The Mid-Year Check-In: A Time to Pause and Reflect
I love to dream and to create goals to reach my dreams.
When I worked at Point Loma Nazarene University Career Services our team held weekly Monday morning meetings. We each shared about our weekend activities and also about what we were most excited about the week ahead.
I am all about the dream, the goal, and the what’s next? What is that dream that you are clinging to? How long has it been a dream? If you have not set the stage for the dream to be realized, it will always be – just a dream.
Imagine how this year, this time, this very moment would be different if you realized your dream? What would that mean to you? How will that dream becoming a reality make you feel? How will it change your life? How will it impact not only this moment, but the rest of your life? Dreams have the power to change our lives. We have the power and the responsibility to turn our dream into a vision that changes the trajectory of our life.
I do miss those Monday morning meetings in Career Services. Retelling my weekend stories with my coworkers made me feel close to them, like family, and being asked what I was most excited about the week ahead gave me an opportunity to pause and reflect on the adventures that lay ahead.
I love the line in the Spiderman movie when the Uncle Ben tells his nephew, Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility."
What can that mean for you?
A mid-year check-in is a great opportunity to pause and reflect on the year, the goals set and accomplished, opportunities for learning and growing, and the adventures that still await, both personally and professionally.
What about you?
What does life look like as you reflect on 2023?
What are you most excited about in the coming months?
Whether you are all about the New Year resolutions, a goal setter, a dreamer, or a moment-by-moment kind of person, what has gone well for you this year? Have there been accomplishments and milestones along the way? What have you learned these past six months? What are the takeaways and how can you continue to grow in the direction of your dreams and goals?
Growing means taking action on what we've learned. What have you learned this year and how are you taking action on that knowledge?
Take time to acknowledge and even write down what you have accomplished in 2023 and the goals that you still want to achieve that can help you grow.
Has there been anything that surprised you this year? Something unexpected? Something positive that has furthered your growth and helped you to thrive?
What are you most proud of? How has your growth helped you both personally and professionally?
Unexpected events can become doors that open opportunities to help us grow in ways we would not have otherwise grown. They can be obstacles that push us out of our comfort zone, they make us stronger, and we learn to be resilient. These events can empower us to take risks that we would not have otherwise taken. Unexpected events are not usually welcomed, but they can become a blessing in disguise.
One difficult experience I had at an early age was when my dad left (my parent’s divorce). It was a difficult journey for a long time. I learned life lessons that I could not have learned any other way. I definitely had to learn to take risks and push myself. I could not sit on the sidelines. I had to learn to thrive, and not just survive. I had to learn to accelerate in new directions that would bring me happiness, create a better life, and soar above my circumstances. These lessons were invaluable. Sometimes I felt as though my life was falling apart and I would not survive at all. In the end, I believe I became a better wife, mom, and person in-spite of those circumstances. Those challenges gave me the power to take responsibility over my life. When I thought I couldn’t, God said, “I am with you.”
As you think about the year ahead, what gives your life meaning and purpose? Who are the people in your corner? The people that are rooting for your best? Those are the people you need to surround yourself with; your life cheerleaders who cheer you on even when life becomes challenging!
Moving forward, what will be the most helpful for you? Don’t let your dreams become a distant past. A part of that, “What could have been” part of your life. You alone have the power to bring that dream into existence and believe it will come true. You have the responsibility to believe in yourself. God has already given you the strength to do it. You need to burn the flame that propels you to higher possibilities; greater potential. The promise of a better tomorrow is within your reach.
What are your strengths; your super powers?
What is the responsibility you will take to turn your dreams into reality today?
If you are not moving toward your dreams, where are you going?
What will you do better in 2023?
How are you becoming the person God created you to be?
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8
The sky is the limit. You just have to believe in yourself. God already does.
