In just a few days, we'll officially reach the halfway point of 2026. That makes this one of my favorite weeks of the year. Not because of what's behind us, but because of what we still have time to change.

By now, some of your goals are ahead of schedule. Others quietly disappeared sometime around March. Maybe your priorities shifted, life got busier, or you simply realized your January plans didn't survive contact with reality. That's completely normal. The biggest mistake I see in goal-setting isn't setting goals that are too ambitious, it's actually treating them as permanent. We spend hours building the perfect (personal or business) plan in January, then spend the next six months following it even when our circumstances, priorities, and capacity have changed. It´s not just about setting a goal, but about building a recalibration system.

Tip of the Week: Goals are hypotheses. Systems are commitments. Take 30 minutes this week to update your goals based on today's reality... not January's assumptions.

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The Theory Behind

Our plans are usually wrong (and that's expected). Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky described the Planning Fallacy: our tendency to consistently underestimate how long things will take and overestimate what we'll accomplish. Every January, we believe this year will be different. Then life happens: unexpected projects, vacations, family priorities, illness, promotions, burnout. A mid-year review is about replacing optimism with better information.

Review your capacity before you review your goals. Most of us ask, "Am I on track?" A better question is, "Who am I compared to six months ago?" Maybe you've changed jobs. Maybe you became a parent. Maybe your workload doubled. Or maybe your systems are finally working, and you're capable of more than you expected. We usually evaluate our goals, but we rarely evaluate the person trying to achieve them. Before changing your targets, reassess your time, energy and focus. Goals should evolve because we evolve.

Adjust your altitude, not your ambition. Sahil Bloom popularized the ABC Goal framework, adapted from marathon training. Instead of one rigid outcome, define three possible wins: Plan A is your stretch goal, Plan B is a strong and realistic success, and Plan C is the minimum outcome you'd still be proud of. This isn't about lowering your standards, but about building resilience into your system. Great pilots don't expect perfect weather; they adjust their course along the way. We should do the same.

What I’ve Learned

Halftime speeches were never about the scoreboard. I played competitive basketball growing up, and I don't remember coaches spending much time talking about the score. They talked about adjustments. "They're pressing too high." "Attack the paint." "Crash the boards." Whether the team was winning or losing, halftime was about changing the approach, not dwelling on the first half. I think we should treat our personal goals the same way. Your January self made the best decisions possible with the information available at the time. Six months later, you have something even more valuable: experience. Don't waste it by stubbornly following an outdated plan. The goal isn't to prove your January self was right. The goal is to help your December self succeed.

Make It Happen

1. Step 1: Review reality before making decisions. Spend 15 minutes looking through your calendar, photos, journal, or notes from the past six months. Write down your biggest wins, biggest challenges, and any recurring patterns.

2. Step 2: Measure your current capacity. Rate yourself from 1-10 on: Energy, Time, and Focus. Ask yourself: What has changed since January?

3. Step 3: Run a RAG Review. Review every major goal. Green: On track. Amber: Needs adjustment. Red: Time to rethink, simplify, or replace. Remember: changing a goal is often smarter than stubbornly chasing the wrong one.

4. Step 4: Rewrite your goals using ABC Planning. For each important goal, define:

   1. Plan A: Your ideal outcome.

   2. Plan B: A realistic success.

   3. Plan C: The minimum result that still moves you forward.

5. Step 5: Schedule your next recalibration. Don't wait until December. Put a recurring quarterly review on your calendar now.

Bonus: Do your halftime review with a spouse, friend, mentor, or your team. Reflection becomes much more powerful when someone challenges your assumptions.

Recalibratedly,

Jorge Luis Pando

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