By Rania Saadi,
Rapid Transformational Therapist & Clinical Hypnotherapist
Setting goals can feel like a complicated process. But in reality, goal setting is most powerful when it’s simple and deeply personal. The key is not just in what we want to achieve, but in understanding who we are. This understanding often goes back to our childhood.
Between the ages of 7 and 14years, we naturally gravitate toward activities that excite us and hold our attention for hours. Whether it is drawing, playing an instrument or games, these hobbies are more than just play.
They are early indicators of our strengths, interests and potential career paths. Revisiting them as adults can bring clarity to setting meaningful goals.
Why Childhood Hobbies Matter
When we’re young, our choices are guided by curiosity rather than obligations. We explore activities that feel natural and enjoyable; a drive to do something simply because we love it. These experiences often reveal our genuine talents and skills.
As adults, we can use these early clues to set more authentic goals, ones that align with our natural abilities and values. By reflecting on the hobbies we loved between 7 and 14years, we can reconnect with the part of ourselves that learned for the joy of learning.
Translating Childhood Hobbies Into Modern Careers
Here are a few examples of how the skills we built through youthful pastimes can translate into professional success:
Arts & Crafts: Design, Marketing or Architecture
A child who loved sketching or crafting likely developed strong visual-spatial awareness and creativity. As an adult, these same abilities are valuable in graphic design, product development or architecture
Building Structures: Engineering or Project Management
Kids who spent hours building elaborate block creations weren’t just playing, they were learning about structure and logic. These skills directly translate into engineering, construction, or even roles that require strategic planning
Writing Stories: Communication, Journalism, or Content Creation
Writing imaginative stories as a child builds language skills and narrative thinking. These are essential skills for journalists, authors and copywriters
Team Sports: Leadership and Collaboration Roles
Playing team sports develops discipline, teamwork and resilience. These qualities are highly valued in business, management and entrepreneurial careers where collaboration and persistence drive results
Video Games or Coding: Tech Development and Problem Solving
Children fascinated by games often develop pattern recognition, critical thinking and adaptability. Many successful software developers, game designers began by exploring with games or early coding
Collecting or Organising Hobbies: Research or Data Analysis
A child who loved categorising rocks, cards, or stamps has a keen eye for detail and organization; skills that fit perfectly in research and analytics.
Simplifying the Goal-Setting Process
Goal setting doesn’t have to be a rigid or intimidating task. By grounding your goals in your natural strengths and childhood passions, the process becomes both simpler and more fulfilling
Here’s a simple 3-step approach:
1.Reflecting: Thinking back to your hobbies between ages 7–14years, what activities made you lose track of time?
2.Connecting: Identify the skills these hobbies helped you develop such as creativity, focus, teamwork, problem-solving
3.Translating: Set new goals that use or expand these same strengths in your personal or professional life
Goal setting isn’t just about the future, it’s also about going back to the past and reconnecting with your authentic self. When we look back at the hobbies that once brought us joy, we find the raw materials for goals that truly resonate.
By simplifying the process and reflecting on what we loved, connecting with what we learned and translating it into meaningful action we create goals that not only lead to success but also to fulfilment.
Sometimes, the key to your next big goal lies hidden in what made your younger self happiest.
You can contact Rania Saadi at [email protected]
