Mid-Year Reset: Taking Stock, Realigning, and Reclaiming Your Year | Summer Series

Ready to hit the reset button? In this powerful episode, Jonathan guides you through a transformative mid-year reset process. Discover how to reflect with self-compassion, practice emotional agility, align with your core values, and intentionally design the second half of 2025 for more purpose, joy, and authenticity. Episode Transcript https://www.goodlifeproject.com/podcast/goals-productivity-self-improvement-summer-series If you LOVED this episode: You can find the 1-page worksheet HERE. https://www.goodlifeproject.com/myr/Find all of the Summer Series 2025 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/60BwxToyoikRPSjYHeT37x?si=eJytkOBSRzy5OZLH5RPSrg episodes. Check out our offerings & partners: Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the Wheel https://jonathanfields.substack.com/aboutVisit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes https://www.goodlifeproject.com/sponsors/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Jonathan Fields?

  Hey, so as we step into the hardest summer, I know that for many of us, this season often brings this natural yearning to kind of slow down, reflect, maybe even dream a little. But it can also be a time when our usual routines get a bit, well, kind of unroutine, and we might feel a little adrift. And that is why I am so excited to share something truly special with you over the next four weeks. Our brand new summer series, The Inner Architect Reset. And today, we're kicking it off by exploring what we call your mid-year reset. It's this powerful opportunity to pause, to take honest stock of where you are, and clear the slate for the second half of your year. This is not just another series of conversations.

• 0:41Jonathan Fields?

  It's an invitation to join me on a deeply personal, practical journey to pause, reclaim your focus, and intentionally design the second half of your year and beyond. Really, in a way that truly ignites your sense of purpose and brings you more joy and feels profoundly aligned with who you're becoming and want to become. So we're going to explore powerful, science-backed strategies that help you become the architect of your own most meaningful life, building it brick by intentional brick. To make sure you don't miss a single episode of this four-part series, please just go ahead and hit that follow or subscribe button wherever you're listening right now. It's the best way to ensure that you get every piece of this blueprint as we build it together, starting right here, right now.

• 1:26Jonathan Fields?

  So excited to share this four-part series with you. I'm Jonathan Fields, and this is Good Life Project.

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• 3:10Jonathan Fields?

  So how do we give those goals that we said mattered but had been shelved a new life? Researcher Katie Milkman, who has recently been on the podcast, and her colleagues, they have explored this phenomenon that they call the fresh start effect. And their work shows that people are significantly more likely to commit to their goals at the beginning of a new week, a new month, a new year, and even after holidays or birthdays. These moments, these temporal landmarks, they create a psychological line in the sand. They offer a kind of a sense of discontinuity from our past imperfections, allowing us to feel disconnected from the former slip-ups and view our future with a cleaner slate.

• 3:55Jonathan Fields?

  It's like our mind opens a new mental accounting period, as Milkman describes it, giving us a renewed sense of optimism and a broader, big-picture view of our lives, which is incredibly motivating. And the beauty is, this isn't just about the date on the calendar. It's about the meaning we assign to it. We can consciously leverage the mid-year point as our own powerful fresh start. So in this episode, think of it really as a bit of an invitation, a chance to pause, not with judgment, but with kindness and curiosity. To reflect on where we've been, to refocus our energy where it truly matters,

• 4:35Jonathan Fields?

  and to renew our commitment to living a life that feels aligned and alive for the rest of this year. We're not talking about a complete overhaul unless that's what feels right for you. This is about gentle course correction, or smart adjustments, and tapping into a renewed sense of possibility. And in fact, given the first part of the year that we've all had, you may have very different goals that you may want to tap into. So we'll be diving into some genuinely fresh, science-backed ideas to help us do just that. No same-old, same-old, I promise. Let's start by looking back, but with a very particular kind of lens. Let's talk about the gentle gaze inward.

• 5:19Jonathan Fields?

  So we'll start with a word here: reflection. And it sounds simple, even maybe a bit passive, but it's one of the most powerful things that we can do for our growth. It's not just about idly reminiscing, it's a crucial process of meaning-making. So research highlights that reflection actually helps us understand our experiences more deeply, learn from them, and then use that understanding to guide our actions toward our goals more effectively. You can kind of think of it as connecting the dots between where we've been, where we are, and where we want to go.

• 5:59Jonathan Fields?

  And studies have even shown that structured goal-setting combined with reflection can significantly improve performance, enhance self-regulation, and boost enthusiasm. It's a disciplined way of thinking that it really transforms past experiences into fuel for future progress. So let's cast our minds back to the start of the year, or whenever you last set some clear intentions. What were they?

• 6:31Jonathan Fields?

