This new year marks the beginning of a new decade! It’s the perfect time to set goals for your mental and physical health. Scratch a hasty resolution, and focus on short-term and long-term goals that work for overall wellbeing.

Why set goals for your health?

Meaningful goals have the power to motivate us towards both small wins and life altering changes. Setting short-term and long-term health goals helps to maintain focus on whole body wellness over time in a way that is measurable and achievable. Goals can be set for both physical health and mental health, and these often align to benefit overall wellbeing!

Long-term goals for health

When it comes to setting goals, thinking about the larger purpose can help propel you in the right direction. How would you like to feel in one year? How about in five years? For mental health, long-term goals should center around happiness and contentment. For physical health, long-term goals should center around feeling comfortable and being able to maintain an active lifestyle.

Here are a few examples of measurable long-term goals for a healthier life:

• Maintain or achieve a healthy weight
• Increase physical flexibility
• Build strength
• Keep blood sugar and cholesterol levels in check
• Improve emotional wellness

It is important to acknowledge that setbacks will occur in the course of achieving these long-term goals, but maintaining consistency is more important than expecting perfection.

Short-term goals for health

Short-term goals help you achieve milestones towards a long-term goal or wellness journey. They’re important to both measure your success and celebrate your accomplishments.

Here are a few examples of short-term goals:

• To make healthy food choices, meal plan for the week in advance so that you are less tempted to make unhealthy food choices when you have a bad day.
• To exercise more, find ways to stay active in your home and community so that it’s easy to fit exercise into your schedule at a regular cadence.
• To get better sleep, aim to keep a regular sleep schedule, and to get 7–9 hours of sleep each night.
• To reduce stress, check in with yourself regularly, and be mindful of your emotional wellness. When you feel stressed, consider taking a timeout such as going for a walk or meditating.
• To reduce anxiety, keep a journal of when and why negative thoughts occur, and challenge yourself to turn those thoughts into more positive ones.

As you think about your goals for 2020 and the decade ahead, consider what will make you feel the best. From there, you can effectively set long-term and short-term goals to live a healthier, happier life. To speak with a physician, psychologist or psychiatrist for help setting or reaching your health goals, Doctor On Demand is available on your schedule, wherever you are.