Make & review your personal mission statement
david ford
Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic_ (NY:
Simon & Schuster), 358pp. On 106, 108, 128, 129, 132:
The most effective way I know to begin with the end in
mind is to develop a _personal mission statement_ or
philosophy or creed. It focuses on what you want to be
(character) and to do (contributions and achievements)
and on the values or principles upon which being and
doing are based.
....
A personal mission statement based on correct principles
becomes... a personal constitution, the basis for making
major, life-directing decisions, the basis for making
daily decisions in the midst of the circumstances and
emotions that affect our lives. It empowers individuals
with... timeless strength in the midst of change.
....
As a principle-centered person, you see things
differently. And because you see things differently, you
think differently, you act differently. Because you have
a high degree of security, guidance, wisdom, and power
that flows from a solid, unchanging core, you have the
foundation of a highly proactive and highly effective
life.
....
I find the process is as important as the product. Writing
or reviewing a mission statement changes you because it
forces you to think through your priorities deeply,
carefully, and to align your behavior with your beliefs.
....
When people seriously undertake to identify what really
matters most to them in their lives, what they really
want to be and to do, they become very reverent. They
start to think in larger terms than today and tomorrow.
Sire, James W. 2000. _Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life
as a Christian Calling_ (Illinois: InterVarsity Press), 263pp.
On 146:
Making a resolution. Here is a tip I have never used. But
Sertillanges is right about so many things, I will close
this chapter by quoting the final two paragraphs from
_The Intellectual Life_:
Having made up your mind to pay the price,
engrave your firm resolution, today if you have not
done so already, on the tablets of your heart. I
advise you also to write it down in black and white,
legibly, and to put the words before your eyes.
When you sit down to work, and after praying, you
will renew your resolve each day. You will take
care to note down especially what is least natural
and most necessary for you-- for you, as you are. If
need be, you will repeat the formula aloud, so that
your word may be more explicitly given to
yourself. Then add, and repeat with full certainty:
"If you do that, you will bear fruit and you will
attain what you desire. Adieu."
Perhaps it would be better if it was stated in the present
tense, e.g., ".... By doing that, I bear fruit and attain what I
desire. Adieu."