What is your PMS? I’m talking about your Personal Mission Statement!

Do you have a personal mission statement? Or are you like many who can’t wait to digest the last piece of Christmas cake to get out your pen and paper, computer, tablet, and phone to start pulling together your list of resolutions that are going to power and empower you throughout 2018?

And I guess if I’m asking this question of you, it’s only fair that I say which side of the fence I’m on, right? Well, up to a few years ago, I looked forward to making my list of resolutions for the new year. In fact, during the year, I would have already been looking at the things I knew I would want to get done in the upcoming year or I’d be looking at the things that somehow fell off my list of resolutions as the months went by (which happened more often than I care to admit) and I’d use that to fuel or shape what my list, and, ultimately, what my life would look like in the next year.

But no matter how much I achieved throughout the year, I’d still feel unaccomplished at the end of the year. Why? Well, that’s because, at the end of the day, the items on my list of resolutions did not add up to the sum total of what I needed to accomplish to push my life forward. Sure, I may have fulfilled a few of the things I promised myself that I would do — like treat myself more, make more time for myself and family, clear some debts — but what I didn’t identify was my end goal. Instead, these were just lists of things without a common theme. I didn’t define where I wanted to see myself at the end of the year and then ensure that everything on my list was working together to push me closer to that end goal. And that’s where having a personal mission statement made more sense for me.

About three years ago, I remember driving home and thinking about what was next for me — you know how the start of a new year has a way of putting us in a reflective mode. So, I thought about all that I had accomplished and where I wanted to see myself in the next two to three years… how was I going to get there? Having recognised and admitted the recurring pattern that was being created year after year, I had to be true to myself and accept the fact that resolutions may work for some people, but clearly not for me. To be honest, a lot of the things on my list would just fizzle a few weeks into the new year.

This time, rather than jotting down another list of ‘things to do’ in my life, I looked at my past successes, my core values as well as my spiritual, professional and personal goals, who I wanted to surround myself with, among other things, and then I used these to develop my personal mission statement that would hold me accountable throughout the entire year. And when I say hold me accountable, I meant it in every sense of the word, as I wanted to bring focus and purpose to my life. With my mission at the time being to improve my overall quality of life, it meant that everything I did, no matter what, had to help improve my quality of life in some way or other. At the end of the year, I felt much more accomplished and proud of myself than ever before.

That whole process taught me something, though. It taught me the value of always being true to self. I was just setting new year’s resolutions because it seemed like the thing to do, not thinking whether or not that’s the formula that worked for me. At the end of the day, whether it’s a mantra, a list of resolutions, a statement or just your natural inner drive — whatever it is, whatever you do — promise yourself that you’re simply going to stay true to you. I know it sounds clichéd, but faith without works is foolish, so as long as you say it with meaning and purpose, you’re good to go. Who knows, you could even make it your personal mission statement!

Do you have a personal mission statement? Or are you like many who can’t wait to digest the last piece of Christmas cake to get out your pen and paper, computer, tablet, and phone to start pulling together your list of resolutions that are going to power and empower you throughout 2018? — Jacqueline Burrell-Clarke