2024 Mid Year Goal Review

Have you noticed that each year feels to be moving faster than the last.  At the beginning of the year, I often spend time to brainstorm personal and professional goals. Sometimes I journal about why I want to achieve a goal.  This helps me check in and refine my intentions. I find, like most of us, articulating clearly the “why”, keeps me better aligned from the beginning and when I can clarify WHAT I am aiming for AND the WHY, then meeting the goal comes much easier.   This intentional analysis of the WHAT AND WHY of our goals can sometimes happen instantly in our head, like a flash of insight, or this can involve written expression, or even speaking it out loud.  It does not have to be time consuming, but it can be.  In July each year, I pull out the journals in which I wrote those goals and intentions.  This year, I found this exercise was way harder than most.  One of my goals was to start a business with a friend of mine in 2024.  Her and I spent 2023 planning and we made great progress to launch in 2024.  This ended when she passed away in April this year. The grief around the fact that I would never see or talk to her again, much less ever reach the goal we set together, hit me like a ton of bricks once again in my mid year goal review in July.  In fact, pretty much all my goals set in January were not on track.

I really wanted to throw the whole year away. After fighting myself for a bit, I concluded the “what” I wanted to do and the “why” I wanted to do it remained strong. However, we needed to revise the “when” and the “how”. The pace has slowed, but I am not giving up.  If you need a boost to get through the latter half of the year progressing, not regressing.

Here are 4 Tactics that help me to regain focus.

1.     ZOOM OUT TO THE BIG PICTURE -  AKA taking a higher perspective. Can you see and recognized how far you have come? We often lose perspective when we are amidst many challenges.  It also helps to remember each step is a subgoal of a larger mission.  Can you refocus on ways to keep going towards that mission?  What action can you take next in this direction? Now zoom back in and take action.

2.     ASSESS DAILY CHOICES – As my grandmother used to say, “The devil is not in the details, the devil is in the distractions!”.  Anything not serving you or advancing you, especially that which is repetitively occurring in your life, is a distraction.  One accountability exercise that anyone can do is called is: I AM CHOOSING THIS.  Essentially you become acutely aware as you go throughout your day of what you are unconsciously choosing by bringing attention to everything you’re doing.  Try this….as you move throughout your day, express either internally or outloud, I AM CHOOSING THIS, for all your actions. For example, I decide to go to Starbucks. I would say things like this to myself, “I am choosing to drive to starbucks on my lunch hour.  I am choosing to get a baked item.  I am choosing to scroll on my phone while I wait.” As I narrated my days to myself, I quickly became aware of my choices and was able to eliminate a few distractions easier. I realized I was in Control of those choices by stating it over and over to myself.

3.     ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES–  Setting boundaries includes the obvious ones around who has access to you and how you spend your time and energy. However, I also believe that setting boundaries with myself is also important and requires I treat myself in a way that supports my goals. Making sure I have time dedicated to my needs daily and weekly helps me feel strong enough to take on new goals.  In any new initiative setbacks can happen, and being supportive to ourselves is important during these times.

4.     CELEBRATE and REDEDICATE –We are always learning, even when the external goals are not achieved.  Recognizing and celebrating the wisdom gained has helped me shape the next steps.  Establishing new 30/60/90 day tasks based on the new reality will

breath new life into 2024 goals.

Successful leaders are most often focused on growth and expansion. This growth and expansion ensures leaders will always be experiencing new challenges to meet new goals.  When plans change abruptly, as mine did this year, our ability to respond and redirect is dependent on simultaneously maintaining strength, balance and flexibility.  2024 brought me the opportunity to employ the tactics above and then some.  We are rising. Cheers to those leaders focusing on balanced progress in a world of turbulence.