Writing a personal mission statement. How do I make it from being too long?

[ProjectX]

I wrote up my draft and I constantly have the want to add some more and more and more. Like there are new values that come up that I would like to add but I am trying my best to fit it in one page, making it simply buy powerful.

Do any of you have any tips?

[ijpeatey]

One technique I find useful is to prepare different versions and imagine you are preparing it in a form to be read as a speech, for example. Start with the long version, then edit it into shorter and shorter versions until you are left with the essence.

Version 1 - your speech can be as long and detailed as you want. No limits

Version 2 - condense it to a 20 minute speech

Version 3 - condense that to a 5 minute speech

Version 4 - condense that to 60 seconds

Version 5 - condense that to 30 seconds.

You can play with the number of layers and the length of time / number of words but set the targets first, then do the exercise.

Hope that helps

[spirit4711]

@ProjectX:

For whom is it meant? Only for you, or do you want to share it with others?

If it's only for you, you can choose any format that works for you. Long, short, whatever. Maybe it is too long for you because you explain too much why? You don't need to explain for example why some values are so important to you. They just are.

If it's also to be shared, I've used a format that worked for me:

Who am I? (What are my qualities)

What drives me? (What are my core principles and values)

What do I want? (My goals: for my self, my friends, my family, my work, and for society. Don't write all goals, just the big ones. For work: I will run a successful X business, or I will work as an expert in Y. For society you could write volunteering in something meaningful to you.)

What will I experience when I reach those goals?

Each of these is one paragraph, the goals paragraph is usually the biggest, but keep that one under half a page.

Good luck!

[AfteraDream]

Look at what values are behind your goals. For example I want freedom so I do what I can to create myself a business online so that I wouldn't have to work for others. I want to represent possibilities so I workout and want to change my body from skinny to muscular, thus being an example of change myself Then extract those values and create a sentence with them ! Like - I want to represent freedom and possibilities in life!