What’s a North Star Charter and
How Can It Support You In Living a Fulfilling Life?
Each month I choose to write about visioning because of the life-changing impact this practice has had and continues to have on my life. And it is a practice. Visioning allows us to create our lives intentionally based on what we authentically want.
There’s a principle that states that we are always creating either by design or by default. Creating by default means that we’ve allowed beliefs that are based on past unresolved traumas, hurts and challenges to direct the outcome of our lives. There is an element of life happening to us in a rather unconscious way. And often the outcome doesn’t look anything like what we really want.
Creating by design, on the other hand, means that our authentic desires, dreams, visions, preferences, goals and objectives, become the driver, and life unfolds in a way that is in alignment with what we want rather than what we don’t want. When I first heard this over a decade ago, it landed so profoundly that I started to pay more attention to what creation was looking like in my life. I started to notice that often the things I was afraid of were actually manifesting at a greater pace than those that mattered to me most.
Determined to start placing my attention more firmly on that which inspires me, I decided to do a coaching session with my mentor to uncover the purpose for my life so that I could make choices that would align with that purpose. Over the years, this led me to clarify other aspects of myself that are drivers in my life, i.e my values, my vision and my mission. I call the outcome of this inquiry process my North Star Charter. This document supports me in making choices that are right for me in every area of my life. I’ve gone back and forth about whether to share this publicly because it’s so very personal but then thought “Why not?” Often it’s when others have gone out on a limb to be vulnerable that I’ve received some kind of gift from their sharing. I hope that the practice of creating your own North Star document, should you choose to take on this challenge, inspires you to live the life you were born to live.
North Star Charter
VALUES
(Values keep us aligned with our purpose, vision and mission and accelerate our growth. They keep us true to what matters to us most.)
Kindness, integrity, environmental and social justice, authenticity, community, personal growth and empowerment, trust, gratitude, and self-love.
PURPOSE
(Purpose is the compelling motivation that makes us want to get up in the morning and live our day to its fullest. It answers the question “Why are we doing what we’re doing? and “Why do we choose to exist beyond the mundane grind of accumulating wealth, acquiring things and climbing the social ladder?” It aligns with our core values and explains the reasons for our existence. It can also include what we are advocating for and any opportunities we are seeking to leverage in making a difference.)
I believe that self-love is everyone’s greatest superpower. I believe that each of us is a lighthouse and that self-love is the light within us that guides, heals, transforms and can accomplish the seemingly impossible.
VISION
(A vision defines “what” we want to accomplish in our lives that actually outlives us and the difference we’ll create with our families, friends, communities and clients once we realize our purpose. It answers the questions “What do we want?” and “Where are we going?” It’s a reflection of how we define success.)
A kinder world in which the experience of connecting, relating and communicating with one another is based on kindness, respect, empathy and compassion for ourselves, each other, and the environment.
MISSION
A mission statement addresses “how” we will accomplish our purpose and uphold our values. It describes the journey and how we will turn our vision into reality.)
To create beautiful, life-affirming experiences that 1) inspire self-inquiry, 2) support personal agency and empowerment, 3) connect people to themselves and each other and 4) motivate authentic action.