My wife’s a middle child. She tells stories about how she felt left out and sometimes caught in the middle. You may feel like you’re always the middle person on the team. Not the best, not the worst.

And we’re caught in the awkward couple of weeks in the middle of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The middle gets a bad rap.

The middle is a strange time or position. So what do you do when you’re after a large event and before another. The church often has these times. You want to simply rest, but you’re overcome with the stress of what’s to come. Been there? There now?

Here are 3 sanity checks you should do when caught in the middle:

1. Discuss the victories. You believe you know the successes; but enjoy the different vantage points and opinions by sharing them with others that have been involved. You’ll be surprised at what they will consider victories; and hearing from different people in a meeting is the best way to encourage those who’ve just worked extremely hard and it’ll motivate them to greater things for the next big event.

2. Itemize the things you’d do different. Slow Step #1 down and keep people from jumping to this second point. But once you do, be sure you start writing the findings. Be clear how it failed. Make sure it’ll start you thinking about the next step. Solving the issues is the point of this; not attacking anyone.

3. Apply what you’ve learned to the next big event. Decide ahead of time what your “successes” will be for the next event. List them. It’ll give you a starting point for “discussing the victories” that you’ll do afterwards. Application of what you’ve learned is the greatest form of sanity. Actually changing things so you achieve better measured results.

Caught in the middle? Take this time to take a deep breath. It’s ok to relax. But practice these 3 steps to improve yourself in the future. You have time. However Christmas is only a few weeks away. Don’t get caught in the middle. Enjoy the middle!