July and Your Mid Year Check In: 21 Questions to Ask Yourself

July offers a natural pause.

The world quiets down. Your life quiets down. Your mind itself seems to pause in its hectic mayhem to rewind and retreat.

And…July’s here.

The seventh month of the year is here, half of 2025 is over.

Naturally, you must have some questions, some doubts, some desire to know how far you’ve come and how far do you still have to go. This is your July mid year check in. Ask these questions to yourself and you’ll uncover how you need to go through with the rest of the year to get the maximum productivity and results.

Let’s start.

Your July Mid Year Check In Questions

#1 Have I reviewed my yearly goals?

Obviously you have to begin your mid year check in with this question. Your yearly goals. What were they? How many of them have you accomplished, how far have you come?

Don’t worry if the answer isn’t what you might believe to be ideal. You can still make a comeback if you haven’t been able to achieve all your yearly goals yet, you can make a strong comeback any time you want.

The first half of my 2025 was spent in family vacations, catching up on college and studying for the second semester harder than I ever had during the first one. So, as expected, all my plans of becoming native-level fluent in Japanese, of mastering violin, of finishing my book, publishing a book I wrote four years ago and still haven’t perfected, of (cough cough) taking my blog to the next level (still getting there) didn’t gain as much momentum as I might’ve expected.

But it’s fine, you know.

Why? Because I’m going to be positive and take it slow, I’m going to forgive myself for having too much on my plate and I’m going to not lose hope that I can still end the year on a happy, satisfied note.

So, your mid year check in begins with reviewing your yearly goals list that you’d made in the beginning of this year. How do you feel about them?

#2 What have my top 3 proudest moments been this far?

What have been those moments this half year that have made you the most proud of yourself that you’ve felt in a long time?

Knowing this is important because it will give you the push to not lose hope and bring forth more moments like this one. So, go ahead, do list all of the reason why you’re an awesome, gifted, deserving person.

#3 Have my priorities shifted?

What were your priorities at the beginning of the year? What were the priorities which you kept in mind while writing down your yearly goals? What are your priorities now? Have they changed for the better or for the worse? Ask yourself and adjust your yearly goals accordingly, you don’t want to spend time on the old stuff.

A question like this, having been answered, makes it easier for you to focus on the things and people that you prioritize more than the others.

#4 Have I tried to come out of my comfort zone?

One terrible way to spend your summer is in the cocoon of comfort and routine.

For the summer to be summer, you need to step out of that comfort zone and push yourself to try new things, stretch your boundaries until the whole world is your playground.

Meet new people, meet old people you’ve lost touch with, do the thing you’ve been too hesitant to do, and most importantly, be brave.

If being brave was not a part of your yearly goals at the start of 2025, add it.

#5 Have I started working on my five year plan?

Forget your yearly goals. What about the next five years?

Sometimes we make plans and forget about them. Sometimes we contend ourselves with just thinking about them. Ask yourself this July if you’ve started working on those plans that you dreamed of a long time ago, thinking that’d be what your life would look like years later.

If you’re not looking at your five-year goals, this is the perfect time to do it.

Bring out those old post-it notes and future lists that you never got around to tick off. Focus on the future that your past self envisioned and get around to bringing it to the present world.

#6 Have I focused on my mental well-being?

All the planning in the world would be worth nothing if you don’t have the mental peace and well-being to be productive. Productivity needs more than just determination and hard work; we also need to be well-rested and mentally active.

The Yerkes-Dodson Law states that both very high and very low amounts of stress decrease performance. For optimal performance, we need a moderated amount of stress. Anxiety and sleep deprivation will only lead to a lower-than-average performance rate. So ask yourself if your mental well-being is something you prioritize, and if you don’t, then better late than never!

#7 Did I make any mistakes I wouldn’t—under any circumstances—like to repeat?

Everyone makes mistakes in life. It is almost impossible to be human and to not make mistakes. The only important thing is that we try not to repeat the same mistakes we’ve made before.

You mid year check in should definitely help you in pointing out these mistakes. So, ask yourself what mistake you’ve made that you wouldn’t like to make again, and then make sure you don’t.

#8 Are there any relationships I need to rekindle

The year is over in six more months. We’re halfway through 2025 and if there’s someone you’ve been meaning to reconnect with, you shouldn’t wait any longer. As the year rolls into its routine, we forget about people we’ve lost connection with and often times, it’s just easier to be nostalgic than brave. But this July is for courage.

So, call that friend, go visit your family or relatives, try to find time for those you want to stay connected to. If it’s petty grudges holding you back, tell yourself that your anger would dissolve and dissipate, but the time that it wastes wouldn’t come back. If it’s fear of rejection that’s making you hesitate, be hopeful, and trust for once in the bonds that hold us together with those we love. Leave your hesitation behind and take that first step forward. Sometimes, the first step is all we need.

#9 What do I want my life to look like by December 31st?

There must be some image that you have in your mind about where you want to be. Your yearly goals must reflect that.

Picture that image in your mind. How do you see yourself in six months? In your house with your loved ones hosting a reunion dinner? Holding a certificate? Kissing the cool metal of a trophy? Whatever it is, picture it and then think about what you need to do to make that image your reality.

We must know what we want before we can have it. So, if you want something, you need to tell yourself what it is. You need to see it before your eyes. You need to want it to get it.

#10 Who do I want to spend the next six months with?

