I was talking to my younger brother the other day who, like me, is a deep questioner and intensely curious about life (we sound like a pair of amateur philosophers when we get together), and he was saying how weird it is that time seems to move so much more quickly as we get older.
When you’re a kid, a month feels SO long. And a year? That might as well be forever. I remember when waiting for my next birthday seemed interminable.
And yet, we’re now closing in on the end of June, and I feel like we just celebrated New Years. Somehow six months have passed, and I’ve barely gotten used to writing 2017 whenever I need to include a date on something.
Time feels like it’s moving uncomfortably quickly.
Which is why I thought we all (myself included) could use a brief moment to do a mid-year check-in with ourselves. Because if we don’t take moments to pause, reflect, and reevaluate … before we know it, 2017 will be over and we’ll be wondering, “Did I actually do the things I wanted to do this year?”
While at a coaching conference this past weekend, I wrote out a few mid-year reflection questions for myself. And then I thought, “Why not share them with our community?”
So here you go. Here are the 3 big mid-year check-in questions I came up with for myself (and, incidentally, for you):
QUESTION 1: WHAT WERE YOU HOPING WOULD HAPPEN IN 2017?
The first thing I did in my mini reflection session was to check in with the intentions, goals, and hopes I had at the start of the year.
One of my top intentions for 2017 was to prioritize my physical health. Last year was a pretty shitty year for me health-wise, so I vowed to listen to my body more and take pristine care of my health this year. I also wanted to keep improving my emotional, mental, and spiritual wellness, too — because health goes beyond just your physical body!
When it comes to my relationships, I wanted to practice greater appreciation of the people in my life, as well as better intuitive discernment in new relationships (I tend to put on blinders and see only the good in people I meet, which has come back to bite me on more than one occasion!).
Rachel and I also had some business goals, like totally revamping our Passion Profile Short Course, upgrading our business systems and technologies, and implementing some new, creative ideas (more to come on that front!).
It felt good to remind myself of what’s most important to me and check-in on the intentions I set for myself.
So now it’s your turn: Take a minute to jot down the things you hoped to do or experience at the start of 2017, whether or not they’ve happened yet.
QUESTION 2: WHAT DO YOU SAY YOU WANT VS. WHAT YOUR ACTIONS ARE REFLECTING?
So how am I actually doing with all of that? Am I walking my talk?
Ugh, this question was uncomfortable. It’s easy and fun to think about all of my goals and hopes for the year, but the reality check of matching what I say I want with what I consistently do revealed some … inconsistencies.
I’ve made (and actually stuck with) some big dietary changes, and I’m feeling healthier than ever after loading up on fruits & veggies and cutting out crappy foods that my body wasn’t appreciating. I even started meditating on a (mostly) daily basis.
But on the exercise front? I could up my game on that, for sure. While I love stretching my body (and mind) in yoga and building strength in barre class, I can easily talk myself out of going, which means my consistency is hit or miss.
Talking about the changes you want to make and actually acting on them are two different things.
The same was true for the other intentions I’d set for myself. While I may have made progress in one area, there were other areas where I had to admit I wasn’t fully following through.
In those moments, I could have judged or shamed myself for not doing all of the things I’d said I wanted to do. But instead, I chose to have compassion for myself (I’m only human, after all), applaud myself for the progress I have made, remind myself of the deeper values underneath each of my intentions, and reignite my desire to make these things happen.
You might be tempted to skip over this question. Nobody likes acknowledging where their actions may not match up with their words.
But if you’re willing to get honest with your answers to this question — without judgment or shame, and with a healthy dose of self-compassion — you’re priming yourself for amazing changes on the other side.
QUESTION 3: IF THE REST OF THIS YEAR CONTINUES ON JUST LIKE THE FIRST HALF, HOW WILL YOU FEEL?
Your gut reaction to this question will tell you everything.
If you felt immediately disappointed or panicked by the idea of the second half of this year continuing on just like the first … that’s a clear indicator that something needs to change.
However, if you felt content or even excited about the year continuing on the same trajectory, that’s a sign you’re on the right track! Keep doin’ what you’re doin’.
More than likely, your response was similar to mine: mixed emotions.
In a lot of ways, I’m happy with how things are going, and I’m all kinds of grateful to have seen improvements in my health and my business so far this year. And … I want to practice walking my talk in even more ways so I can become magnetic to the health, joy, relationships, experiences, and opportunities I want most.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? IS 2017 TURNING OUT THE WAY YOU WANTED?
It’s easy for all of us to get stuck in our normal routines and get a bit complacent. Which is why it’s so important to remember that time is going to keep chugging along (and, as my brother pointed out, it’s only going to keep moving faster!), and it’s up to us to make the most of it.
Sometimes we all need to be jolted out of our everyday routines to take a breath, zoom out to see the bigger picture of our lives, reevaluate our priorities, and make changes toward the life we want.
Consider this your jolt.
Leave a comment below to let me know if you’re willing to do a mid-year review of your own. And if you want to share your answers for one (or all!) of these questions, I’d love to hear them!
TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ? LISTEN INSTEAD!
If reading long blogs just isn’t your deal, you’re in luck:
We’re now recording our blogs for you!
Here’s Kristen reading this week’s blog:
IF YOU LIKED THIS, THEN YOU’LL ALSO LOVE …
What I’m doing to follow my passion more in 2017
This works SO much better than New Year’s resolutions
What to do when you feel like you’re behind in life
The danger of living a life that’s OK, but not great
Much Love,
Kristen (& Rachel)
Thinking about what I wanted to achieve this year and then actually seeing if I did any of it has definitely been on my mind over the recent weeks. I’ve been doing my best to try and use phrases like “I will do …”, but when it comes time to actually do those things I tend to be a pro at what my friends call excuseketball.
I usually let my failures get me down, but I’m doing my best to, like you said, celebrate the victories when I actually do what I said I would. I may not be successful all the time, but when I am I need to make note of it so I can reinforce that positive feeling with the action.
I’m want my life to go a certain way and I’m the only one who can make that happen. I’m going to continue to try and do the things I say I want to do and keep a close eye on myself to ensure that I follow through.
Thank you for this well structured reminder that we always have to pay attention to what we say and what we end up doing. To roughly paraphrase a popular statement, “Our words are not what makes us who we are. Our actions do that.”
Glad this topic was so timely for you, Rich! I love the phrase “excuseketball” — I know most of us can relate to that (I certainly can!). I’m going to have to start using that word! 🙂
I know all too well how easy it is to let your failures get you down … but not only does that feel awful, it also saps your energy so you can’t actually go DO the things you meant to do in the first place. It’s like kicking yourself when you’re down! But by celebrating your victories when they do happen, it creates motivation and energy so you’re more likely to keep following through. So the momentum will go whichever way you direct it — positive (energizing) or negative (draining).
You’ve got the right mentality about this, and you’re absolutely on the right track! Thanks for sharing how this is relevant for you right now.