  What did you hope to move towards, to create, to experience, or become? Take a moment to recall those aspirations, big or small. And if you even want to hit pause right now, and just think on that, you know, just for a few moments, or if you're inclined, take out your notes app, or take a journal, or pad, or whatever it is, and jot a few notes down. And as you do that, consider a few things. What were those initial intentions? What progress have you made? And please, take a moment to genuinely acknowledge and celebrate this, no matter how small it seems, especially because there's been a lot that so many of us are dealing with this year that we didn't see coming.

• 7:12Jonathan Fields?

  So any progress, even the smallest amount, consider that a win. Were there any unexpected wins or positive developments that weren't even on your radar? And then, what challenges did you encounter? Both external obstacles and internal resistance? And looking back, what activities or pursuits just truly felt energizing? And the opposite here, what felt draining or misaligned? Now, if you weren't jotting those questions down, I'm guessing you probably weren't. Good news here, I will include a link in the show notes to just a short one pager here, where we'll have all the critical sort of like questions or prompts there.

• 7:57Jonathan Fields?

  So you can download that and just use that as a guide, along with this podcast, when you want to drop back into your mid-year reset. But for now, if you just want to listen, that's totally cool, too. Know that you'll have that one-page PDF that will sort of summarize a lot of what we're talking about here and give you the questions. Now, here's the crucial part, building on those questions. As we look back, it's just so easy for that inner critic to jump in, isn't it? The should haves, the could haves, the why didn't I's, you know, that voice can be loud and incredibly persuasive. I'm actually working on an entire episode about how to deal with it that will be airing not too far away.

• 8:41Jonathan Fields?

  But for today, we're going to invite a different voice to the table. And this is where the work of Dr. Kristin Neff on self-compassion becomes a bit of a superpower. Self-compassion, as she defines it, it isn't about letting ourselves off the hook or making excuses or just defaulting to complacency. It's about treating ourselves with the same kindness, the same care and understanding that we would offer to a good friend who is struggling or maybe has just made a mistake. It has three core components. First, self-kindness versus self-judgment. So this means being gentle and understanding with ourselves

• 9:25Jonathan Fields?

  when we suffer, when we fail, or feel inadequate. Rather than berating ourselves with harsh criticism, it's about warmth, not really going to battle with ourselves. Second, common humanity versus isolation. This involves recognizing that suffering, that imperfection, and making mistakes, they're all part of the shared human experience. We're not alone in our struggles. It's what connects us. And when we stumble, it doesn't mean we're uniquely flawed or wrong or broken. It means we're human. And third, mindfulness versus over-identification. And this is interesting.

• 10:09Jonathan Fields?

  This is about acknowledging our painful thoughts and emotions without exaggerating them or getting swept away by them, but also without suppressing or ignoring them. It's holding our experiences in balanced awareness. And research overwhelmingly shows that people who are compassionate towards their failings and imperfections experience greater well-being than those who repeatedly judge themselves. And what's really powerful here is that self-compassion offers a more stable and resilient source of self-worth than that often fickle pursuit of self-esteem. Self-esteem can feel like a ping-pong ball, as Dr. Neff puts it,

• 10:52Jonathan Fields?

  rising and falling with our latest success or failure. Self-compassion, on the other hand, it provides an intrinsic sense of worth that isn't dependent on external validation or constant achievement. It's there for us, especially when we don't meet our goals.

• 11:13Jonathan Fields?

  So let's try a little something right now. Think about one intention from this year where things didn't go quite as planned. Maybe a goal that stalled or one that went sideways. I'll give you just a beat. So just bring that to mind right now.

• 11:32Jonathan Fields?

  Good. Now, imagine a good friend, someone you care about deeply, came to you, sharing a similar experience, feeling the same way you might be feeling about this. What would you say to them? And how would you treat them? And what tone of voice would you use? So just kind of put yourself in that scenario for a beat here again.

• 11:59Jonathan Fields?

  And the question is, can you offer that same kindness? That same understanding, that same gentle tone to yourself right now about this very same situation? Literally try it. Like, close your eyes. And what you were just sort of imagining saying to a friend, say to yourself, replace you in the middle of those sentences.

• 12:25Jonathan Fields?

  Good. Now, just notice also any resistance that comes up. Notice the impulse to judge or criticize. Also notice the impulse to just say, this is really goofy and weird and strange. That's okay, too. It may feel that way. That doesn't mean it's not meaningful and effective. And just gently, patiently invite in a little more kindness, a little more understanding. This isn't some sort of like wacky woo-woo exercise. It's actually based on science. And heads up, sometimes when we start to offer ourselves this kindness, especially if it's new for us, old hurts or frustrations can bubble up. And

• 13:08Jonathan Fields?

