Let’s get right to it: it’s the end of June, we are halfway through 2023, how are you feeling? Energized? Reluctant? Hopeful? Overwhelmed? All the emotions on the wheel of emotions (link)? 

Before I get into the tea of how this small business owner is feeling, let’s think through why checking in is even that important and how it helps us understand our story. I know, wild.

Why “Check In”

Do you remember in school how you would take a pre-test at the beginning of a class year? Maybe that was just my school… but I remember taking these pre-tests before the start of an academic year or at the start of a new subject. It wasn’t to make students feel dumb (although that might have happened), but was designed to help us see where we were at the start. It helped teachers know what in the upcoming year to focus on in the classroom. 

Then the teacher would intermittently pass out tests to check on our learning. Again, not meant to create overwhelm, but rather to make sure the teacher was actually teaching what they set out to teach and that the students were actually learning.

We may not be taking tests on life and how well we are living life (though it might feel like it at times), but checking in with ourselves helps us know how we are doing. It forces us to pause and take inventory of our well-being in a holistic sense. How am I emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually? Is there anything in my daily/weekly/monthly rhythms I can adjust to help me in any of those areas? 

If we don’t check in, how can we know what or how to help ourselves moving into the next month?

Part II to “Why”

Another way to think of this is, how often do you get to the end of a week and think to yourself “What even happened this week?” Or how often do you hear “wow, this year has really flown by.” 

I know I personally say that a lot. And while I think it’s totally valid to think that and have weeks where we don’t know what’s going on, having it be the norm might not be how we want to default living. 

I don’t know about you, but I would like to have a good pulse on what’s going on in my life. Not just what is happening around me and the doing of life in and around me, but what is going on inside of me, how I’m internally doing, my being. 

Checking in with ourselves is an opportunity to prioritize the being of you and me and not just focus on the doing. 

Checking In + Our Story

The practice of checking in is an opportunity to see our story as it’s being written. Every day our story is being written, the story of our year and our story as a whole. We tend to focus on the big flashy moments of our stories, the ones that were full of such joy our faces hurt. The ones where we want to wash over with black paint and pretend didn’t exist because of the pain we experienced.

Yet, our stories are made up of many more points than just the big ones. There are every day moments that build up to the big ones. There are weekly moments which hold just as much influence to the joy and heartache you experience in life. These every day moments deserve just as much recognition for the roles they play in the story of your year.

Checking in on a regular basis gives these smaller moments an opportunity to shine, to see their value for what they are, and the influence they are building into the foundation of your story. 

So, let’s check in.

So friend, I’ll ask again, how are you doing? Will you rise to the challenge to spend 5 minutes (or more) sitting in stillness with your being and asking yourself… 

How are you doing at the end of June 2023? What about how were you doing in January 2023? Is how you’re feeling now different or similar?

This question and check-in page is found at the end of June’s weekly spreads – if you own a Kindred Planner.

I challenge you to check-in with yourself and to prioritize spending time with your story.

With joy & gratitude,

Val

PS: If I were to write what I”m feeing, it would be some combination of overwhelmed, excited, and rested. 

• Overwhelmed – because the fall is quickly approaching and with it the holidays.
• Excited – because the things on that list are exciting, even if also a lot. Also, the opportunity to see family and friends is exciting. 
• Rested – because there is more room to breathe and move slower throughout the week with less demand from work. It’s a gift I don’t take for granted.

If I were to flip back to January 2023, I’ll see that I was feeling refreshed, inspired and burnt out. Burnt out from some of the things that now I’m looking forward to with excitement this June.

How cool is it that what was once burnout has arched and smoothed its way into excitement? See how checking in helps you see a greater picture of the story of your year? 

I wonder how this same arc will land come December. Best guesses?