Effective Ways to Set and Reach Your Goals
Goals give you something to look forward to. Working toward and reaching goals can be instrumental in improving your attitude, which can be beneficial in all phases of mental health recovery.
Goals are pathways to productivity and reminders to keep you motivated. They don’t always have to be big lofty goals; they can be daily goals (like a to-do list to get done) or weekly, or monthly goals (like setting deadlines for a school assignment or work projects).
Depending on your goal, it might be helpful to set aside time specifically to work towards your goal every day.
Benefits of goal setting:
Give a sense of personal satisfaction
Goal setting can be overwhelming, but after setting objectives and S.M.A.R.T goals, it’s easier to develop a better sense of personal satisfaction. Setting, then finally actually reaching those goals drives you to feel like you are capable of getting to all of goals you had set.
Allow you to prioritize change
Prioritization is a hard tool to come by these days; we all struggle with it at moments. Many of us have no idea how to prioritize the changes we’d like to make. One of the biggest benefits of goal setting is that it is an extremely useful tool to prioritize these changes. It gives a step-by-step action on what we are supposed to be doing.
Prevent us from feeling overwhelmed
Goals help us all in one form or another slow down and figure out why we are performing certain actions. Slowing down is important for the brain to connect actions and goal. When you don’t see improvement right away, you become discouraged in fulfilling your destination.
And this is a wrong conception.
Tips for Goal Setting
Keep it simple
While it might be difficult to visualize yourself in the peak of wellbeing in however many years’ time, it is easier to envision yourself as happier, less anxious and more relaxed later in the same day once you have completed a smaller goal.
Write down your goals
By writing your goal down, you create a visual aid that will help you achieve it. Put your written objectives in a place where you can see them regularly; this will remind you of what you intend to accomplish, promoting motivation and consistency.
Make goals a priority
Your goals will not happen if you don’t make them happen – and make them a priority. Prioritizing them means prioritizing your mental health, which is a powerful method of practicing self-care.
Celebrate success!
Lastly, it’s important to celebrate your successes while on your mental health journey! No matter what your goal is, take some time to reflect on and celebrate the success that you’ve made, including the achievement of the smaller goals that accompany your larger picture.
If you are struggling to set or strive for your goal, you may benefit from working with Dr. Carla. Set up a time to talk with her and benefit from a free consultation.
