What Is a Family Mission Statement?
“A family mission statement is a combined, unified expression from all family members of what your family is all about — what it is you really want to do and be — and the principles you choose to govern your family life.” -Stephen Covey
Having a family mission statement creates a positive family culture and helps family members feel connected and valuable. Also, it helped us stay focussed on the stuff that is really important and not hung up on little rules that were broken or shortcomings during the day so that children’s self image improves.
When we did this, we found out that helping other people was of utmost importance to our kids. We had done some volunteer work seasonally (working at a food bank before Thanksgiving) and adopted families at Christmas, etc. but when we heard how important this was to our kids, we started doing regular volunteer work in a soup kitchen, and this was a great experience for all of us.
Step 1. Call a family meeting. Make sure that everyone is heard equally. Consider having a talking stick or ball or something for members to hold when they “have the floor” and it’s their turn to talk. Don’t judge any suggestions. Write everything down on a white board or easel pad.
Step 2. Ask Questions. In the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, Steven Covey has some great questions to ask, such as What kind of family do we want to be?
Step 3: Make a List of Your Family’s Core Values
Brainstorm. Write down everything. You will narrow it down later.
Step 4: Decide on 10 or fewer big ideas. Give everyone a set number of votes until it’s narrowed down
Step 5: Think of Phrases that Capture What Your Family Is All About
Some examples
Keep moving forward
May your first word be adventure and your last word love
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose
There is no try. Only do.
It’s okay to borrow from your favorite movies
Step 6: Write Out Your Family Mission Statement
Turn it into a banner or vinyl letters. Hang it prominently in the house It may take a couple of meetings. Sometimes ideas will come after an initial meeting, so the follow up is more productive
Step 7: Refer to Your Mission Statement Daily & Use It
Review at dinner time each night. family members say how they did on each item of the vision statement - for example, being kind and helpful was part of our mission statement, and so my son might say, John broke his leg and is using crutches so I carried his books to class for him. This is so important because kids with ADHD get so many negative messages each day, it is easy for them to see themselves as bad kids. Our nightly review helped him see that he was a good person and that he contributed positively to the world, and helped me, as a mom, remember what a great kid he was, in spite of the homework battle we had and the horrific state of his bedroom.
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