May Busch* shares ways to set yourself up for a great second half of the year, no matter how well (or badly) the first half of 2019 has gone.
I love the month of June.
In England, where I am based at the moment, it means strawberries in season, Wimbledon tennis, and it stays light until almost 10pm.
June also marks the middle of the year, which can be an unsettling time — especially when you’re an achiever.
For some, the rest of the year can’t come quickly enough so we can see the fruits of our efforts.
For others, mid-year can feel like the middle of a long slog without an end in sight.
As an achiever, you’re geared toward accomplishing goals and achieving success, and there are still six months left to accomplish what you set out to do in January.
Whatever has (or hasn’t) happened so far, you can still finish the year strong.
Here’s how.
Celebrate your wins:
Start by taking a moment to reflect on and celebrate your wins so far.
It’s natural to think of all your shortcomings, like the things you’ve procrastinated on or otherwise haven’t yet done, and the things you have done that haven’t gone as well as you’d like.
That doesn’t serve you well.
Accomplishing great things is done by breaking them into smaller chunks and congratulating yourself and your team on the mini-wins along the way.
This helps you set yourself up to have a winning mindset — by constantly having wins to celebrate.
Appreciate the people in your life:
Think about all the people who have helped you along the way.
These are people who have stood by you, given you support or advice, and advocated for you.
Be generous in acknowledging the people around you for their contributions.
Let them know you appreciate them and share why you do.
When you’re good to people, it’ll come around.
Identify your second-half wins:
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, think about ways to approach it with positivity.
A great way to do that is to identify the three wins you want to have in the second half of the year.
When you’re identifying these wins, fast-forward to December and tap into what would make you feel great if you had done those things.
While I’ve suggested choosing three, the number is up to you.
The key is to choose the ones that will be meaningful to you without having so many that it becomes unattainable.
Create the conditions for your success:
Having identified your future wins, it’s then about creating the conditions for your success.
This means doing the planning and preparation now to make it easy for you to execute later.
Maybe it’s simply cleaning up your workspace, your desk or office.
Or reconnecting with people you haven’t contacted in a while, but who could be instrumental in your next steps and vice versa.
Do whatever it takes to set yourself up for your future wins.
Show up as your best self:
The final piece of having a great second half is about that extraordinary person who is about to have an awesome second half of the year — you.
Think about how you want to show up in the world.
Get in touch with what it would it take to be your best self more of the time.
Then make two lists.
The first list is what you want to do or say more of.
Maybe it’s celebrating small wins and appreciating the people around you.
Perhaps it’s encouraging your fellow team members by saying “yes, and…” instead of “no, but…”.
It could also be creating a habit of drinking more water every day or speaking up in meetings.
The second list is what you want to do or say less of.
Maybe it’s finally getting rid of those “ums” and “likes” that are making you sound less professional than you really are.
Or judging and blaming yourself as well as others, which makes for an unpleasant experience for everyone involved.
These are your lists and you get to choose what goes on them and how many items there are.
One of my favourite quotes is: “Everything looks like a failure in the middle”, from Harvard Business School Professor, Rosabeth Moss Kanter.
Kanter’s Law, as she calls it, is essential to keep in mind if you’re taking on new challenges and working on projects that take a while to come to fruition.
That’s because there will be long stretches of time when you’re like the chef still assembling ingredients and the kitchen looks like a mess.
The middle of the year can feel that way too, with some projects still in the formative stages while others are like soufflés in the oven still waiting to rise.
If you’re an achiever who likes to create, build and grow initiatives (or people) you’re going to face these challenges too.
When you do, you can turn to these five steps.
No matter how the first half of your year has gone, you owe it to yourself to set yourself up for success and finish the year strong.
* May Busch helps leaders and their organisations achieve their full potential. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared on May’s blogsite.
