The halfway point of the year is a great time to zoom out for a big-picture view of your goals. Are you hitting the benchmarks you set for yourself at the start of the year? If not, what obstacles have gotten in your way? Now is a good time to make changes that get you back on the track you plotted out back in January. But it’s also important to recognize that priorities can change and that sometimes your best solution is to chart a new course.
Goals are like a map. They help us determine where we want to end up and give us personal direction on which to focus our energy.
—Catherine Pulsifer
No one succeeds without having goals. Without a latitude and longitude to point your ship toward, you’re just drifting aimlessly in the equatorial doldrums of life. Setting—and then achieving—goals enables you move forward in your life, both personally and professionally. So let me ask you, if you did a mid-year check-in: are you still on the right track?
The value of goal setting is so widely recognized that we have even built a tradition around it: making New Year’s resolutions. Although you could start your goal “clock” on any date, January 1 works well for this because the start of a new year lines up nicely with efforts to make a “new start” in our lives. Winding down the holiday season and hanging a new calendar on the wall accentuate this transition.
The midpoint of this cycle is a good moment to pause, to assess your progress toward your goal, and (if needed) to recalibrate your plan. Pull out the list of goals you wrote up in January – do you have any successes since 1/1? If so, give yourself a pat on the back and celebrate them! With the goals still hanging around, go over each item thoroughly:
- Are you still aiming high enough to challenge yourself but not so high that a goal is objectively unachievable? (I’d love to include “become the queen of England OR MARDI GRAS!!!” on my own list, but let’s be honest here—that’s probably not going to happen! Not yet anyway!) Find the balance between what will advance your career or your personal life, and what will just grind everything to a halt because you can’t get any traction on it.
- Be honest with yourself about where you’ve fallen short. Figure out what your obstacles are, then look for solutions to them. (If you’re struggling with time management, for example, look for programs that can help you improve in that area. If you want to be a stronger leader, maybe a mentor can offer you guidance.) At the same time, though, be kind to yourself. If your obstacles include issues beyond your control or matters that have been exceptionally challenging (and that have been draining your energy and motivation), give yourself a little grace as you continue to deal with them.
I have to remind myself of that last point periodically. After publishing two nonfiction books in two years, Planes, Canes, and Automobiles: Connecting with Your Aging Parents through Travel (2015) and Clash of the Generations: Managing the New Workplace Reality (2016), I set my sights on a longtime dream: writing my first novel. Armed with an idea that (in my honest opinion) is utterly brilliant, I got to work. Everything was chugging along at a decent pace . . . until March 2021, when my mom died.
Her death totally derailed not just this project but my entire life. She was my best friend and my favorite travel companion (my first book is all about this topic!), and for a long time after losing her I really struggled to get my novel off the back burner. After giving myself some space—and then, after a while, giving myself a good kick in the ass—I eventually got back on track. This past January, I decided that my Big Goal for 2025 would be to finish this novel. And now, at my own mid-year check-in, I am pleased to report that I am on track to have a completed first draft of the manuscript by August 31st!
I love to write, but I will be the first to admit that writing is hard—and I think that’s a big factor in why it took me so long to finish this. It’s human nature to put off the tasks that are difficult, especially when there are a bunch of other things clamoring for our attention.
But here’s the thing: we all have the same number of hours in a day (in a week, in a month, in a year . . .).Because those hours are finite—and precious—you should fill them with things you choose to prioritize. So, either make the decision to do the hard things or give yourself a break and cut them off your list. (Only by making my novel a priority could I actually find the time and inspiration to finish it.)
As you do your own mid-year check-in and review the list of promises you made to yourself at the beginning of the year, ask yourself how important each incomplete task still is to you. If something truly is no longer a priority to you, stop beating yourself up about it. Strike it off the list and move on!
Keep in mind, though, that there are some things that you might not think are important but that you should still prioritize. These include things that your boss values (which means you should value them too!). They also include things that are objectively good for you, such as getting enough exercise. (I’ll admit that I often have to fight an uphill battle with myself to get to the gym, but I recognize that the benefits of spending time on the treadmill are worth the torture, so I keep reminding myself that, like it or not, this has to stay on my priority list!)
If you’re happy with the progress you’ve made so far on this year’s goals, keep on truckin’! But if, after looking over your list, you see room for improvement, take this opportunity to make course corrections. The year is far from over—you still have plenty of time to hit your 2025 goals!
