Finding Purpose: Developing a Life Mission Statement

One of my new discoveries in 2020 was podcasts. I had always imagined podcasts as boring and monotone, but clearly I had been listening to the WRONG podcasts! Here are a few of my newfound favorites: Office Ladies with Angela Kinsey & Jenna Fischer, That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs and Woah, That's Good with Sadie Robertson Huff. However, one of my absolute favorites lately has been This Intentional Life with Heather Adams.  I love how Heather states in her intro "How do we prioritize what really matters and not just let life happen to us?" (which totally goes along with my WHOLEHEARTED word for the year).

This new year has made me think back to episode #4 of This Intentional Life where Heather Adams interviews Michele Cushatt. They talk about establishing a life mission statement and finding your five non-negotiables. Michele states that you use your mission statement to design your life, so you aren't constantly reacting. If you're anything like me, you probably just laughed at the thought of not just reacting during a time such as this. Michele immediately clarified that designing your life isn't about having control, but being intentional.

So how does Michele recommend finding your life mission statement? First, ask yourself - What do you want to be true of you at the end of your life? Then, determine your assets, your audiences, and your aim. Your assets are the talents in your life, everything that comes naturally to you. Your audience is the people in your life that you influence or want to influence in every aspect of your life. Then, your aim is your goals. Why do you do what you do? In the answers to those questions, you will start to find themes and those themes are most likely a part of your life mission.

This episode inspired me to develop a life mission statement of my own. It's a tad longer than a statement, so I may have to call it a paragraph. However, I believe it fits what I am aiming to accomplish during this season of my life. This statement is dynamic. As I change or enter new seasons in my life, I may have to tweak or revisit my statement. (Perhaps make it more concise!) But for now, this is it.

I will fiercely love and encourage those around me. I will consistently celebrate and fearlessly embrace opportunities and challenges that arise. God has placed me where I am for a purpose - I am the girl for the job.

So my mission statement has three sections. Each one is a different sentence. Look at how easy that is! The first is "I will fiercely love and encourage those around me." My desire behind this is that I make people around me in every aspect of my life know that they matter; they are loved not only by me, but also by their heavenly Father who has way more love than I could ever give them on my own. I want to be known as an encourager. When I was three years old, I wanted to be a cheerleader-doctor. (That is a cheerleader on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and a doctor on Tuesday and Thursday.) Those career aspirations have changed as I've gotten older, but one thing still remains - I'm a great cheerleader. I think one of my talents is to cheer people into the best person they can be, and I want that to be part of what I am remembered for.

The second sentence is "I will consistently celebrate and fearlessly embrace opportunities and challenges that arise." I want to consistently celebrate. For me, this encompasses my word of the year from last year - rejoice - finding joy even in the midst of challenges. It also includes gratitude. I will be grateful or the challenges and opportunities I am given. Then, I want to fearlessly embrace. I want to charge towards opportunities and not let fear keep me from experiencing what God has for me. I want to persevere through challenges and use them to grow. I will not let trials defeat me. I don't want to look back and regret not seizing an opportunity or not using a difficult time to better myself.

The third sentence is "God has placed me where I am for a purpose - I am the girl for the job." This sentence is more of a reminder than a goal. I am where I am because of God. He has a plan for me. He is fighting for me. I am His daughter. I am not forgotten. Nothing in my life is an accident or a coincidence. I am where I am because it's where I need to be. I will not back down. This is my chance to do what He has called me to do. (In case you didn't know, every word of this paragraph is true about you. You are a son or daughter of the One True King. He loves you and has placed you where you are for a reason.)

If you have read to this point, thank you. I'm honored that you would choose to spend your time reading my thoughts. I hope that you might choose to create your own inspired life mission statement after this blog post. (Also, please check out the podcast episode about this from This Intentional Life. They explain it better than I ever could!)