God's focus was focusing.
“So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”
- Genesis 1:21-23 (New King James Version)
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As I’ve been planning out my attack on this year’s goals, I’m so inspired by how God approached creation. When you think about it, He literally had “theme” or “batch” days where He focused on creating one thing at a time each day along with whatever corresponding work was required for that thing. I’ve benefitted from having a singular focus until a project is complete and then working on the next thing. My book is a great example of that in my life. So was my trip to Mexico last year cuz it took a lot of focus and faith to get there!
When I reflected on it later, it affirmed the fact that there is power in putting all your energy toward one thing at a time vs splitting it in multiple directions at once. If even our God, Who I’m sure could be the ultimate multitasker if He wanted to be, chose to focus His energy and power on one thing at a time during creation, maybe it’s worth us following that system in our creation process too.
The biggest thing that fascinates me about God’s use of “theme” days in creation, though, is how much He was able to accomplish in a short period of time. It took Him a day to create all the fishes in the sea that we STILL haven’t even been able to discover all of yet!? Like, what?! And then He messed around and created us with the same power to see a vision in our mind’s eye and produce it. We can do it too!
Now of course, it typically takes us longer than a day to create the big ideas we have—maybe it takes us a week, a few months, a year or longer to see a vision to completion. But what if, by using the same system of focus God used in creation, we could significantly reduce the length of our “creation time”? I’m sure you’ve heard by now how multitasking is not the most productive practice. I tend to apply this to goal-setting too. And, as I consider how God concentrated His focus and power in one direction each day and how much He was able to accomplish by the end of it, I imagine we’re so much more powerful (and productive) when we do the same.
Just want to encourage you in whatever state of vision-setting and planning you’re currently walking through for 2023. Whether you focus on quarterly planning and only 1-3 goals per quarter like me or you follow some other system, I hope that studying the Genesis 1 story can provide you some divine guidance to help you produce more than you imagined this year with the same level of focus, ease and rest God had in His process. Happy creating!
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Still hungry? Eat some more //
- I’m a big fan of the 12 Week Year method for goal-setting and planning. Highly recommend tapping in if you need help getting focused!