Your Life's Mission Statement

Barbara Z. Perman, Ph.D.

As I look ahead to this new year and set some goals for myself, I have something that will guide the process. It is my mission statement. Years ago I composed a declaration of over-arching purpose for my life, and it has remained a guiding principle to this day:

"To contribute to a calm and reverent world in whatever way is put before me to do."

As I review my intention that my mission statement inform every action of every day of my life, I also look back on how it has guided my personal and professional life in years past. For instance, my mission statement has shaped my family relationships.

Like many people, my sibling relationships are far from easy. We may have the same parents but we were born on different planets. In recent years, as we have been compelled to work together on my father's estate (what was my father thinking when he arranged things this way?), I have succeeded in waging a relative peace among us -- at least for the sake of getting the family business done in a way that is good for the whole. Having my mission statement clear in my mind and heart has made the difference.

Acting out of the same mindset has benefited my professional life as well. Twelve years ago, an empty space had been created in my life: I was between careers. But a new and unexpected professional opportunity would appear when my mission prompted a response to a need for help. I volunteered to help my mother move out of the house she had occupied for 48 years. When the move was over, I had found my new career -- or as I like to say, my new career found me. If I could help my own mother through the emotionally and physically demanding job of moving from the family homestead, I could ease the way for other seniors and their adult children to do the same. I started a senior move management business.

As my life has progressed, I have come to understand through my actions what the words of my mission statement really mean. "To contribute" means that I am never really acting alone -- that there are other forces that are also influencing the situation at hand. I have found that a "calm and reverent world" does not mean that there are never any storms. Even in times of chaos, calmness can be found within myself. One can respond from a strong and centered place to the requirements of a situation without reacting and closing off options. For me, a reverent world is one that assumes the holiness inside each person whether or not it is evident. It means I need to act with humility -- to be present to hear all points of view and treat each person with respect.

"In whatever way is put before me to do" means I have to be listening and observing so I can notice what is really there and match it up with what my inner voice is telling me to do. When solutions are not apparent or obvious, I've found that acting in consonance with my heart leads to a true path. It's like shining a lantern ahead of you that lights the next steps of the way.

This year calls for a resolution revolution -- thinking differently and acting from a new place in us. Instead of just writing another new year's resolution, consider placing your goals for the year in the context of a mission statement. Here are five ways to achieve calmness and reverence and to notice the way it is
put before us:

1: Cultivate habits/activities that keep you calm. (Swimming is my habit, tai chi my emerging practice.)

2: Make a sanctuary sometime within the week. (I set aside Friday evenings/Saturday mornings.)

3: Create new ways of doing things. (I take Feldenkrais lessons to help my body reprogram from old movement patterns that no longer serve me.)

4: Do volunteer work. (A friend of mine is a hospice volunteer; another is a Big Sister.)

5: Engage with the natural world. (Walk. Feel the sun on your face. Look at the bare shapes of trees with wonder.)

May you be guided in the new year by your inner mission directing the energy of a new you.

Barbara Perman, Ph.D. is founder and president of Moving Mentor, Inc., a company that provides Moving Management, Consulting and Organizing Services to seniors and their adult children. For more information, visit www.movingmentor.com.