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Mental Health
Embrace the Feels By Setting Emotional Goals This Year!
At the beginning of this year, I created a different resolution list. This year I decided to focus on my emotional wellness more and let my emotions take center stage. While typically, most resolutions focus on physical health, career, and even learning new skills, we often overlook the importance of emotional goals. So, let’s shake things up and set some emotional goals for a change!
Emotions are as important as any other aspect of your wellness, if not more. Setting emotional goals can help you work on your self-awareness, and emotional growth, and even aid stress reduction. I know, surprising, right? So, shall we see what are emotional goals and how you can set them to work on your emotional wellness?
“Embrace your emotions as a treasure chest of self-discovery.”
What Are Emotional Goals?
Emotional goals are the lesser-known, but equally important goals that are slightly different from the external goals we usually set for ourselves. These emotional wellness goals revolve around improving your inner self and nurturing your emotional health, all the while working to build resilience. A relaxing spa for your soul, if you will.
The emotional goals you set are measurable and specific. You can measure emotional goals by writing in a journal to log your emotional state, identify areas of improvement, and track how well you’ve been addressing your emotional goals. Emotional goals, just like other types such as spiritual goals, can be long-term and short-term.
The Importance of Setting Emotional Goals
Setting emotional goals can help you dig deep within yourself, understand your feelings, what triggers them, and how you can respond to them better. When you learn to set emotional goals, you can also learn how to regulate your emotions, further helping you cope with stress effectively. This act not only benefits your mental health but also impacts your physical wellness.
With emotional goals, you can see an improvement in your emotional health. When you’re emotionally healthy, you tend to have healthier relationships too. With a newfound emotional intelligence and awareness, you can learn to communicate better, empathize more, and build deeper connections with others.
And when life throws a curveball, emotional goals can teach you how to bounce back from setbacks, making you more resilient in the face of adversity.
How to Set Emotional Goals?
Setting emotional goals is an art in itself. Here are some easy and effective tips to help you set your emotional goals for better emotional health;
- Reflect: Spend some time reflecting on your emotions. What makes you happy? What triggers your stress? Self-reflection is the first step toward setting meaningful and measurable emotional goals.
- Break Them Down: Break your emotional goals into smaller steps. For example, if your goal is to lower stress, then break it down into steps like practicing mindfulness, exercising regularly, or keeping a journal.
- Be Accountable: Learn to be accountable for your goals by sharing your goals with a friend or family member who can support you. You’re more likely to stick to your goals when someone else is cheering you on.
- Track Progress: Don’t forget to track even the smallest steps and celebrate them. Reward yourself for taking steps toward your emotional goals.
10 Emotional Goals for Better Emotional Health
1.Daily Mindfulness
Dedicate a few minutes each day to practicing mindfulness. This practice can help you stay present in the moment, reduce stress levels, and boost your emotional resilience.
2.Express Gratitude
Make it a daily habit to write down things you’re grateful for each day. This grateful journal practice will help you focus more on the positive aspects of life rather than sticking to the negative ones that hold you back.
3.Allow Vulnerability
Allow yourself to be vulnerable. Challenge yourself to be more open in your relationships. By doing this, embracing vulnerability can lead to deeper connections and healthy emotional growth.
4.Learn to Forgive
Work on forgiving others who have hurt you in the past. If you keep holding onto grudges, it can make you feel emotionally tired and drained. Learn to let go of grudges and forgive others for your emotion’s sake.
5.Learn to Say “NO”
Another long-term emotional goal you can set is saying “NO”. Setting boundaries can be good for your emotional well-being. So, don’t be afraid to say “NO” when you feel the need to.
6.Practice Self-Compassion
Treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you offer to others. Whether you’re going through a hard time or good days, don’t forget to be kind and compassionate to yourself. The idea is to embrace your feelings and this includes all feelings.
7.Journal Your Thoughts
Keep and maintain a steady emotional journal where you can write and track your emotional progress and thought processes. Having a journal can help you process your emotions better and even gain clarity.
8.Take Care of Yourself
Make time for self-care. It’s non-negotiable! You need to maintain a healthy self-care routine if you want to work on your emotional health, in the long term. Self-care activities can include something as simple as taking a bath or engaging in your favorite hobby for your sake.
9.Learn to Face Fear
Fear can often hold you back from achieving your success. Know that feeling fear is normal but don’t let your fear overwhelm you. Face them head-on and let them go.
10.Act, But Don’t React
One of the things emotions lead us to do is react instantly. Reacting can cause regret, so this is another emotional goal you need to set. Act but not react. When you act, you make a conscious decision with more control. Reacting comes from not being able to control emotions. So, learn to act, not react.
Wrapping Up…
This year I decided to shake up my resolution and focus on my emotional health. Setting emotional goals is a delightful journey of exploring your inner self. A wonderful and meaningful journey that leads you to a path of better resilience, better compassion, and better emotional health.
Just know that your emotional goals can be different – better suited to you. How you set your long-term or short-term emotional goals is up to you, your experiences, your relationships, and your feelings.
So, don’t wait – dive straight into the world of emotions and embrace those feelings. Let your emotions take the limelight for a change!
I hope these emotional goals will help you improve your emotional health. Let me know which emotional goal suits you best or if your goal isn’t listed here, then comment below with your list of emotional goals you’d like to share!
Good Luck!