As the second half of the year approaches us, this gives us an opportunity to pause and assess our emotional wellbeing and reflect on the goals we set for the year. This blog will serve as a mid-year check in to think and reflect on some questions that might be valuable to your growth. As you take time to answer some of these questions, focus not on judging yourself or measuring productivity but rather focus on increasing self-awareness and identifying what you need moving forward. As you answer these questions, you can start to identify areas of growth, areas of difficulties, and intentional changes to make in the second half of the year. 

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Reflective Questions:

1. How have I been feeling lately?

For this question focus on emotions you have felt over the last few weeks and months. Focus on patterns rather than isolated moments. Some example questions that may help guide you in recognizing these emotions could be: Have I felt overwhelmed more often than usual? Have I experienced joy regularly? What emotions seem to show up most often? 

As you reflect, remember that the goal is not to criticize yourself for what you have felt or haven't accomplished. Life changes and unexpected challenges can shift priorities throughout the year. If you notice areas where you would like to improve, try responding with curiosity rather than judgment. Ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?" instead of "Why didn't I do better?" Self-compassion allows us to acknowledge our struggles while still believing in our ability to grow.

Attached below is a feelings wheel to help support yourself in identifying emotions. Remember there are not “good” or “bad” emotions, sometimes just putting a label on them can provide deeper understanding. Awareness is the first step to change. 

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2. What has been going well this year?

Many people focus only on what still needs fixing, but it is important we celebrate ourselves as well. When thinking about these little and big wins, you may reflect on personal growth, improved relationships, better boundaries, healthier habits, emotional resilience, career or academic accomplishments, or even small daily wins. You may ask yourself questions like: What challenges have I successfully navigated? What am I proud of? What strengths have helped me this year? How have I grown emotionally?

Remember that acknowledging progress builds confidence and resilience. As you continue to go throughout the second half of the year, make sure you pause to reflect on the growth you have experienced.

3. What Has Been Draining My Energy?

Start by identifying some ongoing stressors like work, relationship conflicts, caregiver responsibilities, finances, health issues, social pressures, and more. Some questions that might help you identify stressful factors are: What situations leave me emotionally exhausted? Are there people or commitments I dread? Am I saying yes when I really want to say no? 

It is important to take a moment to recognize all the factors that may be contributing to chronic stress. Bringing awareness to these factors can help to make little changes to increase sustainability and decrease risk of burnout. 

4. Am I Taking Care of My Basic Needs?

Oftentimes when dealing with chronic stress or attempting to keep up with a fast paced life, we forget to take care of our basic needs. Take time to reflect on wellness habits including sleep, nutrition, movement, hydration, outdoor time, rest, and social connection. During summer, I encourage you to think specifically about rest, as many people’s schedules get increasingly demanding with plans. Many people believe they need to "earn" rest through productivity, but rest is a basic human need rather than a reward. Taking breaks, spending time in nature, engaging in hobbies, and allowing yourself moments of quiet can help restore both physical and emotional energy.

Our mental health is closely connected to our physical wellbeing and it is vital we check in with ourselves to make sure our basic needs are being met. 

5. Are My Relationships Supporting My Wellbeing?

Use this question to reflect on various relationships like family, friends, romantic, and workplace relationships to evaluate whether they are supporting your wellbeing. Healthy relationships can strengthen resilience, while unhealthy ones can increase stress. You may ask yourself some questions like: Who helps me feel supported? Who leaves me feeling emotionally depleted? Am I communicating openly? Have I maintained the relationships that matter most? 

A reminder that this reflection time may be a perfect place to think about boundaries and where they may be needed.

6. What do I want the rest of my year to look like?

Thinking about the second half of the year can be overwhelming. Try to focus on a few goals for yourself that will encourage overall wellbeing. If this feels too overwhelming, I encourage you to focus on how you want to feel. Setting intentions may offer a way to create focused habits and behaviors. Some intentions may be more balance, less anxiety, better boundaries, more meaningful relationships, more confidence, improved work-life balance, or greater self compassion. Some reflection questions that may help you brainstorm how to answer this question may be: What would make the next six months feel successful? What habits do I want to continue and what ones do I want to let go of? What's one small change I can make each month?

As a reminder, lasting change often begins with small and manageable steps. Focus on the little changes and little wins to increase sustainability of positive change.

7. What is one thing that future me would thank me for that I could start implementing today?

Take a moment to picture your future self. If you were to step into that version of yourself and look back at the present version, what is one thing that you can implement that would make a significant change in your life by the end of the year? Some ideas that may help to spark some inspiration may be: cleaning more often, cooking nutritious meals,, stretching every day, doing affirmations, scheduling the doctors appointments, working towards forgiveness, or increasing consistent movement. 

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Conclusion

A mid-year mental health check-in offers an opportunity to reconnect with yourself and evaluate what's working and what isn't. Summer can be a great time to get outside, grab a journal, and reflect on some of these important questions. Reflecting on your emotional wellbeing, celebrating progress, identifying challenges, and setting realistic intentions can help you move into the second half of the year with greater clarity and purpose. Remember that checking in with your mental health is not something reserved for the middle or end of the year. Regular self-reflection allows you to notice changes and make adjustments before stress turns into burnout. Give yourself permission to reflect on your year so far and remind yourself that meaningful growth doesn't happen all at once. By taking intentional consistent steps, you can support yourself in creating lasting emotional wellbeing.