Goal Setting Principles From A 7 Year Old

Tomorrow we’ll get into the practicals of goal setting, but today I want to give you some important principles to help you as you set your goals and work to achieve them.

I posted on my personal blog a few months ago about how my 7 year old, entirely on her own, read through the entire Bible (regular, full version, no picture Bible).

That’s a pretty big book. Especially for someone who, when she started, had only been reading for about a year.

(Please don’t think I’m some super spiritual, awesome mom. She’s just an awesome kid. In all my 34 years I’d never read through the Bible. Sad, but true.)

Not only has this challenged me spiritually but it’s also challenged my character.

I love that she just did it. She didn’t talk about doing it. She didn’t list the reasons why she couldn’t. She just did it.

One page at a time.

One page at a time. One step at a time. One dream at a time. That is how goals are accomplished.

How To Accomplish Nothing

There are so many things I’d like to do. But I get distracted.

I accomplish the mundane at the expense of the miraculous. I do the dishes instead of play with my kids. I read about everyone else’s life on Facebook instead of making my own memories. I workout halfheartedly instead of really pushing myself.

That’s how a 34 year old accomplishes nothing.

How To Accomplish The Amazing

Here’s how a 7 year old accomplishes the amazing.

1. Passion

She wasn’t really trying to check something off of her to do list. She just really loved reading the Bible.

Lesson: Don’t try to do something amazing just because it’s amazing or because other people want you to do it. Do something you’re passionate about.

2. Focus

We actually had to tell her many times to put the Bible down – to eat or get ready for school. It’s what she defaulted to doing in her free time. That was the book she was reading and she was going to read it until she was done.

Lesson: Everything you add to your plate dilutes your ability to accomplish the amazing. Simplify.

3. Plan

She didn’t follow any sort of pre-made reading plan, because she’s wonderfully innocent (and wise). She figured “it’s a book” – you start at the beginning and read to the end. She followed God’s reading plan.

Lesson: Don’t worry about how other people say you should do something. Take time to hear how God wants you to do it. Make a plan, write it down.

4. Be Faithful

She kept reading. Somedays she read a lot. Somedays she didn’t read at all. But she kept moving forward.

Lesson: Forward motion will ALWAYS get you to your destination.

Conclusion

Focus on things you are passionate about and be faithful – that is how your goals become your accomplishments.

And that’s true whether you’re 7 or 34 or 96.

Action Step

We’ll start working on creating our goals tomorrow, so if you haven’t created your mission statement yet, I encourage you to work on a rough draft tonight.

Setting goals without a mission statement is like mapping a route without a destination. Doesn’t work.

Final Conclusion. Really.

I just wanted to say how completely proud I am of all of you. I love all the action you’ve taken. Mission statements, exercise programs, Bible reading, prayer, planning…

You all are awesome. The choices you are making now will affect your family for generations to come. Well done.

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