Redefining Success Mid-Year Without Scrapping Everything!

hey friends welcome back to the career pivot accelerator i'm peggy your personal career coach and secret weapon for a successful fulfilling work life today's episode is called redefining success mid-year without scrapping everything let me guess you started this year full of good intentions right maybe you had a goal to speak up more in meetings finish your certification or finally feel confident enough to go after that leadership role but here you are halfway through the year and it feels like well not much has changed or worse everything feels harder than it should be if you're nodding your head right now i want you to know something you're not off track you're not failing you're not behind you're just ready for a mid-year recalibration not a complete reset we are not burning down the house and recreating everything we're just recalibrating mid-year check-ins can feel like stepping on a scale after the holidays scary revealing a little dramatic but stick with me because by the end of today's podcast episode you'll have a practical plan to finish the next six months feeling powerful not panicked if you're ready to do the work grab your favorite beverage something you usually take notes with and let's get to it okay let's start by exploring why mid-year feels so hard let's start right here mid-year is emotionally complex believe it or not you're carrying six months of real life projects pressures people problems and maybe even a few curveballs you never saw coming maybe you're dealing with a team that's harder to collaborate with than you expected a manager who says the right things but never advocates for you or just the sheer mental load of working in finance with shifting targets and no time to breathe so if your goals from january feel irrelevant unrealistic or just plain exhausting now that's not failure that's data you've grown your environment has changed and your definition of success needs to evolve with it here's the reality check we start each year on a motivational sugar rush thanks to those christmas goodies and the reflective thoughts of telling ourselves this year this new year is going to be different here's the data nobody tells you why mid-year feels so hard according to a forb study 38 and a half percent of u.s adults set new year goals but only nine percent keep them nearly one in four quit the first week another sobering statistic comes from the gallup group and global employee engagement has slipped to 21 the second drop in 12 years that's staggering employee engagement has slipped more worrying is 60 of us finance folk plan to leave the industry because of burnout and work-life imbalance that is the top reason that is given on surveys if january's fire feels like june's flicker you're in good company those numbers aren't excuses they're diagnostics they tell us the system not you makes long-term consistency tough now i do have some good news you don't have to scrap it all or torch your old goals let's bust a myth right now you do not have to throw away the goals you set at the start of the year just because they're not complete instead ask yourself what felt important then and what feels important now i'd like to give you a journal prompt for when it's convenient if it's convenient now by all means pause this episode and do some impromptu writing free flow writing on whatever inspires you or motivates you to jot some things down but here we go here's your journal prompt what version of success am i still clinging to even though it no longer serves me all right let me have that again what version of success am i still clinging to even though it no longer serves me have things changed in the last six months for you and if so that's okay maybe in january success looked like getting promoted but now it might look like protecting your peace while building influence quietly maybe it was about hitting certain numbers but now it's about repairing key relationships that are making work miserable pivoting your priorities isn't quitting it's leading yourself into a new version of you all right here is a three-part framework to build a new definition of success for the rest of this year this is something that i have created with my own career and shared with many clients that i've worked with when redefining success so number one reflect on what's real what have you actually accomplished don't just think in terms of output think growth even partial progress counts people who measure their performance regularly are four times more likely to outperform their peers and see 30 career growth that's a lot and write down your micro wins starting today or first thing tomorrow morning write down your micro wins everything counts did you survive a tough quarter or a tough boss did you learn a new system did you speak up for yourself even just the once these wins count they're your launch pad you're not the same person you were six months ago reconnect with what matters what do you care about now what energizes you what's draining the life out of you give yourself permission to reassign energy let the dead weight go that includes old goals that no longer are in alignment with you and then finally recommit with strategy pick one to three goals you can still make meaningful progress on in the next 90 days not 180 but 90 let's just go for the quick wins the short term achievements of just three months that's it make them personal make them powerful don't chase what looks impressive chase what feels like you okay now that statement that i just said that may sound a bit woo-woo here's what i mean in your role at work what do you have to achieve that you know you're not putting as much energy into why is that what can you do differently in order to meet those work objectives or even crush them try to aim for at least 70 completion on your stretch goals especially when 100 achievement feels like it's almost impossible like you will never get there just giving yourself that permission to achieve 70 completion is huge because you're more than halfway there all right and finally i want to have a pep talk with your inner critic before we close i want to say this to the voice in your head that's whispering you should have done more you're falling behind other people are further along i want to share with you you're doing the hard work of showing up in a complex and demanding world as humans we're biologically wired to notice threats that's hypervigilance kept our ancestors alive but in 2025 it mostly sabotages performance reviews we need to find a way to switch this energy number two you're growing even when it doesn't feel like it research shows self-compassion increases motivation rather than killing it now think about it if beating yourself up worked well you'd be perfect by now right number three you're healing even when no one sees it consider the opportunity cost of self-loathing every minute spent on rumination is a minute not spent building influence studying for that qualification working on your leadership skills or improving your work processes and finally the harsh truth is your inner critic isn't holding you accountable it's just as simple as that it's holding you hostage freedom equals momentum momentum equals promotions period full stop amen all right i'd like you to use this mantra starting today i release the fantasy of perfect progress i choose targeted progress say it out loud let your inner critic know there's a new sheriff in town one who uses data and compassion to drive results not fantasy you're becoming someone who leads with heart resilience and clarity and that my friend is success right now as you are hey friend i want to thank you for listening to the career pivot accelerator in today's episode remember it's not too late you haven't missed your shot you just need a new compass and i'm right here with you until next time my friend bye for now