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Write it down, are you kidding? No one could ever get me to commit like that. A Mission statement is for business or so I thought'

Can you imagine taking a boat, loading it up with supplies and stripping out the compass and all the communication equipment and then heading out to sea with no idea of where you are going?

This is what most of us do, both in our businesses and in our personal life. We think about what we want, take our best shot and then head out into the wild blue yonder hoping for the best. Is it no wonder that most of us just end up floundering, not knowing where we are or where we are going? At risk from the elements and those that would give us bad advice, we are vulnerable to our whims and the selfish wishes of others that would take what we have.

Without a plan of action there is little chance that we will be properly prepared to achieve anything that we desire. Now this does not make what we are doing right or wrong, but when we leave home in the morning to work and we don't know whether to turn right, left or go straight ahead once we reach the end of the drive way, then how can we be surprised at where we end up?

A personal mission statement may be something as simple as, I'm going to be a computer programmer. My family cannot afford to send me to college, so I will earn the money by working part time while I'm in school and taking on a full time job after I graduate. It is my goal to have my degree by the age of 23.

Mission statements don't have to be really involved but they set a goal, a time frame for achievement and a way of accomplishing the goal.

Personal mission statements can also contain personal, ethical or moral statements about how you will conduct your activities such as, I will not steal, I will not kill, and I will not cheat or lie. I will reach my goals by not doing any of these things.

Setting one's boundaries keeps us on the straight and narrow and the shortest route between to points is in a straight line.

Many fear that they will not be able to stay within the confines of a mission statement and this fear is well founded. As we mature our thoughts change about everything around us. How we wanted to do something five years ago may now seem impractical or we may have discovered a better way to do it, so personal mission statements need not be inflexible. Flexibility becomes important as we mature and move along our chosen path. But the flexibility should not take away from our ultimate goal. Sometimes it is important to move off the path periodically to be able to take a close look at where we are and know that we are heading in the best possible direction.

A vantage point may be achieved by taking a side trip and climbing that mountain so that we can see where we have come from and where we are going.

The biggest advantage of a personal mission statement is that we can make good sound decisions based on the criteria that we have set for ourselves in the statement. We will make fewer turns that do not work for us and will know where and when we have strayed.

Begin to rely on your intuition, test it and trust it. There is a saying that if you believe in nothing you will fall for anything. Don't allow yourself to settle into a boxed belief system, remember that all organizations have their own agenda that includes keeping you in it. It is the very nature of humanity to move to the next better level. We all strive to better ourselves.

A good intuitive acknowledgement is always followed by a physical reaction. It is something you feel, usually in the pit your stomach. Once you have developed your intuition, it will never let you down, even if your decision leads you away from your goal, it will also bring you back. Sometimes the side trip just leads you away from a danger or pitfall.

Include in your mission statement a determination to develop your spiritual awareness. I don't mean religious awareness. Remember religion is just humanity's attempt to explain spirituality. You are spirit naturally and you don't have to look for it. You just need to become aware of it and makes friends with it. It is that which is guiding you, and it is your personal guide and friend. Move with it and your life will run smoothly, lose contact with it and your life will become a struggle. It is an obvious gauge, and the farther you have moved away from your mission statement, the greater the struggle. Once you get back on track your life becomes easier.

March to the beat of your own drum. Do not listen to those that would tell you that you have set your goals too high. Misery loves company and people that you know including family will try to hold you back. People don't like to be left behind. As you move along and declare yourself, you draw people to you that will support your statement. It is like magic, but they don't come by accident, they come to you because you cause it to happen, because you have purpose and it is clear. All people come bearing gifts, although they are not always received. You do nothing alone whether you believe it or not.

Your success and your failure always depend on the people in your life, because they are there for only one purpose, for good or bad, to help you. Remember that a highly developed individual would never try to stop you from doing anything. They would offer guidance only should you make yourself available to receive it. Those that would hold you back are not offering you unconditional love, and their love is superficial and conditional.

In your personal mission statement include that you will never judge another for what they are or what they are doing, because you know that they also have their own personal mission statement and you may not know what that is. Freedom to allow another is the highest form of unconditional love, and you must respect that or not, depending on your statement.

Adapt a new philosophy of what works for you and what does not work for you. Move away from morality and moral statements. They are there to cause you to conform to someone else's standards of behavior, by allowing you the opportunity to feel guilty about doing something that they do not approve of. Morality has never worked in the time of humanity and that is observable. The concept needs to be taken to a new level, but it is not yours to force any kind of change, but to simply demonstrate what works and what does not work in your life. People will notice your success and will want to emulate you.

You may suffer punishment by transgressing on someone else's morality, but remember you are in the physical world and are not of it. If you are truly moving towards a higher level of awareness you will respect the freedom of others and allow them to believe as they will.

Funny, I am a writer that refuses to write. The mission statement needs to be written out no matter how much it pains you. It has obvious value and it is a guide only, which you may refer to later when you find yourself on a side trip. Important decisions are made within the parameters of what it is you want to achieve and how you want to go about it. The statement is your map and it needs to be written down.

The world is full of drifters, and they are obvious. There is nothing wrong in being a drifter if that is what you want to experience. I am not here to judge. There is nothing wrong with things not working in your life because you don't have direction if this is what you wish to experience. There is nothing wrong with complaining and whining about your life, if this is what you desire. There is nothing wrong with blaming and pointing fingers if this is what you want. And there is certainly nothing wrong with being a victim or being victimized if you have chosen to experience that. But if none of it has worked for you, then you need to do something that does. You don't keep hitting yourself over the head with the same hammer trying to get different results, move on!

However if you have chosen to be proactive in how you want to experience your life then you need to create a personal mission statement and write it down. Refer to it often, make changes as needed. You may change your mind about your ultimate experience later, but when you do, you will know where you are coming from and you will not make any further decisions that will take you back there. A P.M.S. (personal mission statement)' Hmmm, should not be painful but a joy, because it is the beginning of a new life. Maybe the pain comes from acknowledging that you are giving something up rather than starting something new, or maybe is just brings awareness, your new P.M.S. is a physical symbol of change, a cycle completed and a new one started.

With the adrenalin of creating something new, comes the inevitable pain of leaving something behind. Exploration takes a certain amount of courage and the rewards are huge if you are working from a map.

Your map may get you to where you want to be, but remember that it is the trip that counts and the time for picking up the treasure, you will not find it in the box where others have gone, someone beat you to it. A purpose driven life will always draw treasure to it and you do not need to dig it up. It will be handed to you because you will become aware that your life, the process, is the treasure.

Begin now to start your journey. It doesn't matter what you present circumstances are, they are simply a starting point. Don't wait till tomorrow, and the best time is while you are thinking about it.

Listen to the arguments that you have going on in your head now, and you will have a pretty good idea why your life is the way it is.

Your P.M.S. is the best bet you have now to get you out of the circumstances you now find yourself in and to move forward. Life is always a choice and so are the circumstances of your life.