  Dr. Neff and her colleague, Dr. Chris Kermer, they call this backdraft. It's kind of like opening a window in a stuffy room. Fresh air comes rushing in, but it might stir up some dust that had settled. Or as they describe it, "When you open the door of a burning house, oxygen rushes in and the flames can rush out." When we open the door of our hearts, love goes in and sometimes old pain goes out. And that's okay. That's part of the process. So be gentle with yourself if that happens. It's a sign that healing and realization and getting closer to truths is beginning. So as we're looking at these goals through the lens of self-compassion, especially the

• 13:52Jonathan Fields?

  ones that feel heavy or off track maybe, there's another common human tendency that we need to be aware of. And that's something called the sunk cost fallacy. This is something I have grappled with literally my entire life. I've even spoken about this and written about this, and yet I still deal with it. This is our inclination to continue with something. So a project, a goal, even a relationship, not because it's right for us now, or because it promises future benefits, but simply because we've already invested a significant amount of time, or effort, or money, or emotional energy into it.

• 14:34Jonathan Fields?

  It's that feeling of, well, I mean, I've come this far. I can't stop now. Even if now feels miserable or completely misaligned, we've all done it. Slogging through a terrible movie, a relationship that's run its course, or some kind of investment or business that we started because we paid for the ticket. We have so much time just poured into it already. Or sticking with a project at work that's clearly going nowhere because all of the hours that we've poured into it already. These are things that we do on the regular. And this fallacy, it can keep us tethered to goals that no longer serve us, draining our precious energy and just preventing us from pursuing things that would be far more

• 15:19Jonathan Fields?

  fulfilling. So for any goal that feels like a slog now, or it just doesn't light you up anymore, even if you thought it did and meaningfully did in the beginning of the year, ask yourself these questions again with that gentle self compassionate curiosity. First, if I were starting fresh today, knowing everything I now know and with no past investment, would I still choose this goal or endeavor or pursue this path? So ask yourself that question. And again, remember, you can just noodle on this now. Think about it a little bit. And at the end of this, you know, go download that that one pager

• 16:03Jonathan Fields?

  so that you'll have all these prompts there for you. Now, second, ask yourself, what am I really afraid of losing if I let this go or significantly change course? Am I afraid of the time or money lost? Or am I more afraid of feeling like a failure or of what others might think of me? And is that fear truly serving my well being and my bigger picture? How I want to be in the world? And then third, am I continuing this? Because it genuinely excites me and aligns with my deeper why, with my core values, with my sense of identity, with who I am and what matters to me?

• 16:47Jonathan Fields?

  Or am I primarily just trying to avoid the discomfort of acknowledging that past efforts didn't pan out as hoped? Or to avoid appearing like a quote quitter to myself or others? The thing is, letting go of a goal because of sunk costs, it isn't about admitting failure in the way our culture often frames it. It's an act of profound self awareness and courage. It's brave. It's about wisely reallocating your most precious resources, your time, your energy, your focus, your love toward what truly matters to you now and for your future. It's an act of what I might call self stewardship.

• 17:30Jonathan Fields?

  And this reflective part, this gentle gaze inward, it isn't about creating a perfect inventory of successes and failures. It's about gathering wisdom. It's about practicing kindness towards ourselves and getting radically honest about what's truly resonant for the journey ahead. It's about acknowledging the full spectrum of our experience, the triumphs, the stumbles, the learnings, the surprises. And that full spectrum, it often comes with a lot of, oh, you know, feelings, which brings us to our next step, making space, really making space for and understanding our inner world as we prepare to refocus.

• 18:14Jonathan Fields?

  And we'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.

• 18:20Speaker 01

  State Fair food is getting smaller and pricier. We'll have room for fried cookies. OK, you'd never overspend on food. What's your deal?

• 18:29Speaker 02

  What's his deal? He went to Metro and got $450 in value on the new Samsung Galaxy 837 5G for free and no activation fees.

• 18:37Speaker 01

  Free phone? Oh, sign me up.

• 18:40Speaker 02

  Get that more for your money feeling only on Metro by T-Mobile.

• 18:43Speaker 03

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• 18:50Speaker 04

  With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One Bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends. It's pretty much all he talks about, in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com/bank. Capital One, N A, Member FDIC.

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• 20:00Jonathan Fields?

