Below are six simple shifts you can make in less than a week to prioritize your mental health. Choose the ones that resonate with you and ditch the rest. The goal is not to go through the motions as a means of overachieving but to dial into whichever practices best suit you and your needs.
1. Slow Down
We live in a culture of constant busyness, where more is often seen as better. When it comes to taking care of your mental health, however, sometimes the best thing to do is slow down and simplify your life. There is often a fixation on improving your life when, in reality, it is the strain of striving for over-achievement that is at the core. Try slowing down so you can learn to enjoy the present moment instead of rushing to accomplish the next goal.
2. Create your own Definition of Success
It’s common to maintain whatever definition of success you internalized. The problem is, we often craft our lives around trying to achieve a version of success that we might not even agree with once we get there. Taking some time to explore what messages you have received about the definition of success and how to achieve it so you can begin to create a version of success that works for you.
3. Practice Patience
Learn that change takes time. Sometimes a lot of time. Set expectations not to expect an instant change when a particular behaviour took root over many years.
4. Get Clear on your Values
Getting clear on your values is one of the first steps in prioritizing which areas of your life are most critical to work on first. Write a list of everything you wish to improve, prioritizing from most important to least important, to get a sense of where your values lie.
5. Do More of What Lights you up
Do more of what lights you up. What might be relaxing and recharging for one person might not be for someone else. For example, someone may go out in nature when feeling ungrounded whereas others would prefer to take a bath instead.
6. Lean into Support
It may be hard to make meaningful change in your life all on your own, which is why learning to accept that you may need support from time to time and that support is important to everyone’s personal growth journey.