My favorite place to go in my small town (rural north east Missouri) is the Mississippi River front. There’s a huge parking lot, a boat ramp, and an area with shade trees and picnic tables. (Also easy parking there.) There’s even two gazebos, perfect for chatting, storytelling, socializing, etc.
We enjoy stopping by there to see the moon rise over the water, and watching birds and barge traffic.
It’s easy to see the river as a support system for nature, i.e. plants and animals. Especially trees. The driftwood is amazing!
It’s also easy to see the transportation route the river creates. There’s train tracks running along, and across, it. The barge traffic also showcases the trade route.
I love imagining the original people of the area using canoes or handmade rafts to visit and trade with family, friends, and community members.
The Mississippi River front park is my favorite place to go in my small town.
Can you believe we’re already halfway through the year?
This is the perfect moment to pause and take a breath. Whether the first half of the year flew by or dragged its feet, a mid-year check-in gives us the opportunity to look back with honesty and look forward with purpose. Think of it as a gentle reset—a moment to stop, reflect, and realign with what matters most.
Here’s how to do a simple mid-year check-in, no complicated systems or planners required.
1. Reflect Without Judgment
Before we dive into making changes, we start by looking back. Grab a notebook, journal, or even the notes app on your phone, and ask yourself:
What goals did I set in January?
Which ones have I made progress on?
What surprised me—good or bad?
What habits or routines felt nourishing?
Where did I struggle, and why?
You don’t need to have achieved everything (or anything) to benefit from reflection. The point here is awareness. Maybe you pivoted your goals completely—or maybe life threw you a curveball. That’s okay. Growth often looks more like a winding road than a straight line.
2. Celebrate Your Wins—Big and Small
We often rush past our progress without taking time to appreciate it. So let’s pause and celebrate.
Did you start walking more regularly? Did you reconnect with a friend? Did you make it through a tough season? These moments matter. Write them down. Acknowledge what you’ve done well, even if you didn’t reach every goal.
Celebrating the small steps builds momentum for the bigger ones ahead.
3. Check in With Your Energy
How are you really feeling? Burnt out? Motivated? Distracted? Energized?
A mid-year check-in is about more than goals—it’s about your overall well-being. Ask yourself:
Am I getting enough rest?
Do my days feel rushed or peaceful?
What drains me? What fuels me?
Do I feel connected—to people, to purpose, to myself?
When you know where your energy is going, it’s easier to protect your time and make choices that serve your whole self.
4. Realign With What Matters Most
Over time, goals shift. What felt important in January might not make sense now—and that’s perfectly normal.
Use this moment to ask:
What still feels important?
What do I need to let go of?
What matters to me now?
Maybe you’re craving more calm and less hustle. Or maybe you want to take more risks and try something new. This is your reset button. Adjust your goals to match your current season—not the one you thought you’d be in six months ago.
5. Reset Your Routine
You don’t need to overhaul your whole life. But sometimes, a few small tweaks can make a big difference.
Here are a few gentle ideas for a fresh start:
Add a 10-minute morning routine to start your day with intention.
Set a phone-free hour before bed to improve your sleep.
Choose one day each week to meal prep, plan, or rest.
Revisit your calendar and block time for things that matter to you.
Small changes, repeated often, create big results over time.
6. Create a Short List of Next Steps
Let’s keep it simple. Choose three things you want to focus on between now and the end of the year. These should be meaningful, manageable, and motivating.
Here’s a helpful framework:
One personal goal (like walking daily or reading more)
One relational goal (like spending time with family or reconnecting with a friend)
One professional goal (like updating your resume or learning a new skill)
Write them somewhere visible. These are your compass points for the rest of the year.
7. Offer Yourself Grace
This is your gentle reminder: You’re allowed to change. You’re allowed to grow at your own pace. You’re allowed to rest.
A mid-year check-in isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about showing up with honesty, compassion, and clarity. You’re not behind. You’re exactly where you need to be to take the next right step.
Keep It Simple, Keep It Real
The second half of the year holds so much potential—not because you have to do more, but because you can choose more intentionally. More of what feels right. More of what brings peace. More of what helps you feel like yourself again.
So take a breath, check in, and choose what comes next—with care and courage.
You’ve got this.
📥 Want a printable Mid-Year Check-In Journal Page? Download it here and give yourself space to reflect and refocus for the months ahead.
I titled this, honestly, I don’t remember, because honestly, I don’t remember.
Compliments are not something that I hang my hat on. Mostly because I have a feeling that they are insincere.
The feeling is changing though.
As I partake more and more of the “cooperation before competition” mindset, we (by we, I mean the selfhelp mindset shift collective) are giving more compliments sincerely, as opposed to a conversation starter that they used to feel like.
It’s nice. It feels better. Maybe that’s because I feel better. I feel better moving farther away from competition and towards cooperation.
What are your thoughts about cooperation before competition?
It’s about a widow (me) determined to get through the grief process with her mental health intact.
I haven’t written a book before and am finding it quite difficult. I see why it’s called a craft. It’s takes a lot of trial and error to “craft” a good sentence, paragraph, or chapter.
I finally created an outline that feels right. One of the chapters is about selling our house.
It’s the first chapter I have really started digging in to and DAMN it’s hard!!
I knew it was going to be therapeutic for me to write it. But trying to keep a reader in mind or to keep the story flowing takes a lot more work than what you see in a book.
I’m going into some rather deep rabbit holes. For one, because the hole opens and I dive right in. I do that because writing this memoir is as much for me as it is for the readers.
So anyway, the advice I have heard says 30,000 to 40,000 words is a good size. With ten chapters, that’s 4,000 words each. I have ten chapters in my outline. I’m going for 4,000 words each.
I hand wrote most of this chapter first.
Then I typed the notes in to a computer file. The word count was just over 2,000 and I have only written about packing up the house. So, yay!!!!
Now I’m beginning to write about the real estate agent and the whole process I went through. I plunged head first into a rabbit hole about judgement, self confidence, and creativity. One just lead seamlessly into the next.
I can see why writing a memoir is therapeutic!! I’m diving deep. Or am I procrastinating? Ohhhhh, another rabbit hole I can distract myself with.
Ok now. I’m going back to the chapter. Thank you for reading this.
Suzanne Horrocks 