  We've looked back with as much kindness and clarity as we can, and chances are that process stirred up some emotions. Maybe pride, maybe excitement, maybe disappointment, frustration, confusion, or even a bit of grief for paths not taken or goals that need to be released. All of this is valid. All of it is human. Goal pursuit, vision pursuit, striving for something, aspiring towards something, and indeed, life itself. It's an inherently emotional journey and emotional experience. And that is an awesome thing if we understand how to work with those emotions,

• 20:44Jonathan Fields?

  to navigate this inner landscape effectively so that our emotions serve us rather than sabotage us. We turn to the brilliant work of psychologist Dr. Susan Davy, who was a past guest right here on Good Life Project, by the way, and her concept of emotional agility. So emotional agility at its core, it's the ability to experience your full range of thoughts and emotions and even those internal stories we tell ourselves, and still choose to act in ways that are aligned with your deepest values, your sense of identity, what matters to you, what's important to you and who you are. It's about being flexible, not rigid, with our inner experiences so that we can respond to life's challenges and opportunities

• 21:29Jonathan Fields?

  with wisdom and with intention. And the first essential practice in emotional agility is what Susan Davy calls showing up. And this means acknowledging our thoughts and emotions with curiosity and self-compassion, not judging them, not trying to fix them or immediately push them away, just noticing them as they are. It means facing all the emotions related to our goals and our lives. That includes the comfortable ones, which is the ones that we generally immediately like, oh, yeah, that's coming up. I'm cool with that. And then there are the uncomfortable ones, the messy ones.

• 22:12Jonathan Fields?

  It's about allowing them to be present without letting them take over. So let's try this. Take a moment.

• 22:21Jonathan Fields?

  Bring to mind one of those goals or intentions that we have been reflecting on. Perhaps one that brings up some mixed emotions, some mixed feelings. Good, you have it? Now, just notice what feelings are present as you think about it. Don't analyze, don't judge, just notice and see if you can actually just name them. Right? Don't analyze, don't judge, don't try to fix. Notice and name. Is it excitement? Is it apprehension, sadness, relief, apathy, maybe a blend of all the above and so many more?

• 23:06Jonathan Fields?

  And then ask yourself, where do I feel it in my body? And this is a weird thing because so many of us are actually disconnected from our bodies these days. We kind of live from the head up. But if you can just pause long enough, you can close your eyes if you need to, put your hands on different parts of your body if you feel more connected to it in that way. And then ask yourself, if you can sense it, tune in, where do I feel it in my body? Maybe it's a tightness in your chest or a flutter in your stomach, a tension in your shoulders or neck. Take a beat and see if you can actually feel where you notice it in your body. Good.

• 23:49Jonathan Fields?

  And remember, there's no need to change it or make it go away. Just show up to it. You might silently say to yourself, hello anxiety, I see you there. Yeah, there's that little spark of hope, I'm noticing feeling of frustration. This practice of naming and locating the feeling in your body, it helps to create a little bit of space around it. And it's so important to remember, as Susan David emphasizes, that these feelings, these emotions, they are data, not directives. They're messengers, offering us valuable cues about what we care about, what we might

• 24:29Jonathan Fields?

  find to be misaligned, analyze, what needs our attention, or what underlying needs are not being met. When we show up without judgment, we allow ourselves to receive this data, to learn from our inner experiences. And then, once we've shown up and acknowledged what's there, the next crucial step in emotional agility is stepping out. Now, this is about creating a more psychological distance between ourselves, the observer, the one who's aware, and our thoughts and emotions. And this allows us to see them more clearly, to gain perspective, you know, rather than being completely fused with them, or, which happens pretty often, consumed by them.

• 25:14Jonathan Fields?

  And when we're hooked by an emotion, it feels like it is us. Stepping out, it helps us realize that we have emotions, but we are not defined by them. So there are several practical ways to step out. One simple and powerful technique is labeling your thoughts and feelings. Instead of thinking, "I am anxious," you can say to yourself, "I'm having the thought that I'm anxious." I know, it sounds weird, it feels weird, just try it. Weird stuff often works. Or maybe you say something like, "I'm noticing the feeling of anxiety." Rather than saying, "I am anxious," I'm noticing the feeling of anxiety. That subtle shift in language,

• 25:58Jonathan Fields?

  it often creates a separation. You're the one noticing the thought or feeling, not the thought or feeling itself. And that is such a big step. Another way to step out is thought-perspective shifting. So you might ask yourself, "How would someone I admire, someone wise, view this situation? Or what would my 80-year-old self, looking back, tell me about this moment?" Sometimes even a touch of gentle humor can help us detach from an overly serious or catastrophic thought. And Susan also suggests that simply talking to yourself in the third person can create emotional distance. For example, instead of "I'm overwhelmed,"

• 26:43Jonathan Fields?

