Lesson 9: Planning and Preparing - Getting To Know Yourself

The Mission Statements and Challenges

Lesson Summary:

Appropriate for: Grades 9-12

Goals and Objectives:
1. Students will construct their mission statements.
2. Students will look at their personal strengths and weaknesses.
3. Students will create a plan.

Click here to view relevant content standards and objectives.

Procedure:
1. Discuss the following with your students:
   • You have spent a lot of time reflecting, setting goals, making plans, but now it is time to challenge yourself. What are your best qualities or strengths? List them.
   • What do you do well socially, athletically, community based, academically, etc? What are the top five?
   • Why do you believe that you excel at these particular items? Do you practice them? Do you actively use these traits every day? What makes them your strengths?
   • Now that you have thought about your strengths, what are some of your weaknesses? We all have things that we need to work on. What socially, athletically, community based, educationally, etc do
     you need to keep working on? What are you holding yourself back from accomplishing?
   • What can you personally do to turn these weaknesses around? What steps can you take and continue to work on to insure that this isn't what is keeping you back from your dreams and goals?
   • What can you challenge yourself to do over the next few years? What is your mission statement? Here is an example:
     
     I am introverted and am very shy and uncomfortable in most situations. This is one of my weaknesses. I know that if I don't learn to be a bit more outgoing, I'm going to feel uncomfortable in most situations. My personal mission is to introduce myself to a stranger a week. In time, the idea of interacting with new people will become more comfortable to me. Practicing meeting people will help me be less introverted. If I have to go through an interview or h old meetings with people, I will be more prepared.

Write your personal mission statement in the space provided for you in your CFWV portfolio.