Away from all the noise of EOFY sales, there's something very significant about the middle of the year. Maybe more so than January.
In January, it's easy to set goals because the year is new and there are 365 days of possibility stretching out before us. We write down the habits we hope to build and the dreams we're convinced will be happening by now.
Some of them have.
Some of them haven't.
And some have changed shape so completely that we barely recognise them anymore.
There is often a renewed sense of hope and urgency to wipe away the year that has been. And then the year happens. Which is why I think the half way mark of the year becomes more valuable and powerful than the start. It's a point where we can quietly take stock, and catch the things we've been telling ourselves for six months.
Maybe, like me, along the way you've begun telling yourself that you're behind, or maybe it's more like you've missed your chance because so far, this year hasn't turned out the way you'd hoped.
But what if the middle of the year isn't proof we've failed?
What if it's simply an invitation to begin again?
What Do You Do When Things Don't Go To Plan?
Let me give you an example.
For the first time ever, I ran an End of Financial Year sale for Morro & Co. I'd spent weeks planning it, writing emails, preparing the website and hoping it would be something special. Then I realised I'd made a mistake.
The discount code had been set up incorrectly, which meant many people couldn't use it.
It was completely my fault. I remember wondering why there were no sales and convincing myself I'd completely failed. I was so disappointed and embarrassed, and incredibly frustrated with myself. I honestly started questioning everything about myself as a business owner.
It's funny how quickly our minds can turn one mistake into a story about who we are.
Mine started whispering things like, Maybe you're not very good at this, or you're not as capable as you thought.
It's amazing how loud that inner voice can become if we let it. Once I'd worked out what had happened, I realised I had two choices.
I could bury myself under the shame and pretend I didn't make a mistake
ORÂ
I could own it, learn from it and keep going.
One Mistake Doesn't Define You
Maybe you didn't accidentally launch a sale with the wrong discount code this week, but chances are something didn't go the way you hoped.
Maybe you made a mistake at work.
Maybe a relationship didn't unfold the way you'd imagined.
Maybe you've let a habit slip.
Maybe you've been carrying disappointment that no one else even knows about.
Whatever it is, I hope you remember that making a mistake says something about a moment. It doesn't say everything about you. One difficult day doesn't erase months of progress. One setback doesn't cancel your purpose.
One wrong turn doesn't mean you've lost your way.
Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is simply refuse to let one moment become our identity.
Maybe The Year Isn't Behind You
I keep coming back to this thought - the year isn't over.
Not even close. July to December is another six whole months. Six months to learn, to grow, to repair what needs repairing, and to become the person January was hoping we'd become.. Yet somehow we reach the middle of the year and quietly convince ourselves it's already too late.
It's such a strange thing, really. We would never tell someone else to give up halfway through a book because they didn't like the first few chapters. We wouldn't stop watching a movie after the first act because the characters hadn't figured everything out.
Yet we do it to ourselves all the time. We allow one mistake to convince us we've failed.
Three Questions Worth Asking
Instead of asking yourself whether this year has been successful, maybe ask yourself something different.
- What do I need to let go of?
- What has this year taught me that January never could?
- What would happen if I stopped calling this year a disappointment and started seeing it as unfinished?
Not by pretending the last six months didn't happen, but by allowing them to teach us something instead of define us. Sometimes the answers to those questions are where real growth begins.
Tomorrow Is Still A New Page
One of the reasons I named my business Morro & Co is because the word Morro means new day.
Not because every day feels easy or because life always goes to plan, but because every sunrise quietly reminds us that hope hasn't run out. There is still another opportunity to begin again. So whatever this week has looked like for you, whether you've celebrated beautiful wins or sat with quiet disappointment, tomorrow is still a new page.
Maybe you don't need a new year to become the person you want to be.
Maybe you just need a new day.
And I think that's a pretty beautiful place to begin.