Munira Premji

As an HR Practitioner, I work with organizations to help them create their mission, vision and values.  This defines the purpose of the organization, the reason for its existence,and creates a common sense of purpose.   Every year, I explore my own personal statement which is an expression of who I am, what is important to me and how I want to live.

This year, my mission statement is simply, Health and Vitality!

For me this is fundamental to my core.  After 3 cancers, I recognize the value of health.  When you have health, you have hope and energy to live your life fully and fearlessly.  Without health, your options are limited.  And while I can’t go back and change my life, I am certainly doing my best today to work on being healthy, eating right and working out.

My vision is to be an infectious light of love and joy.  To relentlessly learn.  To inspire others to bring their best selves forward.

I have learnt that when I do this, I feel on top of the world.  When I am loving and joyful, I am able to cope with life’s vicissitudes and be resilient in the face of challenges.  Everything just feels better.  When I am learning, I am at my happiest.  I read a book a week.  I listen to podcasts every day and work hard to keep current in my field of work so I can be ahead of the game.  And when I am true to myself, I am able to connect with others authentically and soulfully.

My values are governed by my faith.  As an Ismaili Muslim, this means working within the ethics of Islam and embracing the values of generosity, of compassion, of diversity and inclusion, of acquiring and sharing knowledge, of employing best practices, of service, of living joyfully.  I measure everything I do and say against these values.  Every interaction, every decision is framed against these values.  Every act I choose is based on these values.

Every 6 months, I revisit my personal statement to see if it still makes sense.  And when it does, everything is aligned.  There is certainty about the direction of my life.  It is like an inner compass that gives me access to a deeper wisdom.  And the universe beautifully conspires to make things happen with renewed inspiration.

Exploring your personal statement is work in progress and takes introspection and exploration.  Each one of you has a personal statement inside of you; a story about who you want to be and how you want to live your life.  If you were to write it down, what might that look like? It does not have to be perfect.  It just needs to reflect the essence of you.