How to Create a Midlife Mission Statement

My friends,

Midlife can often feel like standing at a crossroads with no signposts. The path that brought you here may not be the path that leads you forward. You have a wealth of experience, wisdom, and skill, but you may lack a clear, concise direction for your next chapter.

This is where a personal mission statement becomes your compass.

This is not a corporate-speak, jargon-filled paragraph to be framed on a wall. It is a living, breathing declaration of your purpose. It is your personal credo, the one sentence that guides your decisions and clarifies your calling.

After years of refinement, I have found that the most powerful mission statements have three simple parts. They answer the questions: What is my gift? Who am I called to serve? And what is the transformation I am here to create?

A 3-Part Framework for Your Mission Statement:

My mission is to use my gift of [Your Core Skill] to serve [Your People] so that they can [The Transformation].

Let me share my own as an example:

My mission is to use my gift of teaching and mentoring to serve mid-life professionals and educators so that they can rekindle their influence and build soul-honoring businesses.

This one sentence guides everything I do. When an opportunity arises, I ask if it aligns with my mission. If it doesn’t, I have the clarity to say no, creating space for the work I am truly called to do.

Your Turn to Create Your Compass:

Take a few minutes with the framework above. Don’t strive for perfection; strive for clarity. Fill in the blanks:

•Your Core Skill: What is the gift that comes most naturally to you? (e.g., encouraging, organizing, simplifying, leading)

•Your People: Who do you feel most drawn to help?

•The Transformation: What is the positive change you want to create for them?

Write your one-sentence mission statement. This is the North Star for your next chapter.

Tomorrow, we will address a common and painful feeling: what to do when you feel you have no passion left.

Yours in service,

Winston