#thisismymission

Before I get this thing started, I have to be honest, there is a part of me that hates these kind of exercises. In a life that is so winding, so incredibly unknown, so very out of my control, I find it pretty darn challenging to envision the future and plan for what my life will be like, even it is just three years.

What I can do, as Kathy Bintz would say, is place my stake in the ground. Place my goals that truly are non-negotiable no matter where I find myself and what I find myself taking part of. This personal vision will be based off that.

Alright, now I can share.

So over jterm, I was introduced to a concept I really loved a whole lot. You know how companies often times have mission statements? Turns out, we can have those for our lives too. Here’s mine:

I WILL TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF OTHERS BY ALLOWING THE LIGHT OF THE LORD TO SHINE THROUGH ME IN WHAT I CREATE WITHIN MY CAREER (THROUGH WRITING, BRANDING, FASHION, CONTENT & DESIGN) AND WHO I CHOOSE TO BE ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.

It’s a mouthful, I know. I long to do this now, and three years from now, I really hope this is exactly what I am doing. Preferably, in a beautiful and nonconventional work space that allows me to not wear business clothes (ew) and give me all the creative freedom I need to do this. Maybe this will be in a corporate setting, maybe in my own business, maybe on London, Colorado, California, or Chicago. I am not sure, but what I am sure of is that mission statement. That personal vision for myself. That is my stake in the ground.

First and foremost, I need to stop getting in my own way. I have come to realize this year that I am my own biggest road-blocker. Self-doubt, which you’ll hear all about in my box, has been a real obstacle for myself in the past. I have learned, especially this semester, that the only thing in my way a whole lot of the time is myself. The only true no that anyone can tell me comes from me. You see, I have learned that I am the culprit of following imaginary rules and guidelines for my life. Doing things the way I “should” do them. I have fallen victim to society’s norm far too many times. I will say, I have grown in this tremendously this semester, and need to continue to take actionable steps in this for what I envision for my life to look like in three years to come to fruition.

I need to learn to not be such a wimp. If you were to talk to me in highschool, you would find someone totally risk averse and completely scared of failure. I came into college pre med knowing full well that I was a germaphobe and HATED chemistry. Why? I thought being a doctor or lawyer would be my only way to success. I was banking on a linear path to life. I didn’t even acknowledge the artistic and strategic side of myself, because I saw that was way to ambiguous. I didn’t like that I didn’t know exactly what I wo0uld be doing after college graduation, know a solid range in salary for myself, would have to things differently than I always had in school (which was study hard, take the exam, get an A in the class). I am FAR LESS a wimp now but I still have wimpy tendencies and get too wrapped up in failures. I need to continue to fail so I can continue to overcome and overcome faster without getting so caught up in before. Overcoming and overcoming and overcoming is essential to my vision, and right now, I am on track for that.