Is it to spend more time outside? Get better quality sleep? Spend more intentional time with your community?

Whatever your 2024 goals are, many of us share at least one common goal: better mental health.

The month of January typically brings about a level of excitement for many people. As it marks the start of a new year, many take this time to set new goals and expectations for their year. One of the most popular ways to capture this is by creating vision boards.

Whether it’s sitting down, cutting magazines, and gluing pictures to a poster board or creating a digital graphic using images you have found online, vision boards remain a crowd favorite.

Recently we have seen more conversations centered on what it takes to actually make the goals we place on vision boards become a reality. One of the best ways to make sure we reach a goal is to create small, actionable steps that get us closer and closer each day.

If your goal is to have better mental health this year, have you considered regular steps to add to your routine to make sure that happens?

Here are a few things we are considering:

1. Quality Self-Care

The days of self-care being centered on bubble baths and shopping sprees are over. This year, we are committing to more consistent, intentional self-care practices. This looks like drinking more water, practicing grounding techniques, and scheduling uninterrupted time for ourselves. Simply put, this year we are truly caring for ourselves.

2. Consistent Movement

Whether it’s going for a daily walk or committing to a gym routine, this year we are committing to consistently moving our bodies. It is no secret that physical movement has a direct impact on our mental health. Moving our bodies is such an easy, but important activity to commit to.

3. Time with Community

While life circumstances may not allow us to live close to or even see our family and friends often, we can all do better about spending more time with our community. Humans were not meant to live in isolation and we need to spend time, whether virtual or in-person, with the people we love.

4. Less Screen Time

Let’s face it, technology is a huge part of our everyday lives. Whether it’s the demands of work or school, it is hard to escape using technology in some form everyday. However, we can commit to spending more time away from screens when we are able to do so.

There are many ways to tap into creativity that does not involve using screens. Consider adopting a new, technology-free hobby.

5. More Grace

The most important thing for this year? Having more grace for ourselves. We are all trying really hard to do so many things at once. Simply being a human is hard work and we deserve more credit just for the ways we show up each and every day.

It comes as no surprise that 2023 proved to be a hard year for many folks. With a never-ending news cycle of calamity, on both the national and local levels, coupled with our own personal challenges and struggles, many people found it difficult to navigate through the year, let alone with their mental health intact.

While we cannot guarantee an absence of challenges this year, we can plan for how to better care for ourselves when things do arise. By committing to consistently doing the things listed above, we are taking the necessary steps for better mental health in 2024.

Will you join us this year in taking those everyday small steps?

If you or someone you know needs a bit more support or help during this time, please visit our website to find help. There are resources available and you do not have to struggle in silence.

Better Mental Health in 2024