ReAlign: When You Are Not where You Expected to be Mid Year

It's June. If you find yourself saying 'I can't beieve how fast the year has gone' or 'I'm not where I expected to be mid year' just know you are not alone. If you have veered off track from your goals or if you didn't have a track to begin with, thats OK - you are a human. Be kind to yourself. I can remember distinctly a number of years ago when I didn't set goals for two years in a row and I woke up one day, surprised at how my life no longer looked like something I really loved anymore. In fact, I don't think I even liked my life and I certainly wasn't happy or joyful then. I sat in front of my mirror and gave myself an out loud pep talk and from that day on I started to be intentional about goal setting every year AND about reviewing and checking in with my goals within the year.

In the day to day of life, it is so easy to lose focus and get swept up in other peoples ideas, what society thinks of us and the demands of family and work life. Without realising it we so often sway from the dreams that we hold dear to our hearts and we compromise and adjust unconciously. (Don't hear what I am not saying - there is nothing wrong with compromise and adjustment, when it is done consciously). Then, mid year arrives and we are not where we expected to be. So, now what do we do?

June presents the perfect time to start o assess where I am for the year, especially to take some time to reflect on how I started the year out and what I thought I wanted versus where I find myself now.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we just arrive in June having landed here with no purpose or intention (although if that is where you are because you are in that season of life - that is so ok too). But life happens, God has other plans that are better than we could have planned for and as the year unfolds often our goals and dreams evolve, grow and expand beyond what we had originally thought of. This is a good thing - it means we are humans who are living and growing. It also begs the question, why wait for January to reset and incorporate new dreams into our plans.

Maybe you are on the other side of the coin, thinking you had goals for this year but now it is midway and you find yourself having not made any progress or less progress than you wanted. Maybe the year started and you didn't set any goals - for any reason, thats ok - but now you find yourself feeling stuck and wanting to refocus on you and what you would like to achieve. Even if it is a simple goal like incorporating some exercise or getting back to a morning journalling practice, you find yourself now in limbo waiting for the year to pass so you can finally get back to what it is you are wanting to do.

Either way, there is nothing special about January and there is nothing stopping you from revisiting your dreams now. Using the pause that we often find midyear - maybe you are taking a break, maybe you have a long weekend or a cozy weekend morning at home that gives you the space to do so - we can stop & evaluate where are we.

Its so critical to pause and reflect, no matter when or what the timing is. These pauses allow us to:

• Integrate any learnings from the year so far into our thinking

• Make our progress our own, evaluate our movements and changes and assess how we are progressing

• Check in with how we are feeling- has our plan worked and created not just the tangible outcomes but also the feelings we were looking for?

By doing this we can ensure that we not only move forward into the second half of the year with purpose but we can also make sure that we are still taking aligned actions that allow us to end up at the end of the year, looking back with pride.

Often, starting is the hardest part, so pause wherever you are, grab a pen and paper or your Notes app and answer these questions:

• How does where I am compare to where we wanted to be?

• What would I like to say when we look back on the second half of the year?

• What one thing could I change that would make a radical difference over the next six months?

Start now with reflecting on this and see how even one small step can start to create the momentum you are looking for in life.

Dawn xx

PS. If you still feel stuck or like you need more support I have an exciting workshop coming in the next few weeks which will propel you forward.