The Truth About Your Goals: The Mid-Year Reset That Works

It’s Halftime. We are six months into 2025, and the perfect time for a mid-year reset! BUT USE THIS FRAMEWORK ANYTIME YOU NEED A RESET

How are you tracking towards the goals you set for business and in your personal life?

If you are crushing it, it’s time to decide if the goals are too small and you need upward adjustment. Exciting!

If you are off track somewhere, you aren’t alone. In fact, many people are struggling right now in one or more areas where they set goals for improvement. Here’s how you and I can get back on track sooner rather than later with a solid self-guided mid-year reset. Let’s reflect and then answer this key question:

What will we do differently for the next six months to get on track?

The key is to change the daily and weekly actions and habits, not the goals. It’s the perfect time to adjust with fresh energy and renewed focus. If you work through the process below, I encourage you to involve others as appropriate – whether it’s your leadership team or a peer group at work or a significant other for the personal goals.

My Halftime Championship Plan: Your Mid-Year Reset in Action

Before jumping into the next six months, carve out time for a mid-year reset using the framework below. Feel free to adapt and use:

1. Deep Evaluation: Two hours of intentional reflection on the first half of the year

Review annual business plan and goals across the FORBES framework (Family / Occupation / Recreation / Body and Health / Education and personal development / Spirituality)
Honest self-assessment of the current situation in each area – no sugar-coating, just truth
Calendar audit: Review the past 6 months’ calendar in forensic detail
Energy audit: What activities and relationships energized you? What drained you?
Systems check: Which daily and weekly systems served you well? Which need adjustment?
Identity alignment: Are your actions reflecting who you want to become?
Key reflection questions:
- What was most effective, and where do I need to invest more time?
- What do I need to do less of? Delegate? Stop doing entirely?
- With whom do I need to invest more time?
- What patterns of thinking or behavior are holding me back?

2. Strategic Brainstorm: 90 minutes of unlimited possibility thinking

Brain dump everything – additional action steps, adjustments to current approaches, new systems to implement
Think beyond incrementalism – what activities could create greater leverage for bigger gains?
Consider your environment – what physical, digital, office space/organization improvements would support your goals?
Resource mapping – what tools, connections, or knowledge do you need to acquire?
Obstacle anticipation – what will likely try to derail you, and how will you handle it?
Write it all down with no limitations or judgment.

3. Decisive Action Planning: The day after your brainstorm, make the tough choices

Priority list: Identify the most important action steps that will create maximum impact – make sure there is direct alignment with your goals
Start, Stop, Continue framework:
- What will you START doing?
- What will you STOP doing?
- What will you CONTINUE but do more of? Or differently?
Implementation timing: Sequence your changes to avoid overwhelm
Accountability structure: Who will help you stay committed?

4. Calendar Commitment: 45 minutes to make it real

Block time for your priorities on a recurring basis for the next six months
Protect your non-negotiables – schedule them first, defend them fiercely
Build in buffer time for the unexpected (because life happens)
Create time blocks for focused work – deadlines and commitments that pull you forward
Weekly and monthly review sessions – schedule these like important meetings

5. Relentless Execution: Follow your plan with intelligent flexibility

Weekly power planning: 20 minutes each week reviewing and adjusting your ideal plan
Daily intention setting: 10 minutes each evening planning tomorrow with clarity
Monthly progress reviews: Honest assessment and course corrections
Quarterly system upgrades: What’s working? What needs evolution?

The Championship Mindset: Learning from Elite Coaches

In preparation for this blog, a more detailed version of last year’s, I once again asked Claude AI who the most successful coaches were at making halftime adjustments. The names that emerged:

NFL & College Football:

Bill Belichick (New England Patriots) – 9 Super Bowl appearances, 6 wins
Nick Saban (University of Alabama) – 7 National Championships
Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs) – 3 Super Bowl wins, known for creative second-half strategies

Beyond Football:

4. Phil Jackson (NBA) – 11 championships, master of in-game adjustments
5. Geno Auriemma (UConn Women’s Basketball) – 11 NCAA titles, legendary for halftime motivation

As head coaches, these five have a combined 38 championships. Their secret? They don’t just make adjustments – they make intelligent adjustments based on data, situational awareness, and deep understanding of what drives peak performance. Not just during halftime, but throughout the entire game!

Why Halftime Adjustments Matter More Than Ever

Your plan has now been tested. We have data. We have progress or lack thereof. Our resilience, systems, and commitment have all been stress-tested. It hasn’t gone perfectly as planned, has it? It never does.

Now we can make a more informed mid-year reset based on real feedback, new information, and deeper self-knowledge. We know what works in our actual life (not our idealized version of it).

The second half advantage is real. We now have experience, momentum in some areas, and clarity about what needs to change. We’re not starting from scratch – but optimizing from a position of knowledge.

Your Second Half Game Plan

This isn’t just about goal-setting or positive thinking. This is about systematic performance optimization based on six months of real-world data about yourself.

The most successful people don’t just set goals in January and hope for the best. They treat their year like a championship season, with halftime adjustments that often determine who wins and who settles for less than their potential.

Make your adjustments now. Be honest about what’s working and what isn’t. Double down on your strengths. Shore up your weaknesses. Adjust your systems. Upgrade your environment. Invest in the relationships and activities that compound your growth.

That will set us up to, you guessed it, FINISH STRONG!

Ready to make your halftime adjustments and conduct your own mid-year reset? The championship is won or lost in the second half. Make yours count.

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