Your Mission Statement Should Speak to Identity (BeFirst Course 153)

Right off the bat, I'm Dr. David King, husband, flower. Okay, moving on, let's talk about how our purpose statement should speak to our identity. Inclusion of an identity statement should be considered as the purpose statement is created. Now, I'd suggest caution when considering this section, because currently, in the world we live on, and in the world wide web we live in, the word identity has various meanings. My purpose here is not to make a statement as to what those meanings are, but rather to suggest that you consider your identity, as you consider your identity, you consider your identity on a durable level, a durable level, that identity that doesn't change. Personal identity and how we view ourselves is so often modulated, manipulated, adjusted, edited, etc., not only by ourselves and our peers, but by our worldview, that lens we were talking about a moment ago, by the lens through which we observe the world. As we've discussed briefly, the worldview is so often modulated, adjusted, and edited by the media that we consume. Print media, video media, audio media, music. Holy moly, does our music influence us as a society and individuals. For some of us, our worldview is entirely contrived by our consumption of media and what we see out there happening to, or protected, projected by other people through these things. These little screens and the social media that everybody likes and shares. As those algorithms generate more likes and things track upward in your feed, we essentially manipulate ourselves. Many of us don't really come to a solid understanding as to who we are in a deep way until we have several decades of lived experience and have absorbed a tremendous amount of external information. Oftentimes, especially as we're younger, we rely too heavily on our peer group for input as to who we are. I would submit and suggest to you, reader, watcher, listener, that our personal identity is already within us, but is too often covered or buried deeply within us. It now falls on our shoulders to discover who we are, or more correctly, to uncover who we are. This, in my personal experience and opinion, requires a reliance on a personal connection to eternity and our higher power to God. Establishing and utilizing this type of connection can bring great strength over time and solidify and clarify who we are from an endless and eternal standpoint, rather than being subject to what might be popular in the common media or in our group of friends, etc. etc. So, it's helpful to make sure you connect with your divine, to connect with your divinity, your personal divinity, and evaluate and establish and reconfirm and clarify your identity as you work through your purpose statement. Inclusion of a specific statement referencing identity will bring great strength as you review it regularly. Okay, I want to touch on two items that we just read through here. Evaluate your identity on a durable level, not something that changes. You know, I showed you my mission statement for the dental office. That mission statement is specific for one area of my life, one area that I'm tasked with, you know, my employment. And so, it speaks about my identity as a dentist, but is that really my identity? No, that's my employment. It's something that I've done for 24, 5, 6 years, if you count the prep of dental school, dental school, and my practice. You know, it's something that is a big part of me, but it is not my identity. It is something that I do, something that I choose to do. And I'm trained in, and you know, other people would see me with that hat, the dentist hat, but that's not who I am. We need to look at our identity on a durable level, something that is unchanging and never will change as a foundation. And that's where it comes down to being cautious, with that lens through which we view the world and consume media, and then reconnecting with our personal connection to eternity and to our higher power. That's where our identity comes from. That's where true power comes from, is understanding our purpose as it relates to who we are. So, as we're working on this personal identity statement, or personal purpose statement, rather, make sure it includes a clear statement about who you are. And I'll share mine with you as we get toward the end here. I labeled it statement of belief, hearkening back to, you know, when Dwight was forced to apologize and he wrote a statement of regret. And the statement of regret is, I state my regret. This is my statement of belief. Statement of faith, statement of identity, my purpose statement, my vision statement. I'll share with you as we get through this lecture. It's pretty cool. I enjoyed putting it together and it does give me great power. Okay, thanks again for tuning in. We'll see you in the next lecture.