  I might try, "Jonathan is feeling overwhelmed right now, and that's okay." "I know, I told you, this sounds a little bit weird." But there's science behind this. It actually works. I have literally done this to myself. Talking about myself in the third person is bizarre. It's strange, but in these particular moments, it's actually really helpful, which surprised me when I've actually done it. This process of showing up and stepping out, it creates what I like to call a clearing. It's like stepping out of a dense forest and into open space where you can see the sky and get your bearings. It's in this space of compassionate awareness and gentle detachment that we more wisely decide things like,

• 27:27Jonathan Fields?

  which goals from our earlier reflection still resonate deeply and deserve our renewed energy and commitment? Which goals maybe need to be lovingly released because maybe of what we've learned about the sunk cost fallacy or because our values or circumstances or what we find meaningful have genuinely shifted? And which goals simply need some tweaking, some adjusting or a bit of reframing to better fit who we are now and what our life is like now and what matters to us now and where we truly want to go in the months ahead? This isn't about judging past choices as failures. It's about conscious, adaptive living. It's about honoring our evolution.

• 28:09Jonathan Fields?

  And when we combine the safety created by self compassion with the navigational tools of emotional agility, showing up to our feelings and then stepping out to gain perspective, we create this powerful internal environment. This environment, it allows for non judgmental assessment of our goals and also the courage to make decisions that are truly aligned with our current selves, even if those decisions are difficult and might have conflicted with who we were not so long ago. Emotional agility, it isn't about being emotionless or suppressing what we feel. It's about being wise with our emotions. It's about learning to use them as guides,

• 28:53Jonathan Fields?

  not letting them become our gelers. And this clarity, this interspatiousness, it's really the bedrock for the next exciting part of our mid year reset, refocusing our intentions and renewing our path forward with some fresh energy.

• 29:11Jonathan Fields?

  So let's go there. All right. We have journeyed inward. We have reflected with kindness. We've made some space by acknowledging our emotions with curiosity and perspective. Now let's start looking forward. So how do we take all this insight, all this self-awareness and channel it into renewed energy and effective action for the months ahead? This is where we get to be the architects of the next chapter of our year. So if some of your goals feel daunting, or if your motivation has waned a bit over the last six months or seven months, there's a fascinating bit of neuroscience that can be incredibly helpful, the power of small wins. And what research shows is that when we accomplish something, no matter how

• 29:54Jonathan Fields?

  small, our brain releases just a little bit of dopamine, often called the feel-good neurotransmitter. And what's remarkable is that your brain doesn't really distinguish between big wins and small wins when it comes to this dopamine reward. Each completed task, whether it's finally clearing out that clutter drawer, or landing a major project, it triggers this positive chemical response. And this creates a positive feedback loop. You complete a small task, you get a little dopamine, you feel good and are more motivated, which then makes you more likely to tackle the next task. Scientists call this the success spiral, and it's a powerful way to build

• 30:33Jonathan Fields?

  sustainable momentum, often more effective than waiting for occasional big wins. And the practical strategy here, it's to break down those larger, perhaps intimidating, goals into what some neuroscientists call achievement chunks. Tasks that are small enough to feel manageable, ideally completable in, say, 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes or so. So instead of the goal being, "I'm gonna write a book," or "I'm gonna launch a podcast," or "I'm gonna do this big thing," an achievement chunk might be, "I'm gonna draft one paragraph today," or think about,

• 31:14Jonathan Fields?

  "two guests for a podcast I'm thinking about having," or even just write down, like, what is it going to be about? Or research one specific detail for 20 minutes. So instead of "get fit", big, that's a big thing, even if it's two words, it's a really big goal, or vision, or aspiration. It might be something like, "do a 10-minute walk during my lunch break," or "do 15 minutes of stretching before bed."

• 31:41Jonathan Fields?

  So this approach, it not only makes the goal feel less overwhelming, but also works with your brain's natural reward system, giving you those frequent dopamine boosts that really keep you engaged and moving forward. And here's the really cool part, the deeper impact. These aren't just little psychological boosts that fade away. Each small one, each achievement chunk completed, is actually helping to rewire your brain through a process called neuroplasticity. You're literally strengthening the neural pathways associated with achievement and positive emotions, making it easier for your brain to access these pathways in the future. You're essentially building a success superhighway in your mind, making future accomplishments feel more natural and less like a struggle.

• 32:26Jonathan Fields?

  And we'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.

• 32:31Jonathan Fields?

  Good Life Project is sponsored by TinCan. So if you grew up in the seventies or eighties, you probably still remember your best friend's phone number and stretching the kitchen phone cord around the corner for privacy. Our executive producer, Lindsay, wanted that same freedom for her kids, eight and 10. So in January, she got them a TinCan. Now, friends call the house to chat, make plans and check in without borrowing her phone. They even keep a handwritten phone book next to it. I kind of love that. TinCan is the new school way for kids to talk with their friends. It's a secure landline that lets them call all their favorite people, but with parental controls to keep them protected. No screens, no algorithms, no texting, just a phone being a phone. Kids can only call or be called by people on your approved list.

