Stefano Mercato Ph.D.
Eating Mindfully
The Time to Aim Low
When lowering goals and expectations is the right choice.
Posted May 05, 2021
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Reviewed by Lybi Ma
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First, Happy 2021 to all of you. A new year brings new hope and new energy. We ourselves needed new energy to start off, as the year started with a bang. Many of us started to lose weight, in healthy ways, and that made a great deal of change. The good news is that dropping the weight we already acquired is an effective strategy for improving mental health.
However, focusing on lowering goals is usually not enough. That is, until you specify something you want to achieve. What is something you want to achieve? This helps to give shape to your future and helps to bring clarity and focus.
So, what are some specific things you might want to lower in order to improve your mental wellness?
Reducing anxiety by controlling your emotions by controlling your breathing and by prioritizing your emotions over your past
Choosing a therapist to talk with about your currently-existing emotional environments
Going for a full medical exam and getting vaccinated
Having therapy for physical health by having a veterinarian attend to your sick pet
Treating yourself to a program or exercise regime that you can do at home
Once you have a list of things that you are currently trying to do, the next thing to try is to define them. Take a piece of paper and write for 10 minutes about what you would like to achieve during the coming weeks. It should be small and focused on the items that are most important to you.
Think about the 10 items that are most important to you. Click "Make it happen" on the list and then "Make It happen" on the tasks that are available. (Bear in mind that sometimes it does not make sense to go to the trouble of creating an activity that is different from what you already have, so if you do, then it is helpful to look at that and make a determination on what task is most appropriate for you.)
Once you have made a determination, then look back at the tasks that you have completed so far. These tasks can be organized into a gratitude list or a gratitude list of its own. Once you have responded to each task, it is time to look forward to the next step. This time for example, if you have a list of the tasks that are needed for your New Year’s Resolutions, grid your task list into a gratitude list of its own. These can be lists of different tasks, such as, "I need to get my NYRR to be good now. I am going to get my NYRR today" or "I need to get my NYRR to be good now. I am going to get my NYRR in 2021."
Rhythms of heart and spirit
I have long argued that the best way to create positive change is to focus and move freely in the world. But this does not mean that you cannot engage in a kind of procrastination that defies simple categorization. You cannot just put it off.
You need to move freely but try to match your actions with your thoughts and feelings. If you can do the mental list of things you want to achieve, you have a framework that will guide you.
With all of this in mind, your life may resemble a black-and-white, all-or-nothing experience. The events of 2020 and 2021 are going to have a huge impact on your happiness. If you struggle with setting SMART goals, then it may help to set SMART goals, and then try to change the outcome. In my next post, I will talk about how to make your New Year's resolutions work for you.