As an artist or a creative person, have you ever thought of creating a mission statement for that part of your life? Something that explains what is it you do and why.
You might have one that guides you already, but it isn’t stated. I know I do, and since thinking about what my mission is with various parts of my life, I have found more intention. And when I get this intention, this purpose, it makes it easier to live it because I know what I am trying to accomplish.
A mission statement can bring things into focus.
We get a great sense of progress when we align with our mission.
How can a mission statement help our creative lives?
I’ve already mentioned a few things, but there is much more…
Direction
A mission statement, unlike a vision statement, is for the present. What you want to create and do right now. A mission statement can powerfully direct along on a path that is right for us. What do you want artistically? What do you want to become as an artist or a creative person?
Presence
Mission statements are for the present moment, unlike vision statements. What are do we want to create right now in our life.
Clear purpose
When you have a sense of purpose, it is much easier to make decisions and make progress towards something meaningful to you. This is a key part of the mission statement that will be a guide.
Motivation
Having an intentional mission makes it so much easier to act. It will increase your effectiveness and how much you can accomplish by giving you this little push.
A mission statement gives you something to hold onto in troubling situations and in crises. They ground and anchor us to our values and our actions. They focus on what it is we can do right now. What little steps can we take toward becoming an artist or increasing creativity.
Writing out a creative mission statement clarifies direction, and so much more. Taking the time to craft a statement lets us decide what is truly important and gives us a sense of ourselves, and this is so important when it comes to expressing our creativity. We need a sense of ourselves to have confidence to be creative.
Desires and intents
When you write your mission statement, you have the opportunity to consider what you want most want to create right now. What are your intentions as an artist? Which direction do you want to take your creativity?
Sense of identity
Your missions statement gives you the chance to give yourself an identity. Who you are as an artist. What you want to become. What does being an artist look like for you? What sort of art would you create? What would it express?
Address values
In writing your mission statement, you can reflect on what your values are. What you wish to experience as an artist and by living creatively? Which feelings do you want to have?
Decide and commit
This is the perfect opportunity to decide and commit to your creative life. When you decide, you cut off other possibilities, and commit to following a course of action that will lead in a certain direction. Now is the perfect time to this.
What’s in a creative mission statement
There are four main things to consider when writing your mission statement.
The mission statement simply describes where you are going. It’s straightforward and simple, but there is a lot that is in it.
- What you want to do or your purpose
- How you will do it
- What values are important
- What actions you will take
Yours can take whatever form you like. It can be a sentence or a paragraph. No need to limit yourself. Be creative and have fun with this. The most important thing is that you feel it reflects you and what your creative mission is at this present. Missions can be revisited as often as you like to reflect your progress and growth.
You can write a mission statement for artistic life, or your creative work at the job, or for the writer in you, any different aspect of your life can have it’s own mission statement. Any and all of this is perfect to include.
Be sure to have fun with this! Make the mission statement playful and creative too. And don’t be afraid to have many!! There are lots of aspects to having a creative life, so the more purpose you have, the more you can live it each day.