• 33:16Jonathan Fields?

  Calls to other TinCans and 911 are always free. And there's even an answering machine for messages that are, I'm told, gloriously ridiculous. Go to tincan.com/goodlife to get $10 off your first order, exclusive for our listeners. That's tincan.com/goodlife for $10 off. And when you use our link, you're supporting our show. Tincan.com/goodlife.

• 33:41Jonathan Fields?

  This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Ah, fall, that cozy season where we swap the swimwear for sweaters and sunnies for scarves. But before the Halloween decorations are put away or Thanksgiving table has been set, there's already holly jolly music playing in the grocery store, reminding you that the year is coming to a close. Time to kick end of year into high gear. When you use Apple Card with Apple Pay, you earn 2% daily cash back on all purchases, including food, decorations, gifts, and more. Get a head start on your end of year purchases. Apply for your Apple Card in the Wallet app on your iPhone today and start using it right away with Apple Pay. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake

• 34:26Jonathan Fields?

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• 34:33Speaker 04

  With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One Bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends, it's pretty much all he talks about, in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com/bank. Capital One, N.A., Member FDIC.

• 35:07Jonathan Fields?

  As we think about setting or resetting these goals, these visions, so many of us are familiar with goal achievement frameworks. I have my own success scaffolding, which I generally talk about in the beginning of every year. You may be familiar with something called the SMART framework, which is a shorthand, S-M-A-R-T, for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. And SMART goals, they certainly have their place, especially in fairly structured environments or for really concrete objectives. But for the kind of deeper, more evolving, purpose-driven intentions that we often explore here on Good Life Project, and especially for mid-year recalibration, where adaptability

• 35:49Jonathan Fields?

  is really key, I thought I might introduce you to an alternative framework that I find incredibly powerful. And that's called PACT, PACT Goals, P A C T. PACT is an acronym developed by Lord Lakumf, who again, has been an awesome guest right here on Good Life Project. She created Nest Labs. And it stands for P is Purposeful, A Actionable, C Continuous, and T is Trackable. So let's break that down a little bit. Purposeful. A PACT goal isn't just relevant. It's deeply meaningful and aligned with your long-term purpose or sense of purpose, your core values, your why, with the essence of who you are. This connection to what truly matters to you

• 36:32Jonathan Fields?

  is a powerful intrinsic motivator. The A, actionable. So this is a key distinction from SMART. Also, PACT goals focus on the outputs that you can directly control rather than the outcomes that might be influenced by who knows how many factors outside of your control. So instead of, let's say, get a thousand new followers, which is an outcome. It might be publish one thoughtful piece of content daily, which is an output. It's a really powerful and effective shift. The C in that word, PACT, continuous. The actions taken toward a PACT goal are designed to be simple and repeatable. So fostering ongoing growth and adaptation

• 37:16Jonathan Fields?

  rather than a fixed one-time achievement. And this really encourages a mindset of continuous improvement. And it allows you to adjust your approach as you learn and as circumstances change. And then that T at the end of the word, PACT, trackable. While SMART goals often emphasize measurable, PACT goals are trackable in a simpler way, often with a yes or no approach. So, you know, did I do my actionable behavior today? Yes or no? This simplifies progress monitoring and it really keeps the focus on consistent effort. And again, we'll just drop this acronym back in that one cheater so he can download it afterwards and you'll have everything just right at your fingertips. But the PACT approach, it really naturally fosters

• 38:01Jonathan Fields?

  a growth mindset and resilience because the focus is on continuous, controllable action and the journey of learning rather than solely on achieving a fixed outcome by a certain date. It makes you more adaptable to life's inevitable curveballs. And we live in a world of curveballs these days. So if you miss an outcome with a rigid, smart goal, it can feel like failure. With PACT, if you miss a day of your action, you simply kind of recommit to the action tomorrow, learning from what got in the way and continue to grow. It's just a much more compassionate and sustainable way to approach goals that are about becoming or contributing over the long haul. And this brings us back beautifully to emotional agility.

• 38:43Jonathan Fields?

