Don’t let time pass you by

How has half the year just flown by? When they say the nights are long but the years are short, that cannot be far from the truth. As we approach the mid way point of 2022, what have you accomplished?

Every 1 January, I like to set new years resolutions. Let’s be honest, I don’t think I have accomplished 100% of them, but at least in having goals, I have something to strive towards.

But now as we reach half way, it is time to take a stocktake of your goals.

Were your goals S-M-A-R-T? Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely? Or did you set goals which were vague ideologies of what would be nice to have.

As with goals and visualisation, the more SMART the goal is, the more likely that you are going to achieve it. For example, if you would like a new car by the end of the year. Compared with:

I would like a Red Mazada CX5 Maxx Sport, I am looking at about $43k AUD. I currently have $10k in savings, and will need to make up the remaining $33k. Then chunk down how much you need to save each week to meet your goal. Without this detail, when you have this mid year check in, you don’t know if you are on track. Whether or not you need to adjust your expectations, change from the top of the range car down a class. Do you need to figure out how to get more money to meet the shortfall?

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Antoine de saint-exupery

Similar to personal goals, mid year check ins are important in ensuring that you are meeting your personal career goals. If you are up for promotion this year, are you on track? Did you highlight to your manager that you wanted to be promoted? I found that quite often, people expected to be promoted based on years of service rather than asking whether or not they were up for promotion. If you aren’t up for promotion and want to be, when will it be your turn?

A good manager will either guide you into the promotion process or find you a role which will meet your career goals. Because at the end of the day, if you aren’t happy with your career prospects, most people would leave. That loss of talent for the company is far worse.

So as we see another half year fly by, have a check in with yourself, with your manager, with your partner. How are you going against your goals? Is there anything that you need to adjust? Because only you are in charge of your own life and career. The mid year check in serves as a good reminder to take accountability of your goals. There is still time to take action to meet your goals. You just have to get started.

But if you haven’t set any goals and don’t know where to start, let’s see where we can begin.