July marks the start of the second half of the year!

We are somehow, astonishingly, half way through the year of 2019! The Summer Solstice has passed and we are deep into Summer (in the northern hemisphere anyway!).

The mid point of the year is the perfect time to review the goals we set at the start of the year and see how we are doing, assess whether any of our goals need to change, harvest the lessons learned and figure out some next steps for the second half of the year.

Whether you have been checking in on your goals regularly, or you can’t really even remember what they were (!), this process is useful. 

I am in the middle of doing my mid year/second quarter review. Just like in previous quarters I am celebrating the positive change and steps taken (even if small!), adjusting or pivoting  goals that haven’t gone to plan (with joy and grace) and cancelling others that now feel wrong.  

A personal review:

I enjoy sharing my own personal goals journey because it helps to give myself accountability, and because I know your guys enjoy reading about how I implement my own systems, processes and beliefs about planning into my actual life.

I summarise my goals into 3 categories, Work, Relationships and Lifestyle, so I’ll give a really broad review of each of those. 

My work goals have gone well… in part. I have really taken some BIG steps in understanding my mailing list, Pinterest, website tech and SEO (yeah! totally high-fiving my dyslexic self 👋🏻). My planning and organisation is going really well too. But my income has been lower than I want (and need) it to be so I’m taking stock of why that is and making some new plans for the second half of the year,  because upping my income is a key goal for me in 2019.  I have also decided that my next area of focus will be interiors content, which feels exciting too.

My relationship goals have flourished this year, I’ve been taking intentional steps to work on my marriage, friendships and mothering, and it feels good. I’ve enjoyed feeling more sociable after a year of feeling really depleted, antisocial and anxious.  (whoop!) So it feels kinda new and I just want to continue in that vein.

Lifestyle wise I have also had a great 6 months. The mostly Vegan thing is still going well, I have managed to kick the sugar addiction, and up the amount of fruit and veggies in my diet, I have been running regularly, and am in the middle of a brilliant stint of therapy too. My anxiety is still pretty central to my life so I am working on that, and specifically being intentionally calm and rested every day  (whoop whoop!)

Thats’ a very high line summary of where I am at with my goals, and as you can see some have gone well and some haven’t gone as I’d hoped. 

No failures!

Crucially, I am not beating myself up for the goals that haven’t happened or where i haven’t got to where I wanted. There are no failures for me in my work goals. It just gives me interesting information to look at. WHY didn’t I meet my income goals? What was happening in my life? That information helps me plan and prioritise for the second half of the year.

Some review and planning questions for you:

Firstly, like I prompted you in the solstice post a couple of weeks ago, think back to January of this year. 

Picture what you were wearing. Remember the weather, where you were spending most of your time. Think about what the you of 6 months ago wished for in 2019. 

Now take some time to note everything that has happening since then. In February, March, April, may and June. Think about the experiences that have shaped you, the joys that have lifted you and the grief that has softened you. 

How amazingly you have grown in the last 6 months! Give yourself a high-five/hug/pat on the back for all of the growth you’ve experienced in the last 6 months. It’s counterintuitive to do this, our brains are literally hard wired to focus on the negatives and the areas that we *haven’t* made progress in. But try to do so. And we’re not necessarily looking for great big sexy wins and life changing leaps. Sometimes simply surviving is absolutely worthy of celebration. Then:

1. Think back to the goals you made for yourself in January. Read over them if you wrote them down.

   • Where have you been able to make progress toward them in the last quarter (or 6 months)? Where haven’t you been able too? Why?

   • What felt good? What felt bad? Why? (feelings are good!)

   • What lessons are you taking away with you? (really let this guide you in your planning for the next 6 months)

2. If you are not where you wanted to be the first thing to figure out is whether your goals are actually right for you. Do you need to adjust/pivot/cancel/change any of them? Go back and make changes to your goals if they need it.

3. If your goals still feel right but you are not where you wanted to be:

   • What has been happening in your life that means you might not have managed to take steps toward your goals?

   • Could you simplify your goals?

   • Park any for later?

   • Could you narrow down your other time and energy commitments in order to make your goals happen?

4. If your goals feel right, and you’re pleased with where things are, then HURRAY! How will you celebrate? Do you know what your next steps are? Have you scheduled in the next review?

5. In order to meet your annual or big goals, or your altered goals if you have changed them, what do you need to do in the next quarter? Take into account your current circumstances (your time, energy, resources etc) and remember to include joy!

So- how are YOU, my friend, at this mid-year point?