Time to look back and reset for the rest of the year
This is the perfect time to take a step back and look at what you’ve achieved over the last few months by way of positive change, new habits, and health goals. Whether you’ve made progress, found yourself stumbling or gone massively off track, now is the time to pause, reflect, and reassess your journey toward better health.
Why Reflection Matters
Reflecting on the first half of the year isn’t just about checking off goals or feeling good about what you’ve achieved – it’s about gathering information for the future. It’s about recognising what worked well and what didn’t. Then it’s time to look at your continuing journey and what you want to achieve for yourself over the next few months.
Here’s some ideas to help you.
Look back at your goals and achievements
Take a moment to think about the habits or goals you had in mind earlier this year. Have you made progress? If you have please, please, celebrate the wins, no matter how small! Did you start exercising more regularly? Have you improved your eating habits or found time for self-care? Reflect on what’s worked well and what’s felt good.
Tip: Write these wins down. Seeing them in writing makes them real and reinforces how far you’ve come. Doing this supports your self worth, self esteem, it’s super important for maintaining motivation.
What do you need to focus on NOW?
As we age, it’s easy for habits to slip. Perhaps you haven’t achieved what you hoped to achieve, maybe there were areas where you struggled – whether it was being consistent with eating more protein, reducing sugar, or getting moving.
Take an honest look but please, don’t beat yourself up. See this as an opportunity to change and to understand what might have held you back. Is it a lack of time, support, or simply not feeling motivated? Once you know what’s been challenging, it becomes easier to adjust your approach for the second half of the year.
Tip: Use James Clear’s approach from Atomic Habits—focus on creating systems that work for your lifestyle. Start small, make things easy, and celebrate the wins, no matter how small.
Now it’s time to get started
Now that you’ve reflected on your progress, it’s time to refocus and think about what you want to achieve by the end of the year. Do you want to increase your daily movement? Or perhaps focus on meal planning for better nutrition? This is your opportunity to decide on the next habit to choose.
Tip: Keep your goals simple and achievable. It’s important to set yourself up for success. Focus on building habits that will support your overall well-being, like incorporating more vegetables into your diet or taking a 10-minute walk every day.
Create New Systems for Success
If you’ve struggled with maintaining habits, it’s time to create systems that make them easier. Whether it’s setting out your exercise clothes the night before, planning meals ahead of time, or creating a bedtime routine, the more systems you can create, the easier it will be to stick with your goals.
Remember, habits are not about willpower, they are about setting yourself up for success with planning and process. They thrive when they’re made part of your daily routine.
Tip: Start with one new habit and add another once the first one becomes a part of your routine. Make your systems so simple that it’s easy to succeed.
Moving Forward with Confidence
Write yourself some notes, a plan, a list, to put up somewhere prominent, own it, decide what YOU want and DO IT.
I’ll be back with recipes and a motivating missive for September after the Bank Holiday. Have a great Summer.
