Application Assignment 1: How to Complete All 4 Parts of My Personal Mission Statement
Four parts. One foundational assignment. A rubric that wants genuine reflection — not a list of aspirations or a copy-paste from an online tool. Here’s exactly how to approach each section, what Covey’s framework actually requires, and what gets points taken off when students rush it.
This assignment is foundational — your instructor says so explicitly, and they mean it. The mission statement and roles you write here get revisited as the course goes on. So if you rush Part 1 or treat Part 4 as a formality, you’re making later assignments harder for yourself. Take the time now. The four parts build on each other in a specific sequence, and knowing how they connect makes the whole thing easier to write.
What This Guide Covers
Assignment Requirements at a Glance
Four parts. Each one feeds into the next. Your mission statement drives your roles. Your roles generate your goals. And your goals anchor your action plan. If you treat them as four unconnected tasks, the assignment won’t hang together — and the grader will notice.
Four-Part Assignment Checklist
Required Reading and Preparation
The assignment references two specific sections of the Covey text. Don’t skip them. Part 1 (pp. 23–70) gives you the philosophical foundation — what it means to be proactive, how habits form, and the concept of your personal “circle of influence.” Habit 2 (pp. 71–152) is where the mission statement and roles framework actually lives.
Three Sections of the Covey Text Are Directly Referenced
The assignment points you to three specific page ranges for good reason. “A Personal Mission Statement” and “At the Center” (pp. 113–118) explain what a mission statement is and isn’t — read this before writing a single word of Part 1. “Identifying Roles and Goals” (pp. 143–145) gives you the framework for Part 2 and Part 3. The connection between your roles and your goals isn’t arbitrary — Covey argues that a balanced life means attending to all your key roles, not optimizing one at the expense of others.
Practical note: The Mission Statement Builder tool the assignment references (on the FranklinCovey website) can help you identify your values and priorities. But the assignment is clear: don’t copy-paste the output. Use it as a drafting tool, then rewrite the result in your own voice, in paragraph form.Covey’s core argument in Habit 2 is that everything is created twice — first in the mind, then in the physical world. A building starts as a blueprint. A life starts as a mental picture of what you want it to look like. Your mission statement is that blueprint. It isn’t a statement of who you are right now; it’s a statement of who you want to become and what you want your life to stand for. That distinction matters for how you write Part 1. It’s forward-looking, not descriptive of your current state.
Part 1: Writing the Personal Mission Statement
This is the hardest part of the assignment. Not because the writing is technically difficult — because it requires real self-reflection, and most people haven’t spent much time thinking about what they actually value at a foundational level. Start early. Give yourself at least a day to draft it, sit with it, and revise.
It’s a Personal Constitution, Not a Goal List
A mission statement in Covey’s framework is about being and doing — who you want to be as a person (character, values) and what you want to do (contributions, achievements). It’s not a list of goals. Goals go in Parts 3 and 4. The mission statement is the “why” behind all of it. Think of it as the lens through which every decision in your life gets filtered. Covey calls it your “personal constitution.”
Questions that help you draft it: What do I want people to say about me at my funeral? What kind of person do I want my children (or students, or friends) to see me as? What would I regret not having done or been? What values am I not willing to compromise on? These feel like heavy questions — they’re supposed to. That discomfort is where the real content of a mission statement comes from.Structure of a Strong Mission Statement
No single required format — but strong mission statements tend to include:
- Core values — what you stand for (integrity, family, growth, service)
- Who you want to be — character qualities you’re committed to developing
- What you want to do — the contribution or impact you want to have
- Your key relationships — how you want to show up for the people who matter
Written in paragraph form. First person. Present or future tense. Complete sentences. Not bullets.
What to Avoid in Part 1
- Copying the Mission Statement Builder output verbatim
- Writing a list of goals instead of a statement of values and purpose
- Generic language (“I want to be a good person and help others”) without personal specificity
- A single sentence — this needs to be substantive
- Treating it as a professional bio or resume objective
The assignment says to keep revising until it “reflects what you live for.” That’s the standard. Hold yourself to it.
The FranklinCovey Mission Statement Builder generates prompts and suggested language based on your inputs. The assignment explicitly says: read the results, modify as needed, and write in paragraph form using complete and clear sentences. A submission that reads like a template output — with generic filler phrases — will score lower than a rougher but genuinely personal statement. Your instructor is reading dozens of these. They can tell.
Part 2: The Roles Table
Part 2 is more structured than Part 1 — it’s a table, which makes it easier in one sense. But students often get the “statement of optimal performance” wrong. Here’s the distinction that matters.
