Half of 2022 has already passed! Yes—you read that right. It probably seems like only yesterday you were making plans for what you wanted to accomplish in 2022, or maybe it feels more like yesterday was still 2019.
Have you met those goals you were hoping to reach? Made any progress towards them?
No matter the answer, now’s the perfect time to step back and re-evaluate what you want and how you plan to achieve it. It’s never too late to get back on track!
What Is a Mid-Year Resolution? Should You Have One?
Everyone’s familiar with New Year’s resolutions. We start stressing to make new resolutions every December so that we can start fresh on January 1st. Oftentimes however, those resolutions are a bust before the first month of the year is even up. So, when the first half of the year doesn’t go exactly as you had planned, there’s always the option to make another one without having to wait a whole year! That’s where mid-year resolutions come from. It’s a chance to get yourself back on track—or maybe even change course entirely.
If your 2022 New Year’s resolution to grow in your career or make a career shift hasn’t panned out – what should you do? Do you even need an official mid-year resolution to start making changes?
The truth is, the present is always the best time to do something new! Mid-year resolutions, much like New Year’s resolutions, can be changed as you encounter surprise challenges or even a surprising lack of obstacles, and those surprises shouldn’t stop you from reevaluating yourself along the way. As cheesy as it is to say, it’s about the journey, not the destination.
You might consider making a mid-year career resolution if:
- You’re not satisfied with your daily work.
- You feel like you have untapped potential.
- Your New Year’s resolution hasn’t seen progress.
- Your current industry or line of work doesn’t capture your interest like it used to.
- You’re simply ready for a change.
People change, and that’s perfectly normal. Similarly, career paths aren’t a straight line. They wind and curve like a never-ending stream. While unexpected curveballs do happen (if the past two years have taught the world anything), many times you have to be the one to initiate that change of course. A mid-year career resolution is a chance to definitely start charting the path you want for your career journey!
Connecting Your Personal and Career Goals
Whether it’s a New Year’s resolution, a mid-year resolution, or an any-time-of-the-year resolution, you have to make sure it’s something you can actually accomplish. Your resolutions should challenge you yet still make you excited to reach your goals.
Speaking of goals, how should you go about setting them—especially when it comes to your career? If you want a fulfilling career, then your career goals need to be in line with your personal goals. Do you get the most satisfaction from helping others? Knowing you’re making a difference in the world? Getting projects thoroughly to completion? Being part of a close-knit team? These are only a few of many, many motivators.
Instead of thinking about the exact job title you want or exactly how much you want to earn, you first have to think about what you actually want to do. Ponder over the type of daily life you want to create or the kind of person you want to become. For example, if you often naturally take charge of projects, consider the type of leader you want to be rather than just earning the title of manager. From there, you can think backwards to identify the steps you need to reach that goal.
So, in this running example, if you want to be a leader who inspires others to do their best, are there any feasible ways you can already start mentoring and leading the people around you? Is there a role in your current workplace you can aim towards to gain more leadership experience, or do you see any opportunities to create your own role? Should you look elsewhere for a work environment that will help you grow? These questions can similarly apply no matter your career goals.
The number one thing to remember when deciding your career goals is to make sure they will bring you personal satisfaction and happiness both in and outside of work. People forget this far too often!
Seems easy enough now, right? Well, if you want to actually make progress towards your career goals with a mid-year resolution, then you need to make sure you actually keep that resolution.
Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert shared with Business Insider three main reasons why resolutions tend to fail:
- They aren’t specific enough. — Like we mentioned just before, having a career resolution to “become a manager” isn’t enough. You’ll need to get more detailed in the step(s) you want to take to reach that goal. Consider a timeline to your resolution and make the steps along the way actually attainable. As Alpert says, “it’s harder to walk away” when your resolutions are clear and specific.
- They’re lacking positivity. — This is more for personal resolutions, but it can also be true for career resolutions. Instead of “quit my job” being your resolution, why not re-frame it to be “find a new work environment where I’m valued and where I can flourish”? Focusing on the negative will naturally lead you to having negative feelings about your goals and progress, ultimately abandoning your resolution along the way. A positively focused career resolution will help you keep your motivation!
- They aren’t centered on you. — Don’t let pressure from others about what you “should” be doing affect what you actually want to do with your life! While it is always good to consider the advice of well-meaning friends and family, your life and your career are ultimately yours alone. The same goes for self-imposed pressure to “catch-up” to your peers and their career trajectories. But again, their paths are not your paths, and you’ll find it easier to keep your eyes on the goal by aiming for what you truly want.
By keeping your mid-year resolutions specific, positive, and you-centered, you’ll make leaps and bounds of progress before the end of the year!
Factoring in the Great Resignation and Great Regret
Alright, let’s finally talk about the elephant (in this case, elephants) in the room… the Great Resignation and Great Regret.
Over the past two years, if people weren’t unexpectedly getting laid off from their jobs, it seemed like others were leaving their jobs left and right of their own accord. The global workforce has seen a big shake-up due to the Great Resignation. Why have so many people been leaving their jobs? Ultimately, they weren’t satisfied with their current work. The Great Resignation has inspired many to seek out better career growth opportunities that they might have never had otherwise—and that is definitely worth celebrating!
On the other hand, many people are now facing the Great Regret (i.e., regretting quitting their old job after starting a new one and finding out it wasn’t as great as they thought it would be). It can be easy to get caught up in the frenzy of leaving your job to go work somewhere else even more amazing. Eventually, the rose-colored glasses come off, and you might find yourself realizing the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. And if you want to return to your old job, chances are high your role has already been replaced. So, then the cycle of the Great Resignation continues.
We’re not here to discourage you from leaving your job. On the contrary! If you genuinely don’t see growth for yourself in your current position or you happen to find the right opportunity, then moving on can be an immensely positive experience.
The important thing is to be wise. Don’t jump ship on a whim—take the time to evaluate your options and your goals. This is where mid-year career resolutions come in! By creating a resolution that has clear steps, includes an achievable goal, focuses on positivity, and fulfills your own dreams, you can make smart career decisions without the fear of regret.
Taking Your Career to the Next Level
If you’ve done the necessary reflection and have set yourself a mid-year career resolution that includes a change of workplace that will foster both your personal and professional growth, then we invite you to join the Loyal Source team! We offer many exciting career opportunities across our nationwide government healthcare, travel nursing, humanitarian, behavioral health, and technical services divisions — as well as for our corporate operations.
Our mission of loyalty and serving others to make a positive impact in the world remains true no matter which part of the team you join! Aside from our career opportunities, we offer a welcoming and collaborative environment where anyone can grow in their skills and experience alongside caring colleagues.
Make the rest of your year count with Loyal Source!