Vision Purpose Mission 009

Follow-up about gratitude post Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving and all the thoughts of gratitude become overshadowed by the shopping frenzy and preparing for the holiday season.  Being inundated by ads can lead us to become dissatisfied with what we do have because it isn’t the newest and best, or we feel we “need” something that never occurred to us before.  We feel stress over preparing for the upcoming Christmas season. Our attitude of gratitude can slide into discontentment for lacking time or stuff.  In an attempt to satisfy our discontentment, we make purchases we can’t afford, which leads to a bigger dissatisfaction of going into debt and losing financial margin. 

Being discontented isn’t necessarily bad depending on the source.  Being discontented because you lack financial margin can lead to planning a budget to get out of debt. Being discontented because of a career that is going nowhere can lead to seeking new opportunities.  Great results have come about because someone was discontented over things like lack of food and clean water available for people.  Discontentment can be good if it leads to action for improvement. This is where E + R = O from episode 7 is key. This is where being intentional with how you live your life from episodes 2-4 become foundational. Keep your focus on what you do have to be grateful for and experience the physical and mental health benefits we discussed in last weeks episode.

Getting from where you are to where you need to be requires you to have a vision, a purpose, and a mission and follow through.  How do you make sure you aren’t drifting through life?  We will talk about that today and in the next few weeks as we begin our series “20/20 vision for 2020”.

Vision:  Image of the future that you hold. Legacy of what your are, who you are.  A mural of you.  What you will leave behind.

“The value of life is always determined by how much of your life is given away, not by what you accumulated or hoarded”.  -Andy Stanley

Purpose:  This is a brief statement that captures who you are and your part in bringing your vision to life. You're calling, you're being.  What are your strengths and passions? Your answer to the question “Why am I here on earth?”

Mission:  Doing. The particular ways you choose to fulfill your purpose in any given season. Author and career coach Dan Miller says a good mission statement should include three things:

1. Your skills and abilities (what you like to do)
2. Your personality traits (how you operate)
3. Your values, dreams and passions (why you want to excel

Your vision, purpose, and mission must lead to planning and following through to mean anything.

GOALS: Tasks that make up your mission

What specific tasks need to be done and when they need to be done to actually accomplish your mission(s) in real life? Must be compatible with and contained within the mission, purpose, and vision.

Don’t accept drifting through life, which is what will happen if you don’t know you're why (episode 4), and put together a life plan with associated goals to guide you.  This does not pigeon hole you, as missions, life plans, and goals can and will likely change or need modification in different seasons of our lives. This is particularly important in your encore stage of life, where you won’t necessarily be driven by your place in a particular organization and will have more control over your time.  Don’t let it slip away.  These are living and breathing documents and need to be reviewed regularly.  We will be working on this over the next few weeks so you can begin the year 2020 with 20/20 vision.

Action Item:  Think about what your vision, purpose, and mission is or might be in any stage of life. Write it down and keep it handy as we talk about our life plans and goals over the next several weeks leading up to the new year.

Resources:

Dan Miller: 48 Days to the Work You Love Your Move With Andy Stanley Podcast Contact Craig Listen on Apple Podcast Listen on Spotify Listen on Stitcher Listen on iHeart Radio