Ask yourself who you want to spend the most of your time with. We need some people in our life who we love and cherish. No one can stay alone. Your mid year check in would include reminding yourself who it is that you want to spend time with and then going and spending time with them.

People are the most important candidates for our time. Family and friends come above anything else. So cherish them as they must be.

#11 What word will define me for the next six months?

Diligent? Dedicated? Peaceful? Inspired? Healthy? Content? What is the word that you would like to define yourself with? It is an introspective question that lets you sneak a peek into the secret confines of your mind. Thinking about these questions lets us know things about ourselves that normally stay under the surface. Most of the human mind is the subconscious realm that only affects from behind a veil. It doesn’t show its face unless you poke around and try to bring it to the surface. Asking questions about our motivations and personality makes us aware of the hidden depths in our mind.

#12 When did I feel most peaceful and happy this year?

Think about the time that you felt most at peace these past six months. What was the moment that gave you unconditional happiness? What were the moments that made you laugh or smile widely?

Ask yourself and then act in order to bring more of moments like those. Make them a part of your life and start spending time doing those things that made you truly happy. Only when we are content inside can real creativity and work pour out into our work. Finding out what has made you happy till now is an important part of your mid year check in.

#13 What have I done to stay true to my yearly goals so far?

We all make some resolutions and yearly goals on the 1st of January. It is another thing entirely whether or not we end up following them. Ask yourself what it is you promised yourself at the beginning of the year and whether or not you’ve kept up with it. If you haven’t, this is the time to start. Yes, half of the year has passed, but start now, doesn’t matter, start. Whether it was the daily morning walks, or the writing-a-poem-every-week, or painting a flower every month, start now.

#14 Which bad habits have held me back so far?

Everyone has some bad habits they just can’t let go of. Sometimes they become addicting enough to be even harmful and it is then that we must do something to get rid of these bad habits. In this mid year check in, ask yourself about the bad habits you’ve been ignoring and eliminate them from your lifestyle once and for all.

#16 Who has supported me the most this year?

The famous old saying goes ‘No man is an island!’, though it applies, surprisingly enough, to women as well as men. Old sayings were sexist like that. Anyway, the words not island ring true in every person’s case. They cannot live by themselves, or succeed on their own merit alone. Every person has countless supporters, no matter how small and insignificant they might be in some cases, standing behind them.

So, in this July mid year check in, think about those who have stood by you. Who do you need to thank for their support and love? Who inspired you when you were demotivated and told you to relax when you were frantic with energy? Who held your hand when you felt dejected and laughed with you when you were happy? Call that person right now and tell them that you appreciate them.

#17 What’s my plan for the next six months?

Only if you have a plan will you be able to make a comeback. If you don’t plan ahead, these next six months will pass just like the previous six did.

What changes are you going to bring to your daily routine? What changes to your personality and behavior? Procrastinating less? Chasing less instant gratification and more long-term investment? Chasing your yearly goals in a certain way that’s new? Changing your whole strategy? Yes!

#17 Am I prepared to take action?

What’s happened has happened. Planning is over. It’s showtime now.

Make this second half of the year memorable by making a leap from the place where you were to the place where you want to be. People are defined by their actions. They become what they do and how they do it. Do not lie still in the passivity of routine.

#18 Is there anything that I have been in denial of?

There are those people who lie to us and then there are times when we lie to ourselves. We are much better liars to our own selves that we are to anyone else. Sometimes we lie about our fears, sometimes about our strengths, sometimes about our insecurities.

But the thing that we need to realize is that these lies hold us back. So if there’s anything you’re in denial about, find out what it is. Interrogate yourself and accept your own truth.

#19 Have I been grateful for everything good that has happened to me?

Sometimes we forget to be thankful about all the good things in our life. We get so much focused on more and future that we fail to appreciate what’s already there.

Ask yourself if you’ve been grateful for everything you have. If you haven’t, then send a silent thanks to whatever you believe in—God or Fate or the Universe.

#20 Have I given myself some time for myself?

In your hustle, do not forget to take time out for yourself and your loved ones. Life is not a race, there is no ribbon at the end of the track. This is all there is to it and make sure that you don’t get so wrapped up in getting to the finish line that you forget to look around at the trees.

A person might be defined by their actions, but what gives their life meaning is the way they choose to live it. All work and no play drives you to depression and stress related hair-fall. So be happy, be relaxed, be multi-dimensional. Offer yourself the basic courtesy of caring for your health and your happiness. Laugh with friends and family and live a balanced life. This should be one of your yearly goals, and the most important revelation during your mid year check in.

#21 If the year ended today, what would I regret not doing?

This is the last, most important question we all must ask ourselves. After all, today is the only day that matters. We can dream, plan, think about tomorrow all we want. We can reminisce about the past to our heart’s content.

But what we have is today in all it’s temporary and it’s eternal glory. It never ends and always changes. And if today was all you had in this year, if tonight was the New Year’s Eve, what would you do?

Find the one thing that you would do if it was suddenly the last day of the year, and then do it immediately. Whether it is finishing your book or buying that watch you’ve been wanting to buy, or whether it is calling your brother: do it now!

This is your year, but only if you let it be. You have to open the door when life knocks gently on the wood.

These were the 21 July mid year check in questions that are bound to give you a eureka moment or two, I’m hoping! What all did you realize? How are your prepared to end 2025? State of your yearly goals?

Spend some time with yourself and these mid year check in questions. Get to know yourself.

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