Sometimes there is confusion between vision and mission, but they serve a complementary purpose. When we unpack the word ‘mission’ it will help us to understand the difference between the two.
Mission
A predetermined course of action or a combination of assignments to help accomplish your vision of yourself. Mission is a strange idea, having its roots as a religious activity. There are two main concepts which underlie it: first an objective, such as a place or state of being, and secondly movement towards that place or state.
So a vision is the ‘what’ you want to achieve and the mission is the ‘how’. In other words, now you know what your vision is, you need to work out how you are going to achieve it; vision is the end point and mission is the map for the journey.
If your vision is to be achieved then you have to be psychologically and emotionally fully committed to it, otherwise you are more than likely to fail.
Examples of commitment
Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb, tested over 6000 materials before he discovered how to coat the thin platinum filament in the glass vacuum bulb, which would delay the filament from melting after a few hours.
John F. Kennedy had a mission – to put a man on the moon. It took years of research, billions of dollars, total effort from the whole team and huge courage on the part of the astronauts. The path to success would not have been easy, but the level of commitment propelled them to success.
How to turn a vision into a mission
The vision: to be a good family man, a devout Christian who is recognised for his wisdom and understanding. I will be a successful retail professional in all respects so that I can provide for my family needs and be able financially to assist those worse off than myself, particularly the disabled.
This vision translates into the specifics of a mission in the following ways:
- Good family man. Keeping the spirit of my marriage vows and ensuring love, respect and quality time for my wife and my children. Providing the best standard of living that I can and setting up trusts for my children.
- Devout Christian. Attending church regularly, participating wherever I can with the talents that I have and keeping the golden rule.
- Wisdom and understanding. Developing myself, reading regularly, keeping up with current affairs, offering myself as a mentor and tutoring my children and their friends.
- Successful retailer. Learning all aspects of the trade, developing a reputation as being fair in all dealing and maximising customer service.
- Assisting the disabled. Making regular charitable donations; undertaking charity and volunteer work; and initiating and participating in fund-raising events.
‘To ensure that your work is also play, I recommend that you develop a personal mission statement. This will help you find out what it is you enjoy so much that you lose track of time when you’re doing it.’
Ken Blanchard, author of the One Minute Manager
Pushing yourself
Back to where we started: ‘If it’s going to be, then it’s down to me.’ Now if this is to be achieved then you have to be proactive – it’s up to you to push the boundaries and push yourself.
Use your heroes to help you develop your mission
If you could be anyone in the world who would you be? You can choose from history, literature, films, politics, business, religion – anyone at all – even change your gender if you wish to. You can choose up to three people.
- __________________________
- __________________________
- __________________________
Why have you chosen these people? Reflect on these three people who are significant for you. What might their personal mission have been? What did they actually do to achieve their vision? (What they did and how they did it reveals their mission.)
