Personal Mission Statement - a follow up

I got so many responses from the posting below on building a Personal Mission Statement that I had to give you an update. You never know what you are going to get when you publish something online. This one however, has generated some great comments and beautiful stories. People really in tune with their passion, their goals and truly pursuing them on a daily basis.

As an example, one woman told me about her commitment to children education and how she was able to bring her dream into her daily work, building a school curriculum that fosters creative thinking and creative ability.

Some other statements were more general but you could see the authentic source behind them:

"Be productive and have fun!"
"Be the change I wish to see in the world."

Some people simply gave me their professional mission statements instead. I'm not sure if these were just examples of blunt self-promotion or if these guys were so encapsulated by their work that they have lost their personal identity. Do you know anyone like that? ;)

However, jokes aside, what prompted me to write this follow up posting were the statements that had a lot of energy and action in them:

"Get up, get going, keep going!"
"Just do it!"

If you've been a regular reader of this blog, you know I am all for action. As I work with my clients, I am constantly searching and "gently" pushing for movement and taking the next step. However, I have to ask: steps to where?

When you think of your purpose and search for motivation, are you clear where you are going to?

We live in a culture where we need to keep going. We have our jobs, our responsibilities, our schedules. Yes, you need to keep going but are you going in the direction you really want to go to?

The purpose of taking some time to develop a Personal Mission Statement is exactly so that you don't keep wandering around, getting up and get going to a place that is not exactly where you want to end up after all...

As you think of your daily routine, as you look at your to do list or the appointments in your schedule, ask the question: Are these actions helping me fulfill my purpose? Are these actions in alignment with who I truly am and want to be? Am I going in the right direction? Do I know where I am going to? What goals do I have for myself? Are these goals truly a reflection of who I am and who I want to be?

Action is crucial! Yes, let's keep going, let's just do it! But as you go along, make sure you know the results you are expecting from these actions and that they are in tune with your true inner purpose and mission. Otherwise you may just end up going in circles!!