When a friend recently posted a blog announcing he had finalized his personal life mission statement, it got me thinking: What's mine?

Yet, within a few minutes of stumbling around and swapping out a few terms, I finally settled on four key words: Truth, Pursue, Innovation and  Inspire. 

By the next morning, I had a finalized version,"to Innovatively Inspire the Pursuit of Truth," and was asking my husband for feedback.

"Does this sound right for me?" I'd asked excitedly while still in bed. "I mean, does it sound like what I've been about?"

"Yes, I like it!" he'd answered. "Although it probably won't work on your résumé."

I'd laughed. Of course not. I had to explain that I'd seen someone else go through this process of articulating what their life's focus was about and that this exercise would likely help me better focus and even navigate my own next career move.

I went on to explain why I had picked each word.

Truth- I believe life is  a journey and respect that we all come from different backgrounds, with different experiences, different values and different beliefs.  But I believe part of the joy and adventure of life's journey is discovering Truth and truths. "The Truth" to me represents what is ultimately true about life. As a Christian, I have put my trust in what Jesus says about ultimate Truth. He preached, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." But there are also other truths about life in general that I have also discovered along my journey. Love prevails- is one. Wisdom is more valuable than money- is another. Yet, as life goes on, I continue to discover more and more "truth gems" along the way. It's my hope that everyone appreciates just how much life is a journey for discovering truth about ourselves, about the world, about life and about God. I would never push my own faith on anyone, because I agree with what John Wycliffe said, "that in the end truth will conquer."

Pursue- I chose this word because its a verb. An action word. On this side of Heaven or death, I don't think we ever fully reach or discover all of Truth. Even those of us who believe Jesus is God's son can never fully understand God. I would never claim to totally know God nor can I make the claim I completely understand Truth. Yet, knowing and living Truth is my life's pursuit though, and I love encouraging others to pursue it with me. Definitions of pursue include "to strive toward" or "to engage in". It's a very active term that best articulates my view of life as a journey and the desire to live out truth once I find it. As Gandhi says, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

Inspire- I used to love coaching track at my local high school. I ran in college myself and know first-hand how it important it is to have people who cared, believed and encouraged me to run to the best of my ability. I found myself speeding up in races anytime someone would simply yell my name or cheer "You Can Do It!" It's my hope to inspire others to become the best versions of themselves by discovering Truth and truths in their own journey.

Innovative- Over the past decade or so, I've realized about myself that I am a bit of an out-of-the-box thinker. I am constantly coming up with new ideas, methods, strategies and plans. My husband says I am a bit like "Lucy" at times because my ideas don't always work and they never fit the traditional mold. But many times they do work out too! Yet, I think sometimes that's what people need to kickstart their own journey into discovering Truth. If they haven't found it yet, then obviously something different should be tried! One of my professional Strengths Finders results even showed I think strategically and love connecting dots that can work together in harmony even when no one has ever tried it before. It's my hope to use my own passion for innovation, particularly new media, video production, music, and storytelling, as just a few tools or tactics to inspire others in their journey.

My husband looked at me after I had explained my thought process behind choosing my personalized mission statement and said something I found extremely true and profound.

"You know what?" he said. "You know who you are."

I smiled, appreciating just how far along in my own journey I'd come.