Creating a Personal Manifesto

A couple years ago I came across a post on the internet about creating a personal manifesto and the concept totally resonated with me.

All too often we get busy with life and it is easy to lose sight of what really matters to us. Instead we find ourselves driven by different things on different days and we don’t have a predetermined course through life.

We get lazy, complacent, and generally end up wasting our lives away with things that truly don’t matter to us. We become subject to the control of our ever-changing thoughts and feelings rather than something concrete and meaningful.

Having a clearly defined set of values gives us the ability to reflect on them and assess if we’re on track in our lives. As we approach a new year I’ve started to work on revising my current one to make sure it lines up with where I want to go in my life so I figured I’d share how I’m going about it.

Step 1 – Create a List

The first step in creating a manifesto is to list all of the things that you value in your life. At this point you don’t need to spend a lot of time figuring out which are the most important, just get them all out on paper (or on the screen if you’re a computer junkie like me).

Take some time to do this. Ask yourself what you’d like to accomplish before you die. Think about what you’d like for your family, friends, and colleagues to say about you at your funeral. Decide what kind of legacy you want to leave. Make the list as big as you can.

Step 2 – Pick Your Top 5

At some point you’re going to need to cut down the list of all the things you’ve listed to the top 5 or 6 things you truly value.

I’d suggest beginning by crossing out the stuff that obviously doesn’t make your top 5. That should narrow things down a bit. From there, spend some time (even if it takes a few days) to cut away at the list until only the final few remain.

Step 3 – Expand on Your Values

Once you’ve narrowed it down to your most important points you’ll want to expand on them so they remind you each time you read them what exactly they mean to you.

Most importantly, make sure the points tell you what actions you should take or how you should behave to be in line with these values.

And make sure to state everything in the present. Don’t say “I want to have integrity”. Say “I have integrity”.

Step 4 – Read it Every Day

A personal manifesto is useless if you don’t read it often.

I used to have mine as a document on my computer desktop and would read it the first time I opened my computer each day.

But lately that hasn’t been working for me so I’m going to save it as a note on my phone because that is likely the first electronic device I’m going to check in the morning anyway.

Of course, I’ll be the first to admit that I am not even close to being the person I’ve presented in my manifesto, but that is the person I WANT to become.

And each time I read it and there is some kind of discrepancy between who I am and what I’ve written it highlights for me the changes I need to make in my life.

Most importantly, it keeps me focused on what really matters to me and reminds me when I’ve gotten off track. I know exactly what my values are so I know exactly where to spend my time.

If you’re looking for a way to refine your focus in your life, this might be a good place to start.