Mid-Year Review: ?'s I'm asking myself and you can too...

This weekend marks the halfway point of the year. (Yeah, I know... time flies!)

John Maxwell says that 'experience isn’t the best teacher, evaluated experience is' so it’s the perfect time for a mid-year review... and reset.

It’s your chance to look back over the last 6 months, breathe it all in, exhale it all out, and make a few choices as to what the next 6 months will hold.

You might be thinking, ‘where do I even start?’ I got you. 

Here are the reflection questions I’ll be asking myself this weekend.

But before I (and you) even get started, here are a few things to remember:

You’re probably going to want to be hard on yourself. High achievers and purpose driven people always are. Sometimes it makes us better and sometimes it gets in the way. This is not the time to beat yourself up for what you’ve fallen short on or shame yourself for something you haven’t done yet. Let that sh*t go.

Take care of you. What’s the thing that will serve you best? Talking to yourself like you talk to someone you love. A long walk. Grace for the race. Grabbing a couple more hours of sleep. A solo weekend away. Yes, yes, yes, yes, and YES.

For this exercise to mean something, it’ll take you more than 15 minutes. You might need to gather the data about the last 6 months before you can officially start. Clear a couple of hours in the morning, go to a place that inspires you, and get to work.

Here we go...

Goals (AKA Fruits)

It's the most obvious place to start... 

• What am I most proud of accomplishing so far this year? 
• Are my goals still relevant and feel aligned to where I wanted to go at the beginning of the year?
• What progress has been make? If progress wasn't made, what needs to shift?
• Should I drop it? Delay it? Do it in a different way?
• Are there things I've been neglecting or putting off that are still gnawing at me? What is at the heart of this avoidance, procrastination, or delay?

Emotions

You'll probably need some back story to this... I'm trying a new way to set forward my goals for the year. I introduced it at a surface level in this Brave Pages post.  (We did a deeper dive in the Rising Rooted Collective.) Instead of starting with the end in mind by setting a goal first, I asked myself what I wanted to feel this year... what emotions I wanted to experience and what would make me feel this way. So this year, I crafted my goals around feeling alive, connected, grounded, enoughness, playful. 

• As I reflect on my goals and desired feelings, did striving for (or reaching) these goals result in the emotions I wanted to feel?
• What emotion isn't being experienced and what is one thing I can do that will generate that feeling in the near future?
• Is there another emotion (possibly unexpected) that showed up?
• What emotions (even emotions outside my desired feelings) need to be tended to and/or cultivated?

Practices/Habits

As I'm learning from James Clear, what we practice is a vote for the person we want to become. Annie Dillard reminds us that how we live our days is how we live our years. So I broke down some of my goals into actions/practices I would need to commit to on a consistent basis in order to bear the fruit I wanted in my life. 

• What practices (or habits) have I been able to sustain? Not sustain?
• What took me off track? Were my practices realistic in terms of time/frequency/expectations? 
• What would it take to recommit to the practices that uphold who I am or who I want to be?

Sustainability

These questions encompass different elements of our lives that can help or hinder us in creating the life we want. 

• How am I taking care of myself to make sure my physical energy is at the level required to achieve my goals? Am I getting enough rest? What are my food habits? Exercise habits?
• What stories or mental chatter has been getting in my way? What is the truth I need to hear right now? One thing I will commit to in order to live out that truth is... 
• What about my environment is supporting my goals? What is distracting me? What needs decluttering?
• As I look back over my calendar, where have I been giving my time and attention? Is this what I truly value? What adjustments need to be made?

The final two questions are:

• What will I leave behind?
• What will I take forward into the next 6 months?

You might not need a complete overhaul. You might find that you need to tweak a few things here or there. 

But you also might come to the realization that it's time to let go of something big so that you don't go down in flames. If you need permission to let it go, here it is. You don't always have to finish what you started... especially if it doesn't align.

As always, I'd love to hear what came out of your mid-year review. Drop a comment here or be part of a bigger conversation in the Braver Together Community.

Are you a woman (or know a woman) who is interested in 'doing life' with a group of women who are planting strong roots? Registration is NOW OPEN for the Rising Rooted Collective. Learn all about the program and email me at Lisa@FullThrottleLiving.com with questions.