The 7th F: Why “Find” Should Be One of Your New Year’s Goals

Over the years, as I’ve written out my New Year’s goals, I have usually confined them to easily identifiable chunks, following a simple prescription of “the 6 F’s.” My husband, aiming to simplify-simplify-simplify, keeps it at just that: we have four kids and being Fernandez’s, we are, quite simply, the six F’s. And so we use this as a sort of model for goal-casting. Let me walk you through how we do it.


Faith: We set goals that help us walk a little further down our faith journeys. I wrote a goal of daily reading of the Scriptures, of daily prayer. I also admire the author Eugene Peterson, and I always have a yearly goal of reading more of his work. Perhaps you’ve been yearning to take a class or join a small group of like-minded souls who will come along side you in your faith walk. Commit your faith-based goals to paper.


Family: Developing wonderful families does not happen by chance. It takes insight, thoughtful planning, commitment, time, energy and passion. What simple rituals could you put into place that would enrich your family relationships? Daily walks together? Reading the classics aloud each night? Playing Scrabble together on the weekends? Dinner around the dining room table? An annual ski trip? Summers at the beach? Commitment to your kids’ sports schedules? Sitting with them while they practice the violin?


Friends: What do you need to do to continue your relationships well into your golden years? Do you have long-term friendships? What has kept these friendships alive? Sending birthday gifts and cards? Once-a-year trips together? Shopping? Frequent emails or phone calls? Dinners out? What could you be doing proactively that would ensure that these relationships stay healthy and strong?


Financial: Are you financially independent? If not, what steps should you take in order to move you closer to it? Can you pay down your debt? Look for a sideline job? Re-enter the workforce? Save more? Freeze lifestyle? With most people taking a significant whack to net worth in 2008, we are all thinking about the state of our finances and specifically, what we need to do to regain lost positions.


Fitness: Are you strong? Do your eyes radiate perfect health? Are you flexible? Can you maintain aerobic exercise for twenty minutes seven days a week? Are you committed to an exercise regimen? For how long? Which days of the week?


Fun: Do you look forward to each new day? If not, why not? What do you want to change about your daily existence that would bring more enjoyment to life? Take up painting? See more movies? Read more books? Spend more time with your kids? See more of the world? Give more to philanthropic organizations that bring you joy?


So there you have it. “The 6 F’s.” But the most intriguing “F” to me is the seventh one. “Find.”


Find that for which you were created.



God had a great idea when He created you. He had something in mind for you to do. A reason to put you on this earth. A mission. A purpose. Have you figured it out yet? One of man’s instinctual drivers is to seek that for which he was made.


As you write out your yearly goals, I would encourage you to spend a good deal of time reflecting on just this. It’s not something that most of us can easily or quickly do. For as time passes and we grow up, we soon discover that there are always new things that we are supposed to be doing. When we’re young, we’re supposed to be good students. And perhaps, if we’ve been blessed with giftedness in a specific area, perhaps with athletic prowess or musical or artistic ability, we are of course required to explore it and to use it. But as we get older and assume greater worldly responsibilities to family and kids and career, we often lose sight of what we were put on this earth to do. Meditate on this. Imagine possibilities. Allow yourself to think of the bodacious. Crazy big.


People who habitually write down their goals have a higher probability of achieving them. Study after study has shown this to be true. Commit to writing them down before the week is over. Give yourself the license to enjoy quiet contemplation. As the weeks go on, consistently review these written goals. Make yourself accountable towards achieving them. And, moving forward, watch your dreams unfold.


God bless,


Carolina