Mission Matters

What one does is what counts. Not what one had the intention of doing.

~ Pablo Picasso

 

 

I taught, conducted primary and secondary research, and performed outreach for 20 years at the University of Arizona in Tucson. I taught, conducted secondary research, and performed outreach for about two-and-a-half years at Stardust Sanctuary in western Belize. This essay compares the mission statements of the two entities while hinting that each of us is capable of finding our own purpose (aka mission).

The mission of the University of Arizona is: “To improve the prospects and enrich the lives of the people of Arizona and the world through education, research, and creative expression.” This mission statement is so vague and uninteresting that, although I assumed the institution had a mission statement, I did not know such a statement existed during my two decades on the University of Arizona campus.

My interpretation of the University of Arizona’s mission statement is that, like the university administration itself, money matters more than anything else. “To improve the prospects and enrich the lives” implies that monetary enrichment is what really matters. One could even conclude that job prospects and subsequent financial “success” are the goals of university life.

Our mission at Stardust Sanctuary in western Belize, while I lived there, was: “Facilitate the personal growth of all who live or visit here.” I helped write it, and I thought deeply about it before doing so. Maybe it’s just me, but I really like the tone and focus of this mission statement. It has nothing to do with money or the conventional definition of success. It reflects my own belief that personal growth is considerably more important than growth of one’s personal supply of money.

For many years I asked my university students to write a mission statement, followed by a shorter, and typically more poignant, epitaph. These assignments encouraged students to think about their goals in life. I have written often in this space about the topic of finding your own purpose, which is consistent with the idea of finding a mission. I believe these ideas are critical to personal growth. I believe they can be best pursued with behaviors rooted in living intentionally. Even more importantly, I believe finding one’s purpose leads to relevant actions, hence to a life of excellence.

Life matters to me. Living matters to me. Living in a certain way, exhibiting particular behaviors, matters to me. What matters to you?