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F E E L A T H O M E www.azindiatimes.com PAGE - 23 May 2019 1-844-AZINDIA akkua2winsa@gmail.com By Akku Appakonam, Junior at BASIS Phoenix 11 Mighty Ways of Highly Effective Teens Develop Your Personal Mission Statement Mallik Reddy is the Founder and Chief Coach of Leader- ship GYM, a free leadership and personal development pro- gram for high school students. The series ’ 11 Mighty Ways of Highly Effective Teens ’, based on the book ‘ 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens ’ by Sean Covey, explores 11 ways for teens to incorporate mega habits and principles into their life to become their best version. Here’s a situation that we teens are all too familiar with: You just got back from a long day at school and are ready to relax. You tell yourself, “ Just one Netflix episode or just one video on YouTube before I start my homework. ” However, a fifteen-minute break turns into a prolonged session of binge watch- ing, and only much later do you realize that you’ve strayed from your plan and then begin to panic. So, how do you avoid such stressful scenarios and ensure that you are focusing on what’s important? Extrapolating that further, have you ever stopped to ask yourself “ Is the life I’m living leading me in the right direction? ” Just like you need to see the picture on the box, even if briefly, to solve a complex jigsaw puzzle, you need to at least have a general idea of where you want to go with your life to make sure you are heading the right way. Beginning with an end in mind, visu- alizing a clear picture of where you want to go with your life, is a great way to craft your own destiny. One of the best ways to achieve this is by developing your personal mission statement. A personal mission statement is like a personal credo or motto that states what your life is about. It opens your eyes to what’s important to you and helps you make decisions accordingly. While everything about you is changing, a personal mission statement is like a deep-rooted tree that never changes. It is essentially a blueprint to your life through which you can achieve success. An important part of developing a personal mission statement is discovering what you are good at. Here are ten ways of self-discovery to get in touch with your deeper self for that: 1. Think of a person who made a positive difference in your life. What qualities of that person would you like to develop? 2. Imagine twenty years from now, who are the most important people you would surround yourself with? 3. If a rope was tied across two skyscrapers, for what would you be willing to cross? 4. Describe a deeply inspiring moment. 5. List ten things you love to do. 6. If you could possess all the knowledge on any one topic in the world, what would that be? 7. Five years from now, what would the three most important people in your life say about you for a newspaper interview? 8. Think of something – a rose, an animal, a song - that represents you. Why does it represent you? 9. If you could spend an hour with any person who ever lived, who would that be? Why? 10. Write down some of your talents - things you are good at. With your answers to these questions, develop a concise mission statement that conveys your core values using one of the following methods: The Quote Collection: If you find great quotes inspiring, collect one to five of your most favorite quotes that reflect your values. The sum of these will then become your mission statement. The Brain Dump: Speed write about your mission for fifteen minutes without stopping or editing or worrying about the content. If you get stuck, reflect on the answers for your self-discovery questions. Then, spend another fifteen minutes or- ganizing this brain dump. The result is a rough draft of your mission statement that you can revise over time. The Retreat: Go to your favorite place where you can be alone and peaceful. Think deeply about your life and what you want to make of it. Reflect on the answers for your self-discovery questions. Jot down your thoughts and organize them into your mission statement. Don’t be so overly concerned with making your mission statement perfect that you never get started. Instead, make an imperfect rough draft fromwhich you can improve over time. Mission statements are unique to every individual, so don’t try to make yours look like everyone else’s. Ask yourself, “ Does it inspire me? ” If you can answer yes, then you did it right.