I’m a people pleaser. There. It’s out. I want people to like me and I sometimes say yes to things I should say no to just because I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings or I’m afraid something won’t get done if I say no. But I’m getting better at saying no and setting reasonable boundaries for people around me.

One of the things that has helped me most has been to create a mission statement for my life. Actually, I sort of have two mission statements. One for my life, and one for my writing life–which I call my writing commitment, rather than mission statement.

My life mission statement is: To live for Jesus in a way that impacts others. I do this by encouraging, teaching, writing, caring for my family and church family, and staying connected to The Vine.

My writing commitment goes like this:

I commit to:

1. Make learning fun for my readers. Whether they are kids or adults, whether I’m writing fiction or nonfiction, it must be a joy for them to learn.
2. Write in such a way that God is always evident—in my attitudes, words, and tone.
3. Never give up. Regardless of how many rejections I get and how many years it takes before I get another book published—if I ever do—I will be obedient to the call God has placed in my heart.
4. Help other writers however I can.
5. Stay grounded in God’s Word (how can I write for Him if I don’t know what He has to say to me?) and pray for the discipline to meet the first 4 commitments

How do these help me say no? Because if someone asks me to do something that doesn’t fall within my mission statement, I can say no without guilt. It’s simply not what God has called me to do. End of story. And sometimes I can’t do all the things in my mission statement at once. There are times when caring for my family is all I can manage so I have to turn down the opportunity to teach a Sunday school class.  Or if I’m doing so many things that I can’t fulfill my writing commitment, I need to say no.

I’ve learned that setting these boundaries for my life have helped ease stress and guilt. I’m living my life purposefully, in the way I believe God called me to. I have time to do the things that matter most to me and don’t get sidetracked by other obligations that don’t fall within my life mission.

I encourage you to think about a mission statement for your life, and maybe another for your work or ministry. It will help clarify where you should set your boundaries and to what things you should say no.

Do you have a life mission? Share it in the comments.