Today’s blog was written by Freya Love, Assistant Psychologist and Dr Ellie Atkins at Headspace Guildford. We are wishing everyone a very happy new year from Headspace Guildford.
This blog is inspired by the Action for Happiness organisation. Action for Happiness create calendars for every month, with tasks and reminders for you. They aim to use evidence-based ways to improve your mental health every day. If you have been to our Headspace Guildford office, you may have noticed these hanging up!
The Action for Happiness calendar for January is particularly useful. January is a time for fresh starts, so what better time to pick up some healthy habits and self-care routines to help you and your mental health in the new year.
Something to remember about new years resolutions, and your goals for the new year, is that it can be useful to make them tangible and achievable. When we make big, more vague goals, they can feel quite unattainable and overwhelming, and we can put off working towards them day-to-day. Instead, try small daily steps that can help you move towards this big end goal.
So, if there’s something you’d like to aim towards this year, first write it down – in your phone, your diary, on a post it note. Stick it up on your fridge, your mirror, your pinboard. Read it regularly. Then break it down into achievable goals. A very wise cyclist I know once said that cycling around the world is so huge there’s no way you’d know how to do it, but you can cycle to the end of the road, or up the next hill or across town. And that way he managed to make it all the way around the world (https://alastairhumphreys.com/). So, learn from Al’s experience and start with just a small goal. One step. If you want to get more exercise, start by just taking a walk to the post box and back. Then next time you can walk a bit further. If you want to do a 5km run, start by running 1km. If you want to be better at financial management, start by writing down what you spent that day or that week.
The action for happiness calendar can be a good place to start. You could just pick a few and try them, or set yourself the target of achieving 10 out of the 31 suggestions this month. Or, every day read what the challenge is and find a way to do it that day.
We’re really good at knowing what we want to achieve but then beating ourselves up when we don’t manage to achieve our high expectations. So also give yourself a break. The period before Christmas is so full on, this January we’re juggling with Omicron, cold weather, getting all those things done which we put off during the festive season. So be kind to yourself. Celebrate what you do manage to achieve, including things like getting all your work done or making time to chat with a friend. Setting targets helps us achieve our goals. But you are good enough, just as you are. That’s a good place to start.