Crafting Your Personal Mission Statement

Crafting a personal mission statement is not just an exercise, it's a transformative journey that invites you to explore who you truly are. Imagine capturing the essence of your being in a single statement that guides your every decision. In this episode, we promise to equip you with the tools to articulate your core values and principles, leading you to a deeper understanding of your purpose. Together, we'll explore thought-provoking questions that will help you identify the influential people and experiences that shape your life, uncover what keeps you inspired amidst challenges, and ultimately guide you to craft a mission statement that resonates with your true self.

Focusing on the present can unlock new levels of clarity and intention in your life. We discuss the art of breaking free from the constraints of past achievements and societal expectations, encouraging you to find meaning in the ordinary and see the world through a lens of endless possibilities. By sharing personal experiences of living between two countries, we offer a fresh perspective on embracing life's in-between moments. This episode is a call to stay connected to your core, cherish each moment, and live a life full of purpose. Join us as we explore how to create a personal mission statement that will inspire you to reflect on your path with newfound clarity and intention.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Discovering Your Personal Mission Statement
• 19:31 Embracing the Present for Clarity

Transcript

Lisa Hopkins: 0:23

Hey there, welcome back. Today I wanted to invite you to do an exercise with me, so you might want to grab a journal. It's kind of a personal one. It's something that I think you're going to find interesting. It's all about self-discovery and purpose. You know we all have these guiding principles, values and unique ways of seeing the world that shape who we are, even if we don't always articulate them. But what if we could? What if we could distill our beliefs and experiences and values into a statement that reflects our true mission in life? Well, that's the goal of today's episode.

Lisa Hopkins: 1:12

I've put together a series of questions that I like to think of as a personal mission tool. So these are prompts that encourage reflection and self-discovery, helping us to uncover those central beliefs and principles that guide us. It's an interesting exercise and I hope you'll come along with me. So this is how it's going to work. I'm going to share each of these questions with you and, as we go, I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on your own answers. You may want to grab again a notebook or a journal, or simply take a mental note as we go through them. You can listen right through and then go back and do it again, or you can pause the track. Really, whatever works for you, all right. So after I go through all the prompts, I'll then share my own responses, giving you a window into how I think about my own purpose and values, and by the end I'll read the personal mission statement I created through this exercise for myself, a statement that's come to represent well what I stand for and what drives me. So let's dive in and start exploring the questions that help us all bring more clarity, exploring the questions that help us all bring more clarity, focus and purpose to our lives. So here we go.

Lisa Hopkins: 2:39

There are going to be nine questions, and the first question is this If you could create a unique title that captures who you are and what you believe in, what would it be? If you could create a unique title that captures who you are and what you believe in, what would it be? Now? By title, I mean something that goes by your name, you know, something interesting and unique to you, something that is not CFO or something that's been used across the board, something that is truly unique for you. So what do you want to call yourself If you could create a unique title that captures you and what you believe in. What would it be? Take a few moments just to think about that, or jot it down, or pause the track, if you like, and when you're ready, I'm going to give you question number two. So, who are the people in your life? I'm going to give you question number two. Who are the people in your life that have influenced you to be the best version of yourself? So I'll say it again who are the people in your life that have influenced you to be the best version of yourself? So, as you're thinking about this, think about when you felt best with the people that were around you, people that elevated you, people that aligned with you. Who are the people in your life that have influenced you to be the best version of yourself? All right, we've got number three.

Lisa Hopkins: 4:39

What values or principles do you live by and how do they influence your choices? What values or principles do you live by and how do they influence your choices? What values or principles do you live by and how do they influence your choices? So that's a big question. You might just want to jot down a few values that come to mind or principles. A few values that come to mind or principles. You don't necessarily have to analyze how they influence your choices right now, but draw awareness around that as you look back, and hopefully you will. So again, the question number three what values or principles do you live by, and how do they influence your choices? All right.

Lisa Hopkins: 5:34

Number four what's a feeling that you've embodied that truly reflects who you are, reflects who you are? What's a feeling that you've embodied that truly reflects who you are? So what we're looking for here is a feeling that you understand deep inside your body, something that, through experience, through knowing, through awareness that you have actually embodied. Try to tap into that for a minute. We've all caught these moments in our lives where we've truly had a feeling that embodies and truly reflects who we are. So, again, number four is what's a feeling you've embodied that truly reflects who you are?

Lisa Hopkins: 6:37

So, number five the question is what helps you stay connected to your inner source of inspiration? You stay connected to your inner source of inspiration, especially when you face self-doubt or challenges. What helps you stay connected to your inner source of inspiration, especially when you face self-doubt or challenges? Now, when you're looking for the answer to this, I want you to look inward. I'm not talking about people, places or things that help us stay connected. No external factors in this answer. I want you to reach internally into your internal dialogue. To reach internally into your internal dialogue. What helps you stay connected there, to your inner source of inspiration? We all have one, especially when you face self-doubt or challenges. You might want to pause the track for that one. That's a lot to think about.

Lisa Hopkins: 7:53

All right, let's look at number six. Which roles that you play in your life hold the deepest meaning for you? Which roles and we all play so many which roles in your life hold the deepest meaning for you? And now number seven how do you define success and what guides your choices for the future? I'm going to ask again how do you define success and what guides your choices for the future? There's not one way to think about success and there's certainly not a prescribed definition of success. It is we who create our own definition and it's really important to look into what that is. So this is your opportunity to answer the question how do you define success and what guides your choices for the future?

