It is more than just “intending” to do something. I have done that many times. I intend to do this or that, then it doesn’t happen. The Intentional Life is having a roadmap for how you live your life – with purpose, not just floating as in a sea being tossed this way and that.
Having gone through school with a focus on business, owning my own company, been in a consultant role for several non-profits, and running several business units as an area manager I have worked through many aspects of business. Most companies have a mission statement that can be found on their website. The idea is that this mission statement would drive what they do and how they do it. This often gets overlooked in our personal lives and I believe is vitally important.
While my wife and I have had definite plans on what our life could look like, what we could do, and what steps would be needed to accomplish those things, it wasn’t until a few years ago that we sat down to craft our family mission statement. We had done this for our business from the get-go. We wrote a business plan, did an business analysis, wrote a mission statement, and an action plan. Why hadn’t we done this for our life? We wrote our family one together and i’ll share it with you here.
Martinez Family Mission Statement
We are a family who loves God and others (Matt 22:37-39)
demonstrating this love through our actions (James 2:18) and words (Eph 4:15).
We enjoy this life God has given us , laugh, and have fun (Ecc 3:12-15)(1 Tim. 6:17).
We step out of our comfort zones (john 4:1-26, Mark 2:13-17), sacrifice for the benefit of others (John 15:13), encourage (1 Thess 5:11, and create (Eph 2:10) giving all glory to God. (1 cor 10:31)
How to write Personal Mission Statement or Family Mission Statement
There are plenty of websites that have instructions and templates on how to write your personal mission statement. What I want to offer is some ideas on how to start.
Prayer (Proverbs 19:21 – Many are the plans in a person’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails) – Ask God to lead you in the way he would want. Maybe you don’t believe there is a God. Would it hurt to shoot up a prayer? You might be surprised by what is revealed.
Set Aside Time – you need to set aside specific time to work on your mission statement. It may only be an hour here and an hour there, but this is an important part of living the Intentional Life. It should be a place free from distraction. For me, I find that sitting down in a Starbucks works well – but you may need to go to the beach, a mountain, rent a hotel room, or find a quiet place. I would recommend getting outside of the house as your home can be a distraction with things that need to be done.
Free-Write/Brainstorm – generate ideas – grab a notebook (I recommend buying one specifically dedicated to this process so you can refer back to it later) and just write down anything that comes to mind with aspirations, things you want to do/accomplish, where you want to go, and what life might look like. Some of the things you come up with might be goals which are great and can their own action plans to be implemented when the time is right.
Consolidate Thoughts – After you are done brainstorming and jotting down all your ideas on a pad – start looking at patterns and see if there are things that can be consolidated into a single theme.
Craft Sentences with Themes – Start writing out sentences that tie the themes together.
Edit and Revise – Take some time away from the statement and come back a different time to re-read and edit. Change anything that is needed.
Share it – Share your mission statement with a friend that knows you well. Ask them if there is anything they see that you are missing. When you share your mission statement with a friend – it can help bring accountability. They know what you are about and will call you out if you aren’t living that mission out.
Be Flexible – This mission statement isn’t set in stone. It’s a living document that can change as needed. It’s not a thing to confine you, but rather help you focus on the things you value and are important.
We will talk about the next step in the next post. Sign up below to be notified when the next post is up.
