CredoWriters: WAKDOK, SAMUEL STEPHEN
Do you have a Personal Mission Statement?
In 2007 after reading some books among them the richest man in Babylon; I decided to have a personal mission statement and I came up with the one below:
“To remain relevant in an ever-dynamic world by being highly adaptable to change thereby bringing my wealth of experience to bear in all I do.”
The question I do not want you to ask me is how consistent I have been in the attainment of my goals? Anyhow you look at it; you need a personal mission statement.
It is the road map to our future; it is the compass we need as we navigate through life. It is our torchlight at night and even at day. We may not have achieved everything, but having a personal mission statement gives us a barometer to measure the pressure and change in our lives and the world. Keep it simple and practicable. Not having one already sets a parameter on us, it restricts our circumstances.
I have made so many mistakes in life. Painfully I still make mistakes after I sat down to think and write my personal mission statement which ought to have launched me to greater heights. Ironically though I accept the fact that I am liable for all my shortcomings, they have been very instrumental in molding me and grooming me for the challenges ahead. I have accepted the fact that perfection only exist in the books of two people. God and a liar, I am not God and I will be a fool to tell myself lies. Although I set perfection as a bench mark for my achievements, if I must truly achieve it will be very illusionary to think or feel I can never get some things wrong. What spurs me is that I must quickly learn from the mistakes that I couldn't prevent and prevent those I can.
In trying to decipher my mission statement anew, I have decided to see problems as challenges which will be part of this world. The day I stop facing problems or challenges is the day I am no longer alive. Years ago our problem was how to finish primary school, it became how to pass WAEC, and then how to get University admissions, and it grew to going for Youth service. We thought it would terminate when we got good jobs. Then we realized that we couldn't get the best of ladies or men to marry. We are faced with the choice of cars to buy or the kind of houses to live in. These tell us that life's challenges only end with life.
The greatest achievement in life is to achieve what we set out to achieve no matter how little. Having millions or billions of Naira though may solve our financial needs; is not always the sufficient solution to all our problems. The key responsibility in life is to know our strengths and use them to improve our existence. It is to know our weaknesses and minimize if not eliminate them. We can only set out to achieve our goals when we pause and reflect on the things around us. The preliminary way to go about this is to set a mission for ourselves. It is only when we know our mission that we can achieve our purpose in life.
Many of us do not have a purpose for living or we do not know the purpose for our being. Our purpose on earth is not only to make money, it is not only to live in affluence, it is not only to have power, and it is not only beauty or fashion. Prince (King) Edward Viii of England abdicated his throne in 1936 to marry the woman he loved but was rejected by the British Empire and Dominions and the Church of England. Edward chose love over royalty; he knew what he wanted in life and went for it at the expense of his throne. What are the obstacles that deny us the chance of achieving our different purposes in life? We alone must discover our own purpose as individuals.
I can not tell you your purpose, but I can help you discover your purpose.
I can help you by asking you to develop your own mission statement today.
Ask yourself the things that please you and the things that displease you.
Tell yourself the things you excel at and those you fumble at.
Ask yourself what you regret doing and those things you enjoy doing.
Tell yourself what you left undone and those you did which you ought not to have done.
Do you have talents? Are these talents buried, or are you exploring them?
What are your hobbies and how can you tap the potentials your hobbies offer?
If you lived to be hundred years on earth; what will you have achieved?
If you are to mentor a child, what legacies will you pass on to that child?
If your family, friends, colleagues and even neighbours should write and advertorial in the newspaper on your 30th, 50th or 80th birthday, what do you think would be written about you?
If as a result of you having lived on earth, the world has changed; tell me your contribution to the world and your influence on the people and environment around.
Can you read my personal mission statement above again and write yours too.
Define the purpose of your existence. If writing this has made any impact on the person reading this, then I have achieved one of the very little purposes why I was created. If each of us can achieve a little of our individually purposes, then collectively we would have achieved a lot and that will make a difference as much as outshining the sun.
I hope I didn’t bore you? If I did I am sorry, remember I am not perfect, but I just tried to achieve something and I hope to try better next time so that I will achieve the desired effect and not bore you. Start by having your personal mission today. Dare mine, be dynamic, remain relevant and do not look back.
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