The Half Way Check in
Part one
It’s June…already…
Like all years, this one is flying by and before we know it we will be ringing in the New Year. And, likely setting some goals or resolutions, yet again.
The question is…will they be the same goals from this year?
At this point of the year, its always beneficial to check in and see how things are going. This is not an opportunity to beat yourself up. It is however an opportunity to get honest about what we really want for ourselves.
You know your goals or the resolutions you made. Hopefully you wrote them out and have been checking in with them on a weekly basis.
Or, maybe you forgot about them or gave up on them a few months ago.
Now is the time to revisit them.
For several reasons:
Maybe, it was too hard. Was it possible the goal wasn’t realistic in the first place? Would a revision be a good step in the right direction? (i.e., running consistently 4 times a week vs running a marathon. For some people running a marathon is an easy goal to achieve. For many of us though, it’s a huge goal that requires a lot of other small goals to be achieved first. If running a marathon is epic for you, set a more reasonable goal such as a committing to a consistent running schedule.)
Another important reason to check in? Are your goals still valid? Do you still want to achieve them? We all change over the course of a year and sometimes what seemed super exciting six months ago isn’t a priority anymore.
The first thing to ask yourself is “Do I still want to achieve this?”
This is important to clarify for yourself. Towards the end of 2015, I challenged my clients to get everything they could off their “to-do” list so they could go into 2016 with a clean slate. Which meant for some of them, to let go of certain things that wouldn’t have a great impact on their lives.
If you can “declutter” your goal list by dropping what’s not worth it, you can create more energy for yourself to go after the goals that will make you truly happy.
To determine which goals are still important, ask yourself “why do I want to achieve this goal?”. Don’t just go with your first answer. Ask yourself this at least 3 times and try to narrow down the specific emotional reason you want this goal. How will it make you FEEL when you achieve it. (More specifically, how will it make you feel WHILE going after it?)
If your answers are wishy-washy or bland, I say drop it. Also, if you feel stressed or resentful at the thought of it, ditch it. If however, you feel your heart skip a beat and you get excited about how your life could be if you went after it, then keep it on the list.
Some great questions to ask yourself are “What kind of person will I be by going after this goal? Would my friends be excited for me if I went after this? How will my life look if I actually pull this off? Does going for it light me up?”
Journal about it, ask your friends their thoughts…and then… Decide. Is this a “lights me up YES!” goal? Or is it time to drop it like a hot potato?
In a few days you’ll receive part 2 of the “check in” newsletters: Yes, I want it. How do I get it?!
So sit down with these questions today. Remember, “your circumstances are not determined by your resources, they are determined by your choices” – Tony Robbins