June. The last month of the first half of the year. Typically, at this time, most of us are settled into our routine, maybe starting to feel the effects of a mundane schedule; the lucky ones are anticipating a mid-year break, while others sit back and watch everyone take their trips to Europe or some other sunny, tropical destination. I’m not one for setting New Year’s resolutions, I like to look forward to things, and I have an idea of what I want my life to look like, but specific goals and milestones are outside my domain. Instead, what I value is reflection.
Too often, like many others, I find myself on a treadmill where I continue my life, one step after the next, with no clear destination in sight. It becomes easy to follow the motions, allowing routines to propel you one foot after the other, from one day into the next. Eventually, you find so much time has passed and realise you’re in the same place you were when you started, but burnt out and exhausted.
The older I get, the more I actively try to avoid the arrival of such a feeling, the feeling that you have allowed yourself to be carried through your life rather than actively participating in it, pushing forward and getting nowhere. This is why I value points in time to reflect. I actively seek milestones, like road markers, to remind me where I’m going, allowing me to change direction if that’s no longer where I want to go.
The June/July halfway point is very different from New Year’s when it comes to personal reflection and goal setting. The New Year is a clean slate, often overly ambitious and idealistic. The mid-way point is a reality check, a performance review of the past six months and a checkpoint that stacks your goals and accomplishments. For some, especially the dreamers, it’s a rude wake-up call. How are they so far away from the January idea of this future self? Others might feel energised when reflecting on their first six months; they might have made progress and can use this mid-way point as a motivator to stay on track. Some will remain as they are and forget to look back or ahead. They’ll continue as they have been.
If you’re like me and value these opportunities to take time to reflect, I highly encourage you to do so. You might not be someone who sets resolutions – even better! You don’t need to have this dream destination in mind for yourself, where every day is a scorecard on whether you have gotten closer to or further out of reach of this goal. Instead of having constant check-ins with this future, ideal self, I place greater significance on truly understanding how you feel in your current self. Seek opportunities that inspire personal reflection. Are your daily activities aligning with the person you wish to be? Do you feel connected and energised by the people in your life? Are you happy with how you treat yourself and interact with the world and those around you? If you feel uncomfortable reflecting and answering questions like these, there is no more unambiguous indication that something may need to change.
When you take time to reflect, either by meditating, journaling, or even speaking your feelings aloud, you can separate what is bringing you contentment and meaning from what is not. When these factors become apparent, you see what to hold on to, create more of, and what to change or let go of. If this frightens you or makes you uncomfortable, that’s good. We often mistake being stuck for being comfortable.
So, if you have arrived at this mid-way point and you find yourself weighing up your accomplishments, or despairing at where you have found yourself, don’t jump into new goals or map out a strategy for the next six months. Instead, take a new approach. Promise your current self that you will connect and act with intention. Listen to what you can do for yourself each day, make the change you have been scared to, and pull yourself off the treadmill. Make your resolution to reflect constantly, not on what or where you want to be, but on where you are now. Whether it’s the start of a New Year or halfway through one, it doesn’t matter. Start measuring your life by the day. Make a resolution to yourself to see each day as the perfect time to live out your ideal life.
