10 Short Term Mental Health Goals That Will Change Your Life

Have you ever made a resolution or set up a short-term mental health goal and ended up being in the same situation 2 days later? Here is a step-by-step guide that will assist you in making an efficient short-term mental health goal with 10+ examples that have the potential to change your life. 

What Are Short-Term Mental Health Goals?

No matter how successful you are, setting up future goals is always needed. A goal will help you walk towards a specific path while managing your mental health. Goals can be of two types:-

• Short term goals
• Long term goals

Short-term goals are those which may take approx one-two month to complete. These are the leading stairs for setting up long-term goals. 

Why Are Short-Term Mental Health Goals Important In Your Life?

Living life without goals is just like walking without any destination. Goals help you live life with full confidence and discipline. As you complete your short-term goal one by one, your confidence level will increase. Lao Tzu once said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”.

Tips For Setting Up Goals

Use the SMART approach to set up your goals. Under the SMART approach, your goals must be:

SPECIFIC– Your goal must be specific. It should answer the who, why, what, which and how. The more definite your goal will be, the more quickly it will be attained. 

MEASURABLE– Your goal should be measurable and should answer how much or how many. If you can track your progress, it will help you boost your dedication.

ATTAINABLE– You should make realistic goals. The goals should be achievable and not an impossible thing to do. Making goals like losing 20kgs of weight within 1 week is impossible and will make you demotivated. Goals are best when it is neither too easy nor too difficult to do. 

RELEVANT– The goals should be relevant. If a goal is not beneficial to you, then why do it in the first place? 

TIME-BASED– You should make goals for a defined period. There should be a deadline by which you have to achieve the goal. Deadlines will keep you motivated. 

Don’t do it Alone

Start trying to achieve your short-term mental health goals with a company. A good company will keep you motivated and help you achieve your goals. 

Track your progress

Tracking your progress will help you know how close you are to your destination. Tracking and sharing your progress will enhance your desire to achieve the goal. 

10 Short Term Mental Health Goals

These are some of the short-term mental health goals that have the potential to change your life if you stay committed to them. It will help in increasing the well-being of your mental health. You can either choose one task per day or do all the tasks in a single day for short durations. 

1. Running

There is something unusual about running. You can start your day by keeping a target of running 1km every day. Once you start achieving the target of 1km, slowly start increasing the target by 200m every day. Running will not only help you in keeping physically fit but will also boost your mental stamina. You will be able to control your body and mind through running. 

2. Baking Or Cooking

Cooking/Baking is therapeutic to a lot of people. Cooking will give you a sense of responsibility. It will train you to become more organized, punctual, and responsible. In case you fail, don’t get demotivated and try again. Cooking a perfect dish or baking a wonderful cake will give you a feeling of accomplishment and confidence. Remember- Great Chefs did not learn the art of cooking in their mother’s womb. 

3. Self Care Activities

Practicing self-care activities such as daily spas, massages, face masks, etc., can be highly remedial to mental health. People nowadays forget about themselves in this busy life schedule. Self-care will help you look good and will make you glow. It will help to boost your confidence. 

4. Reading Books

As exercise makes your body physically fit, reading books is also important for your mind. Books act as a sharpener to your mental health. They help your mind to get engaged daily. Making a short-term goal of reading at least 20 pages daily will help you to read almost 25 books in one year. Finishing a book gives a lot to the human mind- the facts, sense of learning, and accomplishment. 

5. Gardening 

Many people feel gardening to be a great way to connect to nature. It can help in promoting positive mental health growth. If you are connected with someone and have seen them grow over time, it gives you a sense of accountability to take care of your plants. Experts say that gardening can be beneficial for good mental health. 

6.  Journaling Daily

Jotting down your feelings will help you keep track of your day, what new things you learned, etc., daily. Keep a short-term goal of journaling for at least one month, and you will get a habit of doing it every day for the rest of the year. Journaling is a great tool for a healthy lifestyle for better managing and coping with stress, anxiety, and mental health conditions. 

7. Meditation And Yoga

Meditation has always been a way to attain a peaceful and stress-free mind. People all over the world practice meditation in their free time as a way of releasing excess stress. Try to meditate daily, and you will surely be amazed by its impact on mental health. Doing yoga also causes a positive impact on a person’s mental health. It boosts their mental performance. It can affect your mood by increasing brain chemical levels, which is associated with better mood and decreased anxiety. 

8. Maintaining A Healthy Diet

Life without pizzas and burgers seems so empty, right? You have no idea how bad this junk food can be to your mind. A bad physical state means a bad mental state. Try setting up a short-term goal of eating less junk. Eating fruits and vegetables can positively impact your mental well-being thus, try to include them in your daily diet as a goal. 

9. Solving Brain Puzzles

Are you having so much stress and no solution to relieve it? Fight stress by working on another part of the brain. Try solving word puzzle games such as sudoku or building blocks like lego to destress yourself. Engaging your ten minutes in these mindful games will help you enhance your brain functioning and help you understand the value of patience. 

10. Practicing Gratitude

Gratitude is the act of doing something without expecting something in return. Set up a short-term goal of practicing the act of gratitude for 1 month. Do good, and you will notice a definite change in your overall attitude. It helps people get rid of harmful and toxic energy and brings them peace, thus positively impacting their mental health. 

BONUS!

• Practice self-love and self-compassion
• Start listening to soft music. It works as a therapy
• Respect and understand your feelings. 
• Start doing your hobbies in your free time. It can help you to unwind and relax. 
• Do exercise daily. Set a target of 20 mins and increase it by 5 minutes daily.
• Find new ways to manage your stress, anxiety, and depression. 

How To Track Your Goals

You would have already learned by now that a good goal needs to be measurable. If the goal is measurable, it is easy to track the progress and gain motivation. Following are some of how you can track your goals:- 

Bullet Journaling

Journaling is a great way to relieve stress and anxiety, no doubt. Creating a bullet journal would help you to track your daily progress. 

Use of Tracking Apps

An alternative method of using a pen and paper is by using an app for tracking your progress towards the short-term goal. There are many following apps such as GoalsOnTrack, Coach.me, Weekdone available, which will track your progress and show you the complete analysis of your work done to date. These can be a considerable source of motivation as well. 

Buddy System

Having a company to share your daily goals with is the best. If you have someone with whom you can share your daily progress or someone willing to accompany you for completing your goals, then take advantage of that. People can provide you with a lot of motivation as well. There are also thousands of communities built exactly for this purpose. Being accountable to people for your goal is the best way by which you can achieve your goal.  

Conclusion

Short-term goals are a stair to a long-term goal. Short-term goals for mental health development will give you a peaceful and stress-free mind in the end. Once we start achieving these short-term mental health goals, we can also begin shaping ourselves for larger future goals. Take notes of all the small victories and reward yourself for how far you’ve come.

Now that you know about the best short-term mental health goals, let’s tell you the perfect way to achieve them and keep yourself healthy.

Therapy allows you to reach your mental health goals and deal with the challenges that come your way effectively. Access to therapy has gotten much easier with the advent of online therapy platforms. To learn about the top online therapy platforms, click here.

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