What is a personal statement of purpose?

What is a personal statement of purpose?

Purpose is the way we personally motivate ourselves to find meaning in our daily lives. Your personal purpose is activated and strengthened through a statement of purpose.

Who do you want to make an impact on? When we discover and bring our personal purpose to life, we make an impact on everything around us. We can make an impact on a social and organizational level, as well as on an individual level. This leads to a sense of personal fulfillment.

A personal mission statement largely captures what defines you as an individual. It’s a statement that defines what drives you every day and can be applied to all areas of your life (family, work, friends, hobbies). To craft a personal purpose statement, we’ll explore several key exercises in the workshop that will help you discover your purpose, and you’ll be able to write a personal purpose statement that is authentic and meaningful to you. This will allow you to become more aware of your purpose and put it into practice in your daily life.

Two Stories of Purpose and Their Impact

Story #1 by DeBiz Stone, co-founder of Twitter

Adapted from: Medium

Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, returned to work at the company in 2017 with the task of boosting morale, revamping policies, and establishing a clear purpose. He worked on creating a purpose statement, “Serving the public conversation,” which was successfully adopted, aligning the company globally and guiding policies toward a commitment to the health of public conversation. This statement also attracted purpose-driven employees, contributing to a positive work environment. In his story, Stone highlights the importance of purpose statements in companies, citing examples such as Airbnb and Patagonia, and notes that a clear purpose strengthens the team, clarifies what matters and what doesn’t, and improves productivity.

At the end of his story, Stone offers us an important reflection:

“Purpose statements aren’t just for companies. A personal purpose statement can help you in a similar way. I’ve found that, in my own life, when I think about what I’m doing through the lens of purpose, everything becomes clearer. I know what to do, what not to do, and where I need to go. A personal purpose statement is like having a map in my head. Why am I here? Oh, that’s it! So, I need to follow this path…”.

Story #2: From the Organizational to the Personal: The Challenge of Defining My Personal Purpose

Andrea Garderes, Partner and Director of Planning and Management at Almabrands.

When you’ve spent nearly 15 years helping companies and organizations discover their purpose and become better versions of themselves, asking yourself about your personal purpose should be a simple task. In fact, the truth is that it shouldn’t even be a question, because one would assume that anyone who engages with this kind of reflection and content on a daily basis has surely sat down to think about—and clarify—more than once what drives their sense of purpose in everything they do, both inside and outside the workplace. Otherwise, how can they inspire others toward that change and transformation?

However, the reality is far removed from this idealized view, and just as in the world of organizational purpose, this field is rife with myths and mistaken assumptions.

Perhaps the first step is to acknowledge that, until I began this process, I didn’t see an essential connection between my personal purpose and the organization’s purpose. Undoubtedly, when choosing a place to pursue a career, you bring your values and dreams to the table, but not necessarily the idea of a transcendent purpose that gives direction to your life. “That runs on a parallel track,” I kept telling myself. And that was possibly the first barrier to break down: connecting both worlds didn’t diminish the value or uniqueness of either one—quite the opposite; doing so opened up a space of opportunity to make every aspect of my daily life more relevant, meaningful, and coherent.

Once I had somewhat overcome that initial hurdle, I pressed on with the process, though I was still anxious. High expectations, self-imposed pressure, and my knack for discovering and articulating others’ purpose acted as a kind of creative block. With every exercise they gave me, my vision grew cloudier. “I don’t see it; I can’t figure it out. I have no purpose.” All those areas of impact that had been so clearly revealed to me when working with the companies I consulted for vanished when I looked at myself, when I tried to peel back layer after layer to find something meaningful and unique. I managed to identify strengths, yes, and areas where I could contribute, too—“things I was good at or excelled in”—but it was all a far cry from the standard of what a “truly worthy” personal purpose should be.

I stayed stuck in that loop until, with the help of those who accompanied and guided me—facing that hopelessly blank page—I began to reframe my questions, to go beyond the realm of performance, and to connect with what inspired and energized me. These were aspects that had eluded me in any setting or place, no matter who I was with, and that ended up becoming a constant and distinctive driving force. And the ideas began to flow, the words to clarify, and the concepts to take shape. And then I saw it. It wasn’t the perfect phrase—I wrote and rewrote it more than once; at times it seemed too long, and even the focus wasn’t quite right—but it grew stronger and left me with that sense of meaning and guidance that everyone else had been talking about so much.

Today, I continue to challenge myself and explore this topic, but with the peace of mind that comes from knowing that, beyond words, reflection, and expression have brought me closer to what matters to me—to what I want to leave behind as my own mark and contribution to the world.