Concrete Action, Not Abstract Aspiration
The assignment gives an example: if a role is “Volunteer,” the statement of optimal performance is “I will spend one hour a week at the children’s center.” Not “I will be a committed volunteer.” Not “I value giving back to my community.” A concrete, first-person commitment to a specific behavior. That specificity is the whole point — it makes the role actionable rather than aspirational.
For every role: Ask yourself — if I were performing this role at my best, what would I actually be doing? Then write that as a first-person statement with enough specificity that you could hold yourself accountable to it.| Role | Weak Statement (Too Vague) | Strong Statement (Specific & Actionable) |
|---|---|---|
| Parent | I will be a loving and supportive parent. | I will have dinner with my children at least four nights a week and put my phone away during that time. |
| Student | I will do my best in school and stay on top of my work. | I will complete all assignments at least 24 hours before the deadline and review feedback within 48 hours of receiving it. |
| Friend | I will be a good friend who listens and cares. | I will reach out to at least one close friend each week with a call or message — not just a reaction to their posts. |
| Professional | I will be dependable and contribute to my team. | I will meet every project deadline and communicate proactively when obstacles arise, before the deadline passes. |
The assignment is specific: if one of your three long-term goals in Part 3 involves school or education, you must have a corresponding “Student” role in your Part 2 table. This is a detail students miss. Write your Part 3 goals first (in your head, at least), then make sure your roles table has coverage for every goal-related area of your life.
Part 3: Three Long-Term Goals
Three goals. One to two sentences each explaining why it matters to you. This part looks simple — and it is, structurally. But the quality of your “why” sentences is what the grader is evaluating. A weak why is generic. A strong why connects the goal explicitly back to your mission statement from Part 1.
Think in Years, Not Weeks
Long-term in Covey’s framework means something you’re working toward over a significant time horizon — completing a degree, building a business, achieving a health milestone, developing a relationship to a certain depth. Not “finish this course” or “get a promotion this quarter.”
Connect It to Your Mission
Your one or two sentences should explain why this goal matters in the context of who you want to be. Not why the goal is generally a good idea — why it’s important to you, given your values and your mission statement. Generic reasoning scores lower than personal, specific reasoning.
Cover Different Life Areas
Covey’s roles framework suggests a balanced life means attending to multiple areas — not just career or school. Consider spreading your three goals across different roles: one professional/academic, one relational or family-oriented, one personal or health-related. This makes Part 4 richer and your overall submission more coherent.
Every Goal Should Have a Corresponding Role
Check that each long-term goal maps back to a role you listed in Part 2. If you have a goal around fitness, do you have a “Health” or “Athlete” role in your table? If not, add it. The assignment is designed so that roles and goals align — make sure yours do.
Part 4: The Goal Action Plan
This is the most structured section — and the one where students either show they understand how to break a goal into actionable steps, or they don’t. Pick the goal from Part 3 that you have the most clarity on. The assignment wants a realistic, accurate plan. That means specificity over optimism.
Four Questions That Build the Entire Plan
Your action plan has a specific structure built from four questions. State the goal clearly (what). Give a deadline for achieving it (when). Explain how it connects to your mission statement (why — this should pull directly from Part 1). Then list the steps you’ll need to take to reach it (how), each with its own deadline (when again). The assignment notes you may need to ask “how” several times — that’s because one step often breaks down into multiple sub-steps before it becomes genuinely actionable.
Example of iterating on “how”: Goal = complete a nursing degree. Step 1 = enroll in a program. But “enroll” needs its own how: research programs → request transcripts → complete application → submit financial aid forms. Each of those needs a deadline. Keep breaking steps down until they’re things you can actually calendar.State the Goal (What) + Deadline (When)
Be specific. Not “get healthy” — “lose 30 lbs and complete a 5K race.” Not “finish school” — “complete my Associate’s degree in Business Administration.” The deadline gives it weight. Without a when, it’s a wish.
Connect to Your Mission (Why)
One to two sentences. Pull the thread directly from your Part 1 mission statement. If your mission emphasizes family security, explain how this goal serves that. If it emphasizes personal growth, explain the connection. This should not be a generic statement — it should only make sense for you.
List the Steps (How) with Individual Deadlines (When)
Start with the high-level steps, then break each one down into concrete actions. Assign a deadline to each. This is where most submissions go thin — they list three or four vague steps without dates. The rubric says “accurate and realistic” — that requires enough granularity that someone else could follow the plan.
