The Summer Solstice Audit

This Friday is the summer solstice. It’s the longest day of the year. Afterward, the days will start getting shorter.

We’re big advocates of embracing seasonality. It’s a powerful antidote to what C.S. Lewis called the horror of the same old thing. Acknowledging the summer solstice is a great opportunity to inject a seasonal tradition into your life.

Although ancient pagans often participated in rituals to mark the solstice, for most people in the West, there aren’t built-in traditions associated with the occasion. So, I decided to create my own, using it as a day on which to conduct a personal life audit.

The summer solstice is the midpoint of Earth’s annual journey around the sun, making it a perfect moment to pause and reflect on how things have been going in your life so far this year.

I’ve sketched out an audit that I plan on working through on Friday. It focuses on three areas: my roles, “sharpening the saw,” and goal setting.

Maybe this audit will become an annual tradition for me. But even if it doesn’t, at least this year I’ll gain valuable insights into how I’m doing as a man.

If you’d like to do your own summer solstice audit, here’s a breakdown of the setup I’ll be using.

How Am I Doing in My Roles?

In our article about creating a blueprint for your life, we recommended writing out the various roles you occupy. To become a complete and well-rounded man, we need to thrive in each of them, as so much of our happiness depends on our success in carrying out their respective responsibilities.

Here’s a list of potential roles you might have:

Husband/boyfriend
Father
Son
Brother
Friend
Grandfather
Grandson
Manager
Employee
Disciple
Student
Landlord
Coach
Teacher
Citizen
Mentor
Mentee

Grab a journal and list four or five roles you’re playing right now, in order of their importance to you.

Next, spend five to ten minutes reflecting on how things have been going in each role so far this year. What’s going well? Where could you improve? Be brutally honest with yourself.

Finally, identify one concrete action for each role that you can start doing today — something that’ll help you step fully into it and lengthen your stride.

Sharpen the Saw

After you’ve reflected on how you’re doing in your roles, you may notice you’re showing up tired and unmotivated in one or more (or all) of them. You feel like you’re not firing on all cylinders.

This could be a sign you need to “sharpen the saw.”

We explored this idea from Stephen Covey extensively in our series on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Sharpening the saw is about taking time to renew yourself so you can keep showing up as the man you want to be. Saw sharpening is easy to skip when life’s busy, but if you don’t make time to restore your edge, you can’t do anything else effectively.

As part of your solstice audit, ask yourself:

Which elements of my life are feeling most worn down? What needs sharpening?

Look especially at these four key areas:

Physical: Am I sleeping well? Moving regularly? Eating healthy?
Spiritual: Do I feel anchored in purpose? Am I spending time in reflection and prayer?
Mental: Is my mind engaged and refreshed, or just overloaded?
Social/Emotional: Am I connecting with others or isolating myself? Am I emotionally steady or reactive?

Pick one practice in each domain to add (or recommit to) for the next six months of the year. Make them simple and doable:

Take a 30-minute walk each morning
Start and end your day with prayer or meditation
Read a book for 15 minutes a day
Call a friend each week for a catch-up
Establish a weekly marriage meeting with your spouse

Make these practices a part of your daily checklist. Do them. Use the solstice to recommit to this kind of regular, meaningful self-renewal.

Set One Big Goal for the Rest of the Year

Once you’ve clarified your roles and renewed your energy, you’re in a good position to think about direction. Don’t overwhelm yourself with a dozen new objectives. Just pick one big thing you want to move the needle on before the year ends.

Ask:

What project or change would make me feel proud if I accomplished it by December?
What challenge would stretch me in a meaningful way?
What’s something I’ve been putting off that I now feel ready to start?

It could be:

Whatever the goal is, write it down. Then, work backward to outline the steps you’ll take over the next six months to accomplish your aim.

The summer solstice is the year’s high noon. Use the extra light to look clearly at where you stand — and where you’re headed.

Check your roles. Sharpen your edge. Set your sights on big goals.

Then, get to work. See you at the winter solstice.