I had a completely different post written for June’s 2022 reflection question, but as I was writing, it felt like it needed more time then I was going to be able to give. So I pivoted.

The other post will be shared, but in the meantime, let’s chat about how we’re feeling being halfway through 2022 (cue Taylor Swift’s 22 song):

Halfway through 2022! Go back to Jan 2022 and read through what you were feeling at the start. How are you feeling now? Same? Different? 

Me

When I look back at the beginning of 2022, I’m caught up with how eager and, per usual, wildly ambitious I was. I had personal goals for reading and writing (I kinda keep up with another blog). I had desires for how much outdoor family time we would get. I had aspirations for what friendships and travel might be. I had a laundry list of house projects I was anxious to work on. Again, wildly ambitious is the key phrase here. 

It is now the end of June 2022, basically July and as I look back to January me and present day me there are two thoughts:

“I am nowhere I want to be.” and  “I have made more progress than I thought.” 

Most of us tend to be “either or” kinda people, when life is a lot more “both and.” I can be both a tea person and a coffee person. I can both love being a mom and be sad to lose some of the ease of life I had before my daughter was born. 

Same with our goals, dreams and expectations. I can be nowhere I want to be and also still see that there has been progress and celebrate that. And still find ways to move forward from both stances, using each perspective to help the other out and without having it be a dichotomy. Let me show you.

“I am nowhere I want to be.” 

A lot of my January list was more creative in nature and while my social media break was geared to helping me have space to work on those, I found myself in a more creative wilderness than a creative oasis. And it was frustrating. 

I did all I could to try and muster up more creative energy. I visited favorite coffee shops, sitting in the right spot, ordering the right combination of drink and food. I tried working different hours of the day to see if it was the time of day that needed adjusting. I’ve even gone down the rabbit hole of social media to reinspire (or rather recompare myself) to externally motivate myself into inspiration (this was the worst idea of them all). 

Nada.

But the last couple weeks, leading into June, have been better. I have felt more inspiration and the answer has been in finding a new creative outlet to move unmoved muscles and give my worn down muscles a chance to be renewed. Creative outlets that have looked like: redoing our bedroom, renovating our laundry room, etc. 

Challenge: 

So if you’re feeling in a bit of a rut as you look at your January goals, or you’re saying “I’m nowhere I want to be,” take a break from how you’ve been pursuing your goals and instead, try accomplishing them in a different way.

For example, if losing weight is your goal try a different cookbook from which you make meals or a new style of working out. If your goals for the year were about being a better you, take a moment to redefine what that means, trying to not use the language you had previously used.

“I have made more progress than I thought.”

Along with the “either or” mentality we hold onto, we can tend to be people who live in the big and extraordinary, we tend to lose sight of the gradual and the small. I bet you have made more progress than maybe you thought you have in those January goals. 

Why? Because I did the same thing. As I was reflecting on this question I thought, “Oh, I’m so far from what I set out to do. I just know it. But I guess I’ll double check what I wrote down in January.”

Guess what? I have made more progress than I thought. While I’m not entirely where I want to be in most areas, I can’t say I’m still on square one in January. My book list of January might have no checkmarks by it, but I have read a lot of other books I didn’t even know existed in January.

Note: This one is tricky because sometimes our goals or dreams for the year are more about an internal work than an external one which can be hard to evaluate quantitatively. But you still can, if you’re willing to take time to honestly reflect on your year, the January you and the present you.

Challenge:

Take some time to actually flip back to January and what you wrote down and evaluate where you’re at, June 2022. I bet you’ve made forward motion, even if it’s only one baby step. Baby steps are big in my house and I hope they’ll be in yours too. 

The best part of being able to see the progress and baby steps, is that will 1) remind you of what January you wanted for your year, but 2) motivate you to keep going forward. 

So friend,

Where are you feeling stuck? What small change can you invite into your life that will breathe renewed energy for the remainder of 2022? Or at least for the rest of summer? 

Or where are you celebrating the baby steps and wins of the year thus far, June 2022? How can you use them to motivate you to keep pushing forward?

PS: If you’re looking for a better way to track your goals, without losing sight of the person behind them (aka you), then our Kindred Planner is for you. Your best friend for helping you get life done and reflecting on who you are and becoming too.

We’re launching our 2023 Kindred Planner come fall, or take a peek at our current planners now, undated included.

PPS: We’re running a giveaway for a free 2023 Kindred Planner when it launches! Just fill out this form to be entered 🙂