Iterate: Ask “How” Again for Each Step
For every step you list, ask: is this actionable as written? If “enroll in a certification program” is a step, what does enrollment actually require? Research programs. Request transcripts. Fill out an application. Pay a fee. Each of those is a separate action with a separate deadline. Keep going until each item on your list is something you can put on a calendar.
A common mistake: writing something like “This goal is important to me because I want to finish my degree.” That’s not a mission connection — it’s just restating the goal in different words. The why in Part 4 should reference the values or purpose you articulated in your Part 1 mission statement. If your mission is about providing stability for your family, the connection to an educational goal might be: “Completing this degree gives me the credentials to earn a salary that provides my family with financial security, which is central to my mission as a parent and provider.” That’s a mission connection. The other is just repetition.
Bloom’s Taxonomy and What It Means for Your Writing
The assignment instruction mentions Bloom’s taxonomy specifically — it asks you to aim for the higher levels: application, analysis, evaluation, and creativity. This is worth paying attention to because it tells you the quality standard your instructor expects.
Lower Levels (Not Enough on Their Own)
- Remember: Restating what Covey says about mission statements
- Understand: Explaining what a role is in your own words
These are fine as foundations but won’t score at the top of the rubric. The assignment isn’t a comprehension check — it’s an application exercise.
Higher Levels (What Scores Well)
- Apply: Using Covey’s framework to write your actual mission and roles — not describing the framework abstractly
- Analyze: Connecting your roles, goals, and mission coherently — showing how they relate
- Evaluate: Choosing the right goal for your action plan and justifying why it’s the priority
- Create: Producing a genuine, personal mission statement that reflects your actual values
Mistakes That Cost Marks
Mission Statement That’s Actually a Goal List
“I want to graduate, get a good job, buy a house, and be a good parent.” That’s a wish list, not a mission statement. It doesn’t address who you want to be — only what you want to have or achieve.
Values + Being + Doing, in Paragraph Form
Write about the values you won’t compromise on, the person you’re working to become, and the contribution you want to make. Goals come in Parts 3 and 4. The mission statement is the foundation they rest on.
Vague Optimal Performance Statements in the Roles Table
“I will be a good student who works hard.” This could describe anyone. There’s no specific behavior, no frequency, no commitment that could actually be measured or kept.
First-Person, Specific, Behavioral Statements
“I will complete all discussion posts by Thursday night and submit assignments at least 12 hours before the deadline.” That’s a statement of optimal performance — specific enough to be kept or broken, not just expressed.
Part 4 Action Plan With No Real Steps or Dates
“Step 1: Work hard. Step 2: Stay focused. Step 3: Achieve my goal.” No dates, no specificity, no sub-steps. This is the most common way students lose marks on Part 4.
Broken-Down Steps, Each With a Deadline
Start with high-level steps, then iterate. Ask “how” for each step until every item is a specific, calendar-able action. Assign a date to each. Realistic means you could actually follow this plan — not just describe what success would look like.
Goals in Part 3 Don’t Connect to Roles in Part 2
A goal around education without a “Student” role in the table. A fitness goal without a corresponding health or wellness role. The assignment specifically flags this connection — missing it signals you didn’t read the instructions carefully.
Cross-Check Goals Against Your Roles Table
Before submitting, read each Part 3 goal and confirm there’s a corresponding role in Part 2. If your goal relates to being a better partner or spouse, do you have that role in the table? If not, add it. The assignment is designed so they align.
Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (25th anniversary ed.). Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 978-1-4516-3975-5. Available at most university libraries and via Simon & Schuster. This is the primary text your assignment is built on. All four parts draw directly from Habit 2 (pp. 71–152) and the roles/goals section (pp. 143–145). If your course uses a different edition, the page numbers may vary slightly — use the chapter titles to locate the relevant sections.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Education Assignment Help Get StartedStart with Part 1 — Everything Else Follows From It
Part 1 is the anchor. If your mission statement is clear and specific, writing the roles table is relatively straightforward because you’re identifying the areas of your life that reflect your values. The long-term goals flow from those roles. And the action plan is just a structured breakdown of one of those goals.
The four parts aren’t separate tasks. They’re a sequence. Start with the most reflective work — the mission statement — and the rest gets easier. Rush Part 1 and the whole submission reads as generic.
One last thing: the assignment says you’ll have opportunities to refine your mission statement later in the course. Don’t use that as a reason to submit something underdeveloped now. Start seriously, submit something you mean, and the refinements later will be genuine improvements rather than a ground-up rewrite.