  So, once you've showed up to your feelings and stepped out to gain perspective, Susan David talks about the next crucial step. And that is walking your why. This is all about ensuring that your new or renewed goals, whether you frame them as PACT goals, or use my success scaffolding, or something else, whatever framework, action-taking framework resonates with you, that's the one to use, right? It's got to actually work with the way your brain works and with the way that your life is structured. So whatever it is, when you frame them as these PACT goals or something else, they're deeply and authentically connected to the essence of who you are,

• 39:26Jonathan Fields?

  your core values, your sense of identity and meaning, what truly matters to you at the deepest level. When your actions and goals are expressions of these deeper parts of you, your motivation becomes intrinsic. It comes from within. And that is a much more powerful and sustainable fuel than external rewards or pressures. So your values or the drivers of your identity, they act as your compass. You can swap in your spark types here also, if you've actually understood your spark types and taken that assessment. Like, these are all things that tell you who you really are and what you care about and what drives you. And when things get tough, when obstacles arise, when you're faced with competing priorities,

• 40:09Jonathan Fields?

  knowing that your goal is an expression of who you are on the deepest level, it helps you stay the course or make wise adjustments that are still in integrity with who you are. So for any goal you're considering for the second half of the year, ask yourself, What are my core values? Or what core values, what essential drivers, what parts of my spark type does this renewed goal honor or express? How does pursuing this help me live more in line with what truly matters most to me? So imagine this powerful conversation, right? You're leveraging the neuroscience of small wins. You're getting those dopamine hits from completing achievement chunks.

• 40:50Jonathan Fields?

  These chunks are part of a larger PACT style or whatever framework you want for goals, focusing on purposeful, actionable, continuous efforts. And all of this deeply aligns with who you are on the deepest, on your core level, because you've done the work of walking your why. All the while, you're navigating your inner world, the inevitable ups and downs, the excitements of frustrations with the kindness of self compassion and the wisdom of emotional agility. And that, my friends, is a truly potent recipe for a fulfilling and meaningful second half of the year. Now, sometimes this mid-year recalibration might mean more than just tweaking

• 41:35Jonathan Fields?

  an existing goal or recommitting with fresh energy. Sometimes it points to a bigger shift. And again, with so many people stepping into a world, a life in the middle of the year that they didn't conceive or see coming in the beginning of the year, we want to allow space for that. Sometimes, you know, we get pointed towards a bigger shift, a change in direction that we often call a pivot. And that can feel scary, absolutely. But it can also be incredibly liberating and lead to just unexpected and wonderful new paths. So let's be really clear about something as we start to head

• 42:17Jonathan Fields?

  towards the latter part of this, this conversation. Changing your mind, adjusting your course, even making a significant pivot in your goals, your career, your life's direction. It's not failure. In fact, it's often a sign of profound growth, of heightened self-awareness and immense courage.

• 42:40Jonathan Fields?

  Allowing yourself to change and then investing in that change, that is bravery. It means you're learning, you're evolving, and you're responding intelligently to new information, to information that comes from within yourself, from your experiences and from the world around you. Adaptability isn't a weakness. It is a critical strength in a world that is relentlessly changing. And history and modern life are filled with inspiring stories of people who've made remarkable shifts, often later in life or after experiencing what many would have called setbacks, only to find renewed purpose, extraordinary success. I mean, some fun examples, thinking about Julia Child. Many know her as this iconic chef

• 43:25Jonathan Fields?

  who brought French cuisine to the American home. But her path was anything but linear. I mean, during World War II, she actually worked for the Office of Strategic Services, the OSS, and doing top secret research and even got this experimenting with cooking various concoctions as a shark repellent to protect underwear explosives. It wasn't until her late 30s, living in Paris with her husband, Paul, that she had her culinary revelation and truly discovered her passion for food. And she rolled in Le Corum Blue, collaborated on mastering the art of French cooking, and the rest is kind of culinary history. Her story is just this beautiful testament to late blooming and finding profound purpose by following a newfound passion,

• 44:08Jonathan Fields?

  even when it meant a complete career and life change. She was asking herself, what should I do? And the question came from what she loved, heating and making good food. She allowed herself to reflect, to be in touch with her emotions, with the data and view them as data and not directives, be compassionate and allow herself to evolve and change and grow. Another fun example, Vera Wang. So many of us know her as this iconic designer. Before she became a world renowned fashion designer, she was actually a highly accomplished figure skater training for the Olympics. But when she didn't make the team, she has said she was devastated. But instead of letting that define her, she said, okay, it's time to reset

• 44:53Jonathan Fields?

  what I want to strive for, who I want to be in the world. She entered the fashion industry, becoming, I believe this is right, the youngest editor at Vogue, later worked for Ralph Lauren, and then... Right around the age of 40, resigned, launched her own bridal wear label, eventually building this global fashion empire. Her journey, it really showcases incredible resilience and the ability to channel passion and talent into a new domain after a very significant disappointment. She allowed room for the reset for her own humanity and to reimagine and redirect what she wanted to create. So, these are just really fun examples. I mean, I have my own example. So many of you, you know, like, know my example really well.