Lisa Hopkins: 9:08

All right, when you're ready, question number eight where do you feel most at home? Where do you feel most at home? Where do you feel most at home and if you care to think a little more about this, you can consider how do those places shape your identity? Where do you feel most at home? And again, I'm not necessarily looking for a physical place, but more of a spiritual place, a place where you feel at home with yourself, where you feel comfortable to express the most beautiful expression of yourself, the highest expression of yourself. So where do you feel most at home and how do those places shape your identity? There are no right or wrong answers, my friends. And again, you can do this again and again until you hone it just the way you want it. It's malleable, you can change it. All right.

Lisa Hopkins: 10:30

We've got one more question, question number nine. If you had to describe your philosophy in one sentence, what would it be? If you had to describe your philosophy in one sentence, what would it be Now? I would encourage you not to think too hard here, but rather tap into your intuition, get to that felt spot, let your philosophy evolve out of there. You might want to consider all the answers to these questions before you answer this final question. So I recommend pausing here for reflection and to jot down anything that's come up for you and then, when you're ready, I'm going to share with you the answers to each of the questions that I came up with on these prompts, so you'll get to hear the questions again and then you'll hear my responses. So the first question was if you could create a unique title that captures who you are and what you believe in. What would it be? And my response was I call myself a creative energy optimizer, because I believe creative thinking is the key to a fulfilling life. Also, I love the acronym CEO.

Lisa Hopkins: 12:14

Number two who are the people in your life that have influenced you to be the best version of yourself? When answering this question, I went to a place where I could really feel that influence and I came up with this phrase, which was I have lived and worked alongside inspiring creative people my whole life. Those are the people in my life that have influenced me to be the best version of myself, for sure. Number three what values or principles do you live by and how do they influence your choices? What I came up with for that was I know what it means to lead with passion and to follow my heart. Leading with passion and following my heart are two principles that I live by and they influence everything I do, because when I lead with passion and follow my heart, I stay open and I'm living in a world of possibilities connected to me, to my why All right.

Lisa Hopkins: 13:33

Number four what's a feeling you've embodied that truly reflects who you are? So remember, this was one where I really wanted you to connect with a place inside yourself where you really felt connected to your physical self and embody that energy right? An energy that truly reflects who you are. So what I wrote was I know what it feels like to perform at my highest level and sometimes quite literally leave it all on the dance floor, and that's a feeling that I've embodied that truly reflects who I am. That's a feeling that I've embodied that truly reflects who I am. And the interesting thing is I don't need to be dancing to do it right. Dancing is a metaphor in the fact that I did do that literally on the dance floor. It's not lost on me that I do that everywhere in life. The way we do one thing is the way we do everything right. Yeah.

Lisa Hopkins: 14:42

So number five what helps you stay connected to your inner source of inspiration, especially when you face self-doubt or challenges? I wrote I strive to be connected with my muse, who sings louder than the voices in my head that try in vain to hold me back from dancing to the music. That is this beautiful life. So when negative thoughts, negative energy, unproductive thoughts creep in and try to overshadow the light that I know is within me, I listen to the louder, more powerful voice of my muse. All right, let's take a look at number six. The question is which roles in your life hold the deepest meaning for you? And that one came really easily for me, I responded I am a proud mother, a daughter, a sister and life partner and life partner.

Lisa Hopkins: 16:01

Number seven was how do you define success and what guides your choices for the future? I came up with I understand that success is often the very thing that stands in the way of becoming who I know I can be in this world. I went on to write I refuse to be defined by what I've done or make choices based on what I think I should be doing next. So for me, it really is about living in the moment, not being affected by any kind of success or glory or negativity or anything from the past, and not being worried about the future. That's success to me.

Lisa Hopkins: 16:50

The next question, number eight, was where do you feel most at home and how do those places shape your identity? So I responded in a literal and then sort of a more metaphorical way, and I said there are two countries that I call my home, but I strive to live in moments discovered all around me, in the places where there are spaces and where the unremarkable becomes profound. Yeah, I went there Again. This is your statement. You can write anything you like. It's an affirmation in a way, an empowerment, in a way. Right, all right, let's do number nine. So the question, or the prompt, was if you had to describe your philosophy in one sentence, what would it be? Oh, such an easy question, isn't it, though? So what I came up with was my philosophy is to live in the moment and to see possibilities everywhere. It's not easy to distill it to one sentence, but if I had to, that feels right to me. So now I want to share with you the personal mission statement that came to life from these reflections, right, a statement that I carry with me as a reminder of who I am and what I'm here to do, and I encourage you to do the same once you've gone through it is to take the questions away and form a statement with all your answers edited as needed. All right, I kept mine quite literally, but here we go.

Lisa Hopkins: 18:44

I call myself a creative energy optimizer because I believe creative thinking is the key to a fulfilling life. I have lived and worked alongside inspiring creative people my whole life. I know what it means to lead with passion and to follow my heart. I know what it feels like to perform at my highest level and sometimes quite literally leave it all on the dance floor. I strive to be connected with my muse, who sings louder than the voices in my head that try in vain to hold me back from dancing to the music. That is this beautiful life. I am a proud mother, daughter, sister and life partner.

Lisa Hopkins: 19:31

I understand that success is often the very thing that stands in the way of becoming who I know I can be in this world. I refuse to be defined by what I've done or make choices based on what I think I should be doing next. There are two countries that I call my home, but I strive to live in the moments discovered in between, all around me, in the places where there are spaces and where the unremarkable becomes profound. I strive to live in the moment and to see possibilities everywhere. That's what I got. I can't wait to hear what you come up with. Thank you for joining me on this journey today. I hope that these questions inspire you to reflect on your own path and that maybe you'll discover a personal mission statement of your own that brings more clarity and purpose to your life. I'm Lisa Hopkins. Thanks so much for listening. Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and remember to live in the moment.