Can you believe we are mid-way through 2020 already…where has this year gone! Reflecting back on your progress is a great way to look at how far you’ve come and to take stock of where you are currently. As the saying goes “you can’t move forward until you’ve looked back”. I try and spend time at points of the year looking back as it makes you step back and look at the bigger picture, which we don’t often do as we get so caught up in the day to day. See my 2019 reflection post here.
I feel Corona virus has placed a pause on many of our goals and plans for the year and we are only just seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as lockdown restrictions are starting to release. The impact of Corona virus have stretched far and wide and all of us have been affected by it to some degree (my heart goes out to those that have lost loved ones), which will have impacted our goals and what we wanted to achieve this year. However, we can’t let that get us down (we still have the remaining 50% left of the year – 26 weeks, 182 days, 4368 hours….you get the gist :) ).
My word of the year is ‘thrive’ and boy have I had to work hard at that this year; however I’ve also had to lean in to the uncertainty of everything that is happening in the world – as well as in my circumstances with leaving my corporate job and bringing up a baby. So I guess ‘thrive’ has been an accurate word!
Those in the corporate world will be doing mid-year goal check ins as part of their job, but I’d also recommend you check in on your professional goals in general as well as your personal goals. For business owners I imagine your goals are a hybrid of the two!
Mid-year is a great time to check in with your goals and aspirations for the year at a high level although I’d recommend doing a more detailed review on a monthly if not quarterly basis.
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you reflect back on the year so far:
· What have you achieved? (*pats on back*)
Listing out all of your achievements, big or small, is a great exercise to demonstrate the progress you’ve made this year. None of us have been sitting on our bums this year doing nothing. Even if you are far away from your goals and where you want to be, listing out your achievements will show you how much closer you are to your goals then you think you are!
· How can I adapt my goals for the remainder of the year but still get close to where I want to be?
Corona virus has put a spanner in the works of many of our goals (mine included) – so how can you look at adapting your goals slightly based on the circumstance, but still continue on the right journey and not get side tracked? A client of mine had multiple public face to face speaking events planned for this year and her aim was to continue to improve and adapt her public speaking in front of big audiences. Corona Virus meant all of those face to face public speaking gigs were cancelled, however she didn’t pivot away from that goal – she looked at what she could do differently. She still wanted to improve her public speaking so set about doing this via Instagram (on her stories and IGTV) as well as being part of a virtual panel. Being agile and nimble in business (as well as in life) is key to being successful in adverse circumstances and means that you are much more likely to succeed and smash your goals!
· What one thing can I do differently to get me closer to my goals?
Reflecting back on what didn’t go quite so well this year, have a think about what you could do differently. Did you struggle to keep a strong mindset and were plagued by self-doubt? Or did you lose sight of where you were going so ended up stalling?
Whatever didn’t go so well, ultimately, will teach us lessons and make us grow. The key is to understand what the root cause of the issue was and how you can act or do differently next time as opposed to beat yourself up about it. Failing is one of the greatest ways we grow after all!
· What has lockdown taught me that I want to keep in my life?
Being in full lockdown for 3 months in the UK was a tough ride and something none of us were able to predict. However many of us have found parts of it that they have loved. Perhaps you are an introvert and not having to be social has meant you are so much more energised? Maybe you have not had to do your 2 hour round trip commute and instead got to spend the time with your family? Maybe you have joined the masses to become an expert sourdough maker or growing your own veg?
Whatever light you have been able to gleam from the gloom, think about how you can keep that in your life. It might not be things you have done but perhaps a change in mindset. Have you had more time to reflect on your life? Have you been less stressed? Have you slept better because of it? Think about ways you can keep that feeling or task in your life and start scheduling that time in!
· Where are you stuck?
All of us have obstacles blocking our path – whether they are internal (HELLO, limiting belief) or external. Identifying where you are stuck and what is causing you to get stuck will be important to ensure you have a smooth journey towards your goals!
So those are some questions and prompts to mull over! What I will say is make sure you are being kind to yourself in this process – sometimes putting one step forward in a global pandemic is more than enough. These questions are not meant to berate you for in-action, but to motivate and spur you forward to learn from the year and look at how to do things differently for the latter half of the year. I hope you find this post useful, I’m so interested about how your review has gone so please email me and follow me on Instagram or LinkedIn for more snippets of wisdom and a dose of motivation!
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