• 45:38Jonathan Fields?

  I, in a very past life, it's funny, people who know me now, they can't imagine this, but, you know, I was a lawyer. I came out of law school. I worked for the United States Career and Exchange Commission, massive federal bureaucracy, then worked in a giant law firm and realized, you know, okay, so this checks all of the boxes I thought I wanted until I got there and I realized it's not the life I wanted to be leading and it wasn't the career that was speaking to me. And it was a matter of, okay, so what do I do with that? How do I leave it behind at that point? And it's these skills, these tools, you know, for me, that was more of a larger life

• 46:19Jonathan Fields?

  reset, but like whether it's a mid-year reset, a midlife reset, these are all really important ways and skills and questions to ask. The point is, the path rarely is a straight line. And that's not just okay, it's often where the real learning, the real growth, and sometimes the real magic happens. Embracing the possibility of a pivot, big or small, is embracing the dynamic, evolving nature of a well-lived life. So, as we wrap up our mid-year reset together, let's maybe quickly touch back on the key ideas we've explored, the tools that we've added to the toolkit for navigating the rest of the year with intention and grace. And again, if you want to just sort of like see all of these on one page, just go ahead

• 47:04Jonathan Fields?

  and you'll see a link to download that one pager, the PDF, in the show notes. We talked about the incredible opportunity of the fresh start effect and how mid-year is just this perfect time to harness it. We explored the profound power of reflecting on our journey so far, but doing so through the lens of radical self-compassion, not self-judgment, remembering Kristin Neff's work. We took a deep dive into Susan David's framework on emotional agility, the importance of showing up to our feelings with curiosity and stepping out to gain perspective, and then walking our why by ensuring our actions are aligned with our deepest values. And then we acknowledged that pesky little thing, the sunk cost fallacy, and how recognizing

• 47:48Jonathan Fields?

  it can free us to let go of goals that no longer serve us and redirect our energy wisely, maybe to new ones that really do serve us. We looked at the neuroscience of small wins, breaking goals into achievement chunks to build momentum and literally rewire our brains for success. We talked about a different kind of achievement framework, one that I explored with Laura LeCombe when she was on the show not too long ago, packed goals, purposeful, actionable, continuous and trackable, as this powerful adaptable alternative to traditional goal-setting, especially for our sort of evolving long-term aspirations. Then finally, we celebrated the liberating power of just embracing the pivot, understanding that adaptability is a strength, not a weakness,

• 48:30Jonathan Fields?

  and that changing course is often a sign of growth, inspired by stories of those who've done it beautifully. And by the way, I shared my story just an itty-bitty. I'm not saying I did it beautifully, but I've kind of muddled my way through. It isn't about pressure to achieve more or faster or bigger. This is about possibility. And that is a word that is so central to everything I believe in. It's about alignment. It's about crafting a life that feels authentic and meaningful to you. So the rest of this year, it's a fresh canvas. Yes, there's a lot going on. Yes, there are other things that you're going to be dealing with, but it's still a fresh canvas

• 49:09Jonathan Fields?

  in the context of how you want to step into it. What's one small, kind, value-aligned step that you can take today or this week to move towards what truly matters to you now? Maybe it's revisiting a goal with self-compassion. Maybe it's breaking a big ambition into tiny, actionable chunks. Maybe it's just giving yourself permission to explore a potential pivot. Whatever it is, let it come from a place of gentle wisdom.

• 49:38Jonathan Fields?

  So thanks for joining me in this mid-year reset journey. Always fun to drop into these solo episodes with you. Remember, be kind to yourselves, be curious, and step forward into the second half of the year, maybe the next season, with renewed energy.

• 49:56Jonathan Fields?

  To make sure you don't miss a single episode of this four-part series, please just go ahead and hit that follow or subscribe button wherever you're listening right now. Until next time, I'm Jonathan Fields, signing off for Good Life Project. This episode of Good Life Project was produced by executive producers Lindsay Fox and me, Jonathan Fields. Editing help by Alejandro Ramirez and Troy Young. Christopher Carter crafted our theme music. And of course, if you haven't already done so, please go ahead and follow Good Life Project in your favorite listening app or on YouTube, too. If you found this conversation interesting or valuable and inspiring, chances are you did, because you're still listening here. Do me a personal favor, a second favor, share it with just one person. And if you want to share it with more, that's awesome, too.

• 50:40Jonathan Fields?

  But just one person even, then invite them to talk with you about what you've both discovered to reconnect and explore ideas that really matter, because that's how we all come alive together. Until next time, I'm Jonathan Fields, signing off for Good Life Project.

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