Halfway Through the Year: What If You're Doing Better Than You Think?

How is it possible that we're already halfway through 2026?

Seriously. Didn't we just celebrate Christmas? Didn't we just put away the decorations, promise ourselves that this would be the year we would finally get organized, lose the weight, start the business, take the trip, declutter the house, exercise regularly, save more money, or pursue that dream we've been talking about for years?

And yet, here we are. Somehow, six months have passed.

Every year around this time, I find myself pausing and wondering, "What exactly have I done with the first half of this year?" If you're anything like me, your first instinct might be to look at the things you haven't accomplished. The goals you forgot about. The plans you put on hold. The projects that are still unfinished.

But lately, I've been wondering if we're asking ourselves the wrong question.

Maybe the question isn't, "Did I accomplish everything I set out to do?" Maybe the better question is, "Who have I become during these past six months?" Because if I've learned anything as I've gotten older, it's that life rarely unfolds according to our carefully crafted plans.

At the beginning of a new year, we're full of optimism. We create goals and resolutions because they give us a sense of purpose and direction. We imagine ourselves twelve months later—healthier, happier, more successful, more organized, more fulfilled.

What we don't account for is life. Life has a way of introducing us to opportunities we never anticipated and challenges we never wanted. It changes our priorities. It redirects our energy. It teaches us lessons we weren't expecting to learn.

Sometimes the goals we set in January simply don't fit the person we become by July.

If I'm being completely honest, I don't think I've looked at a list of goals all year. In fact, if you asked me what my specific goals were back in January, I'd probably struggle to remember them. But does that mean I've made no progress? Not at all.

This year, I've challenged myself to learn new things. I've spent hours practicing cookie decorating techniques that, at times, made me question my sanity and my eyesight. I've discovered that starting a business at this stage of life is both exciting and terrifying. I've worried about animals on our farm as if they were children. I've learned that pursuing something because it brings you joy is reason enough to pursue it.

I've also learned that some of the things I thought I wanted don't feel nearly as important as they once did. And maybe that's growth. We tend to measure our lives using metrics that are easy to count: How much weight did I lose? How much money did I make? How many projects did I complete? How many items did I check off my list?

But what about the things that can't be measured? What about the difficult conversation you finally had? The boundary you finally set? The hobby you finally tried? The fear you finally faced? The dream you finally admitted you no longer wanted? The courage it took just to keep moving during a difficult season? Those things count too. In fact, I would argue that they count even more.

As we get older, I think many of us begin to realize that success isn't always about achieving more. Sometimes it's about becoming more of who we were meant to be. Maybe success this year looks like choosing peace over perfection or learning to say no. Maybe it looks like discovering a new passion. Maybe it looks like prioritizing your health or asking for help. Maybe it looks like giving yourself permission to change your mind. Or maybe it looks like simply surviving a season that challenged everything you thought you knew.

So instead of asking yourself whether you've accomplished enough this year, perhaps ask yourself some different questions: What have I learned about myself? What has brought me unexpected joy? What have I let go of? What am I proud of that no one else knows? What do I want the second half of this year to feel like?

Notice that I didn't ask what you want to accomplish. I asked how you want to feel. Because somewhere along the way, many of us discover that fulfillment and accomplishment aren't always the same thing.

The beautiful thing about being halfway through the year is that you're not at the end of the story. You're simply at the midpoint. You have six months of experience behind you. You have six months of possibility ahead of you. And perhaps the greatest gift of reaching the halfway point isn't the opportunity to judge ourselves for what we haven't done. It's the opportunity to appreciate who we've become.

So this week, instead of making a list of everything you didn't accomplish, make a list of everything you've learned, endured, discovered, attempted, changed, survived, and celebrated. My guess is that when you do, you'll discover something important: You may be doing far better than you think.

And there is still plenty of time for wonderful, unexpected things to happen.