Why we should all have a Mission in Life
By Houda Harb
Mission: an important assignment or task given to a person or group of people, or self-assigned, purpose being to achieve a specific outcome. When we say we are on a mission, what we are actually saying is we have a strong commitment, driven by a sense of duty, to carry out a specific task.
So what exactly happens when we embark on a mission? The answer is, we go on a journey. What we want to discover at the end of the journey is something that adds value to our lives be it through gained knowledge or sought after meaning.
We are all meaning-seeking creatures. We get ourselves up out of bed each day for different reasons. We have at least one mission or purpose against which we measure the value of everything we do in our lives. The sought after meaning that most fulfils us is that which comes from the value we create for others and ourselves. It need not be something significant. It could be something as small and simple as smiling to a stranger and making them feel good and adding to our own happiness in the process.
To fulfil the desire within us to create value for others and ourselves requires a focus on that which has a positive impact on our world. When we embark on a meaning-seeking mission in life, the outcome almost always benefits us and others in parallel and is a source of joy for us and for others. Think for a moment about why many companies have mission statements. Mission statements are a way of spelling out what makes each company stand out and what makes its future so bright. They are the bedrock of the organisation.
To some in our NoGarlicNoOnions community, it may well seem that NGNO is consumed by countless short-term missions having small significance. The reality is, there is one key long-term mission that underlies any and every mission. It’s called #missionhappiness and its goal is to reach as many people all over Lebanon and the world as possible - to meet them, greet them, listen to them, understand them, empower them and support them. The outcome is lasting, positive impacts throughout these communities and an increasing number of people wanting to join us on this happiness journey and make this their mission too.
Just like the company mission statement opens up the channels of communication and helps re-focus a team that has been pulled apart into different directions, so too does our own personal life mission except that it shapes our own future and that of the society around us and drives the action needed to fulfil the desire of creating value for you and i.
My mission is #missionhappiness. What’s your mission?
