5 Realistic Goals To Set This Year That'll Actually Make You Feel Good

A lot of us talk a big game about the importance of gratitude but still battle with fear, anxiety, stress, anger, and bitterness on a daily basis. It might be that we are treating gratitude as one more thing to cross off of our wellness “to-do” list, instead of really feeling and practicing it.

If you find yourself in complaint mode, pay attention to what triggers you and set up healthy boundaries so that you can distance yourself from things that aren’t serving your physical and mental health. That way, you’ll have more room for the things that make the cut on your gratitude list.

2.

Sometimes wellness looks like changing the foods you eat.

There’s no such thing as “bad” food. But there are no doubt foods that are bad for you! We each have a unique biochemistry that plays a role in how our bodies respond to everything from stress, to toxins, to the foods we eat. 

Swapping out inflammatory food and drinks that don’t love you back with nutrient-dense foods that do isn’t “toxic diet culture;” it's another form of healthy boundaries. It’s also respecting your body enough to fuel it with the things it loves.

Advertisement

3.

Sometimes wellness looks like doing good for others.

In the wellness world, we talk a lot about setting up boundaries and cutting activities and people out that don’t align with our goals and vision for our lives. However, if we aren’t careful, this can lead to a self-serving mentality that doesn’t leave room for compassion, empathy, and sacrifice for others.

Studies have shown that helping others1 can give you a sense of purpose, improve your mental health, and bring about a sense of connection. Choose a cause you love and carve out time in your life to volunteer or donate. Remember, helping others doesn’t always have to be at the expense of your time and values. Healthy boundaries are vital to your health but they shouldn’t stop you from participating in helping the greater good—whatever that looks like for you.

4.

Sometimes wellness looks like taking responsibility and facing conflict head-on.

Advertisement

5.

Sometimes wellness looks like letting yourself feel every emotion.

Anger, sadness, excitement, fear, and anxiety are all emotions that meet us on a daily basis—but society doesn’t always give us room to feel them. The problem with that is it leaves a lot of us walking through life with unresolved emotions that we’ve had to bury deep inside ourselves. Years of unprocessed feelings contribute to shame and trauma.

So next time you feel anything, give yourself room to really feel it. Journaling, crying, and even screaming, can all be ways to let out your emotions so that you can move on to the next stage of healing: resolution. Chances are, facing conflicts head-on as we talked about earlier will be a lot easier once you’ve identified your emotions and had time to explore them with yourself (and a trusted counselor)!

Advertisement