To succeed, you need to find something to hold on to, something to motive you, something to inspire you.

Tony Dorsett

It can be argued that cultivating a positive mindset is the single most important thing you can do to help achieve success. It puts you on the right path to reaching your ultimate goal.  Whether the goal is to lose weight, increase strength, or obtaining a certain professional status, being able to reach that goal first starts by the belief that it can be accomplished.

When establishing goals, we typically use the acronym S.M.A.R.T., which stands for: Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-limited.  Although this is a great way to determine  a short term goal, we are more interested in finding the driving force behind reaching each goal, the why.

Rather than focusing on an outcome and a singular goal, we want to look at the bigger picture and find the motivating factor that can be used to reach ALL of your goals.  Think of it as more of a mission statement. Like in business, a mission statement summarizes who you are and provides you with the context that drives you to who you want to become.

What’s the one thing that is calling you to action right now to make a change; the thing that motivates you to get out of bed in the morning and be productive.

Whether your thoughts are negative or positive, they can directly effect your decisions and actions. By constantly repeating your mission statement and focusing on the positive driving force in your life, you are reminded of what you believe in, keeping the mind focused on the end result and preparing you for your tasks of the day.

Creating  your own personal mission statement:

1. Select which aspect of your life that it most important to you at the moment.
   • Health or physical performance
   • Emotional well-being
   • Work performance, career development, education
   • Relationships or social support
   • Spirituality
2. Create a list of 10 qualities that you believe are important to creating success in the respective aspect of life chosen.
3. Reflect for 5-10 minutes on those qualities you’ve selected.
4. Circle 3 that stand out to you the most.
5. Write down a short, repeatable phrase that captures these 3 words in an overall goal. Keep it under 10 words total so that it’s easy to remember.

Once you’ve created this phrase, post it somewhere that you look each day.  It could be on your refrigerator, bathroom mirror, at your bedside or on a note in your cell phone.

Although the process singles out one aspect of life in determining your mission statement, it is possible that your personal phrase can fall into multiple categories.  There is no need to be too specific, but try to spotlight your ideals and what is important in your life at this moment, so don’t be too broad either.  As major milestones in your life pass, it is a good idea to revisit your statement.  What is important to you now might not be important to you 5 years down the road.