3 Lessons to Help You Crush Your Mid-Year Goals

Despite my best efforts, it seems that around mid-August, I begin to feel the strain of the year, the exhaustion from working with kids at home during the summer, and a bit of anxiety about the goals I’ve set for myself and my business. 

Whether you are a mompreneur, mama working a corporate job, female entrepreneur, woman business owner, or anything in between, you have goals. And not just goals; you have hopes and dreams for your life, your career, and (if it’s your path) the business you are trying to grow. Right?!

Do you remember back in December of last year, or if you’re a procrastinator like me, in January 😜, and wrote out your business plan, marketing plan, or some other form of goal-setting and planning for the year (I see you, vision board enthusiasts, out there! 👋)? 

Didn’t it feel incredible to actually plan for your life, work, and advancement? 

Now it’s August. If you’re anything like me, you’ve enjoyed summer (*maybe a little too much 🥂), and if you are a working mom, you’ve been wrestling to a) keep the kids happy while school’s out, b) actually go on a vacation or two, and c) still maintain the impossible-to-achieve high standard of work and advancement you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. Yes, I know. I’m right there with you.

But here’s the deal: I’ve been launching businesses and creative ventures, achieving goals I never knew were possible, and experiencing setbacks, advancements, disappointments, and big wins in business for over ten years. And despite what a hot-mess working mama I feel like some of the time, I am incredibly proud of how far I’ve come, and I’ve learned some valuable lessons about how to put on your big girl pants, re-focus, and slay those goals you have set for yourself each and every day. But most importantly, I’ve learned how to pull myself out of the inevitable slumps that come along with being an ambitious woman and proceed with faith, confidence, and kindness towards myself and my journey as a mompreneur.

Are you ready? Here are the 3 big lessons I’ve learned about how to re-focus mid-year and actually overcome the professional slump you might find yourself in to achieve those big goals before the end of the year.

Lesson One: Your Progress Won’t Look Like Progress if You Micromanage Yourself

Unless you’ve been living off the grid, you probably have seen a million Instagram posts recently about how progress looks different for everyone. It’s true. And I’m sure you already know that. I’m not here to state the obvious. But what’s usually missing from the “inspirational influencer” post is the concept of thinking like a boss, changing your habits, and how you treat yourself concerning your goals. This may not be you, and if you read this post and want to tell me where I’m wrong, please feel free to do so in the comments section. In my experience, most goal-oriented leaders who are out to slay the world and do it their own way (yes, I’m pointing at you! 🫵), most of those women are type-A, perfectionist overachievers. These qualities have served you well in life, am I right? 

Where the perfectionist qualities begin to hinder is with managing yourself. The more you dissect where you are at in life and what you’ve accomplished. The more you criticize yourself for how slow you’re growing or how many missteps you’ve made, the harder it becomes for you to have the faith and confidence to move forward.

Through many mistakes, missteps, false starts, and relationships with various leaders, I’ve learned this valuable lesson (which is why it’s number one). A genuinely incredible leader is successful with their team and business because they know how to pull themselves out of the weeds and look at the bigger picture. They know when to let their team “do it their way” and how to empower instead of criticize. 

In your career, business, and life, you are, in a sense managing yourself. You don’t want to be the kind of manager that makes yourself feel inadequate at every turn and never acknowledges the wins and accomplishments, right? So stop micromanaging your progress! Pull back for a minute, and pat yourself on the back for how far you have come.

Lesson Two: Where You Started Might Not Be Where You’re Headed

A LOT can happen in the first half of a year. You might have launched an effort that completely bombed. You might have had changes in your family or living situation that affected your goals and professional abilities. You might have been offered a new opportunity or experience. 

I can’t tell you how often I’ve had to pivot halfway through the year. And when I was younger and more inexperienced, these times of change or upheaval would make me discouraged. It would make me feel like somehow I had failed or been incapable of really doing the thing I had set out to do. 

Fortunately, time has helped me see that the pivot points in my life are where most of the positive change or magic has occurred. I have mostly stayed on the path I’ve set out to be on in my life, but many things have changed over the years. Things like who I work with, how I deliver my services, passion projects, and sales funnels have evolved. And each evolution has been a little different than I expected.

So if you’re looking back at where you started this year, where you are headed now is WAY different. Instead of being disheartened, or discouraged, take a moment to say, “Hooray! The adventure continues, and I know I will end up where I am supposed to be.”

Lesson Three: Take the Opportunities that Come Your Way

This particular lesson may cause you to pause and say, “What? That seems impulsive or unrealistic.”

I get it. And you know what? My philosophy on life and mode of operation as an entrepreneur and working mother is not for everyone. But I’m not trying to appease everyone. If you are comfortable with your life and seek no change or growth, this post is not for you. But I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you are a seeker, not a sitter.

And to be honest, this is the hardest lesson I’ve had to learn, and I feel I am still learning every day.

Here it is: Opportunity is going to come your way. It could be in the form of a business partner, a new job offer, or a new client that is just a bit out of your comfort zone or capacity. The list goes on.

Now, let me pause here and make a clear distinction between two things: 

There is a difference between opportunities and avoidance, or people pleasing. If the thing you are being offered allows you to avoid something else, it’s not an opportunity; it’s a scapegoat.

If the thing you are considering is for sure going to push you over the edge in terms of mental health, and capacity, it is not an opportunity; it’s self-destruction.

The tricky thing about opportunities is that most good ones force you to give up something else that’s not serving you in your life. That makes taking the leap of faith and doing the hard thing so hard.

But here’s the thing: The best decisions I’ve made in my life and career – hands down – have been based on the times I took an opportunity to leap into something new, evolve more quickly than I had expected, or change course. 

Here’s the other thing: I can tell you that I will always wonder about the opportunities I did not take. I don’t wonder, not even for a second, about the paths I chose based on chance. But I can tell you that I wonder about the untaken paths.

That’s where I’ll leave you. Be strong. Be brave. Do what you WANT to do right now at this pivot point in your life and year. And if you do, I guarantee you will slay your goals by the end of this year.

Interested in telling your story about overcoming pitfalls as a female founder? Let’s chat!