Is 2015 The Year You Or Someone You Know Enrolls at the Halftime Institute?

By Jeff Spadafora

As a new year approaches, I always enjoy reading articles and commentaries about New Year’s resolutions. I think it’s because I am incredibly curious and passionate about helping people make big changes in their personal lives that lead them toward greater personal satisfaction and a more significant impact on their families and in the world.

What surprises me is how much attention is paid to “bold moves”, “goal setting” and “steeling our wills” to make this the year, by golly, that things will be different. These strategies may work if we want to eat less chocolate or exercise more, but if our goal is to re-arrange our lives to finally start living with greater joy, balance and impact on the world, a more comprehensive approach is needed.

Shifting our thinking and habits at this magnitude has a massive ripple effect that extends to our work, finances, marriages, faith, parenting . . . to name just a few elements that are affected. Said another way, changes of this size are complex. This is the nature of a halftime transition. Over the course of 15 years of helping people make these transitions, we’ve created a Holy Spirit-driven and tried-and-true process for helping people in this unique season of life.

Here are the core elements of our approach at the Halftime Institute that our coaches worldwide have experienced personally and are equipped to guide others through:

1. This is a journey, not a single decision. The halftime transition is made up of hundreds of small decisions, and a few big ones, over the course of 1-2 years. Most people in the early stages of halftime are shocked (even skeptical) that it may take them this long, but reorienting to lives of service (which, by the way, is the path to the greatest joy) takes time if we want to ensure that finances, marriage, and careers don’t get thrown out of whack in the process.

2. Don’t travel this road alone. Every year, we hear a 5-10 people say: “I read Bob Buford’s book Halftime and then went and changed my life.” I suspect it happens to 20-30 others per year that we don’t hear from also. The problem is that the other 80,000 people who read Bob’s book each year can get stalled and frustrated. Get some people who know and love you to weigh in on your decisions throughout the year.

3. Have an experienced guide. While having friends and family involved in your journey is helpful, having an experienced guide is invaluable. If you want to catch big fish, would you get the assistance of people who simply love fishing or from those who know how to catch big fish? The Halftime Institute has a global network of coaches who have successfully made their own transition to significance, feel called to help others do the same, and have committed themselves to the training necessary to have the privilege of serving others on this journey.

4. You’ll want to quit — several times. If you don’t have a few sleepless nights during this process, my hunch is that you are rearranging the deck chairs on a life that you already know is not fulfilling. Fear will lure you back to the comfort zone of sub-optimized living. Don’t give in. Sacrifice, self-denial, and risk are prices to be paid on the toll road toward greater joy and peace. When you’ve reached your destination of hearing directly from God about how to manage your life, the peace and joy will be so high that the costs incurred along the way will seem trivial in retrospect. Ask anyone who’s made the transition and they’ll agree.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, in effect, “If you want to protect your life and micro-manage it toward safety and comfort, you’ll end up losing your soul. But if you want to really live, follow my teachings and you’ll be amazed at the joy and freedom you’ll find.” This is one of the most counter-intuitive truths of our universe and we at the Halftime Institute are committed to helping you gradually and intentionally experience that truth.

So as you think through how 2015 could be different for you or someone you know is in this unique season of life called “halftime”, consider our Members Program at the Halftime Institute. In fact, we want to offer two things to help you or someone you know take this next step: