Mental Health Tips for Values and Goals

By Kendra Penski on January 5, 2022 in Blog, Therapy

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Post it notes next to computer that is titled "Goals" to represent mental health tips mental health tips to align values and goals.Having a hard time staying focused on your goals? Losing sight of what is most important to you? Feeling stuck and having difficulty moving forward? These are all such common experiences, especially when we lose sight of the bigger picture. It’s easy to go through our days focused on small tasks and mundane chores while losing sight of our reasons for doing these things. To help, check out these quick mental health tips to help you align to your values and goals! 

Mental Health Tips [Step 1] 

One of the best tips for mental health is to take a step back and spend some time identifying your larger goals and your reasons why. Why is it that you go to work each day? Why is it important to get a walk-in with the dog? Think about those things that are important and write them down! 

Focus Your Goals [Step 2] 

Next, see if you can narrow down your top 3-5 goals and list them in order of importance. For example, if family is the most important to you, but health is also an important piece and helping others is another reason for you to get up in the morning it might look like this:

  1. Family
  2. Health – physical/emotional
  3. Helping Others

Keep Goals Top of Mind [Step 3]

Post these somewhere you are sure to see on a daily basis. Some suggestions – on the fridge, in the car, on the bathroom mirror, on your computer.

Align With Your Goals [Step 4]

Use these reminders as a way to ask yourself if the things you are doing today are aligning with your overall values and goals. And praise yourself when they are! Remember that something as small as taking a walk outside aligns with the value of physical and emotional health!

Keep these as reminders to yourself and update them as things change.

Mental Health Tips [Change it Up]

Another one of our mental health tips—if you find that you still have this message up but are no longer “seeing it” try moving it to a different place, writing it with a marker, drawing a picture, anything that will help draw attention back to these goals. It’s not uncommon for us to no longer “see” something when our eyes get used to it on a daily basis so we need to change it up regularly to continue to get the message. 

If you are having trouble following these mental health tips, figuring out these values, or even having trouble coming up with goals that help you work towards these values, consider meeting with a therapist who can better help you identify your values (contact us to get connected). Using these tips for better mental health to lead a values-based life contributes to more satisfaction and happiness. Happy writing!

By: Kendra Penski, LCSW