Hello July; time for mid-year check-in!

#midyear #secondhalf #2025 #glasshalffilled #glasshalfempty #perceptions #whatsnext

School holidays had officially ended, and it is the early days of adjustment to school routines for parents, students, and educators. Yes, the early morning drop-offs, and peak hour traffic within school zones have returned. For the rest of Singapore, the above may or may not affect your commute to work or school, depending on how you plan your route for commute.

I believe many may still be getting back into the groove of things and perhaps dealing with some residue post-holiday blues from the June's travels and/or activities.  Well, haven't we heard of this familiar comment about needing a holiday after a holiday ? Perhaps, we can consider taking the chance, in between backlog of work piled up in our absence, to create moments to reflect, review and recalibrate the journey ahead. Perhaps, we can factor in time to walk to nearby destination.. to slow down and enjoy the present moment... it may be through these moments that we are able to access some of the most creative ideas.

Now, we are officially on to our second half of 2025. Depending on how you perceive this fact, it can either be: "I still have 6 months of 2025 to fulfil what I want to for the year!" or "I only have less than 6 months to do this and that". For the former, I can imagine it to be relatively more hopeful and energising. Thus, it is essential that we adopt a more helpful outlook or mindset as this has direct influence on our mood and behaviours/actions.

Now is indeed the opportune check-point for stock-taking of our progress so far. I see it as a crucial review of our half year journey from which we gain insights /learnings points. These can in turn spur us on as well as reveal what the gaps or next steps may be, moving forward. This phase can trigger a mixed bag of feeligns ranging from disappointment and guilt from unfinished tasks to anger regarding missed opportunities to fear or excitement for the uncertain second half to gratitude and satisfaction with the achievements and in-progress projects.

Feel free to read this previous blog entry to recap the considerations and factors that can guide your process of mid-year stock-taking and review.

https://www.brightpsychoflife.com.sg/post/mid-year-mental-health-check-how-are-you-doing.

In this artwork, it illustrates the varying paths one can take moving forward past the mid year mark of 2025. We can review and recalibrate the journey ahead and perhaps devise a new route or stick to the good ol' one but with adjustment or to take a respite first. All are acceptable so long as you stay mindfully and meaningfully engaged with the journey; replenishing our limited energy, soaking in the beautiful sights and scenes as well as gaining in learnings or insights. And of course keeping your eye out to reach what you set out to achieve - which can be paced out over months or even years.

What’s next?

Given limited resources and energies, we may want to consider pacing ourselves out lest we end up burn-out even before 2025 concludes. Take a respite where needed. It is understandable if you wish to slow down and focus on parts (which matter to you) that had taken the back-seat in the first half.  This is chance for you to prioritise this aspect now. For instance, if you had been sailing non-stop for the first half, it is time for you return to dock and resupply. After which, you may choose to continue on this mostly familiar path or if you require more time to rest and recalibrate, go for it too. There is no time limit as to how long you spend at various points of the journey as it is a rather personal endeavour whereby you are only accountable to no one but yourself.  

Despite our best efforts, unforeseen circumstances can occur amidst our journey and jolt us into changing direction(s). Change(s) could be in response to other reasons such as for personal development or simply for the thrill of it. Change is unnerving as it can involve unfamiliar terrains, and reveal gaps in knowledge. There may be a need to learn new skills to close the gaps in the process.  In this case, we can rely on factors within our control to tide through the “storms”, which includes our coping resources. We can be willing to activate these resources and/or seek assistance where needed. Knowing when you need external assistance and seeking help are truly acts of self compassion and your future self will thank you for that!

A gentle reminder to stay mindfully and meaningfully engaged, by keeping an eye out for the beauty (e.g., rainbow, sceneries, pink dragonflies) and insights/learning gleaned along the way, no matter what your second half of 2025 journey is like.

For those of us with specific goal(s) we have identified, we want to manage our expectation that it may take some time to completely fulfil, sometimes going beyond the year. Keep going at a personally comfortable pace with adequate rest in between and I believe we can pace ourselves out and sustain throughout the marathon of a journey.

Cheering you on always,

Jeanice