Strengthening Family: Creating a Family Mission Statement

family fun • strengthening family relationships

by Heather Johnson on July 9th, 2013 | 1 Comment »

Do you wonder where your family will find itself in the future? Do you worry how you are going to reach your goals and if your children are going to learn the values and skills they need to succeed? Of course, all parents do! By sitting down and developing a family mission statement, you can provide peace of mind for you and your family, knowing that you have a working plan to get where your family wants to go.

What Is a Family Mission Statement?

Not to be confused with family goals, a mission statement is the "why" behind what you do. It describes what you intend to do based on values. Goals, are pulled from your mission as an action. They usually have a deadline and exist to help you focus on your mission.

Family mission statements are the ideal way for our families to map out their futures. They are an expression of our core values in our relationships with one another. They reflect what is important to us and focus on describing who we want our families to be in the future. A family mission statement describes what our family wants and then invites everyone to get on the same page and support the vision together.

Why Do We Need a Family Mission Statement?

To define our family's purpose
To create a clear vision of what our families are about
To clarify key principles, values, skills, and qualities important to our family culture
To remind us where we are trying to go, when the chaos of family life aims to steer us off course
To provide a sense of identity for family members
To allow each of us to know we belong to something bigger than ourselves
To provide a working plan to get our families where we want them to go
To preserve the core while still progressing

How Can You Create Your Own Family Mission Statement?

1. Parents Commit First—As parents, there must be a full investment in not only the mission statement itself, but in what it represents. If parents don't believe, children will never get on board.

2. Get Everyone Involved—Everyone should be involved in creating your family mission statement. When family members contribute they feel more invested and will be more likely to support the mission.

3. Questions and Answers—Sit down together and discuss key questions such as the following:

What is the purpose of our family?
How can we accomplish that purpose?
What is our family really good at?
What could our family be better at?
How can we serve one another?
What values do we feel are important?
Where do we see our family in 10 years?

4. Analyze Your Answers—Look through the answers for common themes and ideas, descriptive words that represent values and beliefs, and modify answers so they are timeless.

5. Shout it From the Rooftops—Put your mission statement in a prominent place. We like to keep a copy on our fridge, given that it is opened about a thousand times a day.

6. Set Goals to Help You Accomplish Your Mission—Here's where you get down to the nitty gritty. Set specific goals, and have deadlines.

7. Refer to Your Family Missions Statement Often—Our family's mission statement has saved the day a number of times, most recently with our family dinners. The dinners were becoming very disjointed—people simply getting up when they were done, leaving half the family still eating alone. Our mission statement specifically mentions family dinners, and we were able to refer back to it for this family activity. Reviewing our original mission put everyone on the same page and restored the unity we hoped for.

Family research strongly suggests that parents should spend less time worrying about what they do wrong and more time focusing on what they do right. A family mission statement is a simple way to articulate what your family is doing right. So create a mission statement for your family. You will find decisions easier to make, activities more enjoyable, and your family life more satisfying. This personal road map will help your family avoid, and more successfully navigate the potholes and pitfalls that come with family life.

Family Mission Statement Printable

In our "Becoming a Super Hero Family - Getting Started: The Road Map" eBook, you will find this printable along with many other printables that will help you strengthen your family, and create a family mission statement.

To download this free printable, "click here". For information about the entire "Becoming a Super Hero Family" eBook series, go "here".

What goals do you have as a family?

Photos courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Heather Johnson, M.S., teaches students the principles behind successful families at Brigham Young University. You can find her online at FamilyVolley.com, and connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.