The talk about good mental health, mental balance and how to achieve or maintain that is fucking incessant. It’s also somewhat shallow and never really develes into how to do that. Actually, I take that back, there is constant chatter about fucking journaling ,meditation and being outside. Don’t get me wrong, I actually adore journaling, meditation, and some outdoor activities, but those don’t work for everyone, and they certainly aren’t the end all fucking be all of mental health.
All that being said, the very first step in achieving and maintaining good mental health is creating mental health goals and then pursuing the shit out of them. To do this, one must start with the simple step of identifying what is a problem for you and what you believe needs to change. Perhaps you do this by envisioning your ideal outlook, the behaviors you wish you both did and didn’t have, the habits you have, and the perspective you have. You may consider how you handle conflict, emotions, stressors, and problem solving. Maybe you consider how you are in relationships, friendships, and peer interactions. Any and all of these aspects are considerations you should be taking as you prioritize what you want to work on ,start doing, or stop doing.
Now, I will say this, this can be really hard to do. It is difficult, uncomfortable, and sometimes downright, painful to exam and confront every shitty thing you’ve done, the things that cause you shame and embarrassment. To look at your weaknesses, strengths, and fuckups is not for the faint of heart. But to look at yourself with that sort of wide-eyed honesty and decide to take control is a badass move that nobody can deny you.
Now that you’ve decided to prioritize yourself and your health, and you’ve identified the areas you want to work on and prioritize their scale of importance, you can create your goals.
The only thing you need to know when creating as many or as little goals that you want is they need to be SMART. Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and Time Bound.
The best way to explain this is by example. Let’s pretend your goal is to manage your stress. A specific goal would be to start mindful meditation, a measurable goal would be to meditate for 10 minutes every day, an achievable goal would be to recognize you have the time in your evening routine, a relevant goal is meditation will address managing your stress and a time bound goal would be to address how effective your stress is being managed during scheduled intervals.
Now, you can break down any goal to help you manage your mental health.
…..until next week
herewesayf&@#k!!! 