviours and bullshitting you've been using so as not to step up to all you can Be. You can choose to be unbound and unlimited, even if it's only within the framework of your Mission Statement (the practice of those choices is the Self Work).

Step 4 :

Match it up :

Now that you know what you desire to do, and what you're actually doing, you get to choose how you will Be. Allow your actions to Match Your Heart, and the behaviours that take clear aim for your Vision will begin to emerge. You have the privilege of doing. Every action and reaction you take will have an outcome that either brings you closer to your Big Wild Dreams or further away.

This is now the time to be realistic. Take notes on what isn't working and what is. Take notes on how you've been bull-shitting your Self. Take notes on where you'd rather focus your energy and time. Take notes about what's been hard in the past and where you've got habits you'd prefer to farewell.

Step 5 :

Do It Real :

Now is the time to take aim. Look through your notes and rework all that you have noticed in the previous steps. You will turn your new information into a statement of how you will direct your energy to travel toward your Vision. It doesn’t need to be flashy, just simple enough to get your point across about who you are and what you will Do in this life.

Doing is not a four letter word. The act of choosing to interact with the world around you with the intention for contribution and service to the best so far, is a noble and wise life journey. You are choosing to walk your talk. Productivity is positive when it is enacted with consciousness and awareness. I call that Sacred Productivity, and it's the reason the Lunation Annual Planner changes lives.

Be sure to use positive, forward language that supports an even brighter and better future than you have today.

Here are my personal statements for some inspiration. Yours don't have to look anything like these. The Institute for Self Crafting's Company Vision is "Contribution, Authentic Connection and a Self Crafted Life". The Company Mission Statement is provided as a Womanifesto for our team to use during decision making.

My current Vision Statement :

I Be. Wisdom Keeper. Renegade. Change maker. Real. I choose. Awareness and Integrity. Optimal Body. Sacred Space.

My current Mission Statement :

I am. Cosmic Woman. Indigo Mama. Awesome Wife.I do. Integrative. Education. Empowerment. Abundance Creation.Fiercely with the Light. The Rhythm Leads.

Go forth and prosper!

Now you can use this purpose-full Mission Statement to hold yourSelf accountable and inspire the best possibilities for you. Pin it up somewhere that you will be able to see it regularly, not simply so that you can refer to it regularly, but also so that it can work as an affirmation that becomes a part of you. Write it in your Planner so you’ve always got it nearby (there's a page for it right at the front!).

You may find it helpful to revisit your Mission Statement once a year, to ensure that your Vision is still in relationship with your actions. Even if you tweak it with minor changes, you will find that your Missions Statement will always stay true to your core values. It's why you do what you do. If you're using the Lunation Annual Planner (why wouldn't you be??) you'll find a prompt in the final pages to reflect on The Year That Was, including your Vision and Mission Statements.

Refer to your Mission Statement as often as you can until honouring you becomes a part of your daily practise.

A purpose-full Mission is also a Statement to the world that you are actively creating a life that sets you free. Whatever you've been doing before, you've now given yourself permission to be the best Self-version so far. And there is no one to stand in your way!

Let me know how you go!

May all of your Big Wild Dreams come true!