Despite making so much progress in the battle against COVID, we continue to experience various social, economic, employment-related, and mental health consequences. These long-term challenges can impact both self-confidence and mental health. This can be especially true for parents who are navigating caring for themselves as well as their children. However, our team of online therapists in North Carolina at Be BOLD Psychology & Consulting would love to offer some tips to improve your mood, increase self-esteem, and feel better in your day-to-day.
Create SMART Goals
The first step on any self-improvement journey is setting goals. The reason for this is simple: Setting goals makes you far more likely to succeed. For starters, this process allows you to fully visualize exactly what you want out of your self-improvement efforts. Moreover, it empowers you to make a specific, measurable, achievable, time-limited plan you can use to reach those goals. When you have specific and measurable goals, it is easier to be able to know if you have accomplished them or not, and also easier for an accountability partner to help!
In order to be truly effective, your goals need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound – in other words, they need to be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). SMART goals can help you improve your life in several ways. First of all, they provide a clear roadmap for what you want to achieve. This can boost your motivation and confidence, knowing that you have a plan to follow. Secondly, SMART goals force you to be realistic about what you can achieve, which can help you avoid disappointment and frustration down the road. Finally, setting SMART goals gives you a way to measure your progress and see how far you’ve come. So if you’re looking to make some positive changes in your life, remember to set some SMART goals! A therapist can help you to create and implement your SMART goals! We would love to help, and several of our therapists in North Carolina have availability!
Starting Your Own Business
Have you always dreamed of being your own boss? Do you want to fully make and dictate your own schedule? Maybe, starting a business is for you! But, it can be difficult to know where to start without a guide on how to start a company. This guide offers some steps you can take and what you need to think about and plan for when starting out.
If you may need startup funding, one option is to cash out some of your home equity by refinancing your home. This can provide you with the cash needed to start your business on secure financial footing. That will help you be confident in making decisions for your new business knowing you have funding.
Once funded, it’s still wise to find ways to save money where you can. One option when you’re starting out is to use an invoice maker for free online instead of investing in invoicing software. You can quickly create a professional invoice from a template, and you can customize it to fit your business’s identity as well. Once you’ve made a design you like, simply download it to print and use as needed.
Exercise Regularly
Because the pandemic forced us all into our homes, it resulted in many people experiencing a far more sedentary lifestyle than before. This is especially true in areas where gyms, yoga studios, and other places people attended for fitness had to shut down or enforce strict safety guidelines that many gym-goers didn’t want to deal with. As a result, fewer and fewer people are getting the regular movement they desire in order to thrive.
If you haven’t been getting the movement your body needs, now’s the time to change that. Commit to moving your body a bit more for thirty minutes a day, beginning 1-2 times per week and increasing when/if you are able. Thirty minutes a few times a week can typically be integrated into many people’s schedules, and it can make a huge difference when it comes to overall health—including mental health. Research shows that behavioral activation (i.e., movement) is linked to increased mood, lower levels of depression, and decreased stress and anxiety. Also, consider trying something new or out of your comfort zone! Something like hiking, dance fitness, biking, and rock climbing can help you actually have fun while you work out, making it far easier to stick with your goals. Alternatively, consider a running or walking group or club, whether it is city-wide, or just you and your neighbor!
Embrace the Mutual Weirdness
Feeling nervous about getting back out there? Not even sure you know how to eat a restaurant anymore? Maybe you are worried about feeling out of place, or out of practice, when it comes to interacting with other people. Healthline notes you might feel like you don’t know what to say or talk about, or even how to just be normal. Fortunately, no one else does, either. The best way to boost confidence after having a prolonged dip in your social calendar is to put yourself back out there, even if it’s virtually.
After all, it’s important to remember that none of us, parents or children, tackled this crisis alone. The pandemic is, by its very nature, something everyone has dealt with. Although we didn’t have identical experiences over the last two years, no one has gone through this without experiencing some level of social change. Use these tips to help you regain your confidence, and feel free to reach out to our team of therapists in North Carolina at Be BOLD Psychology & Consulting for additional support in managing depression, anxiety, self-esteem, or for assistance and accountability in your SMART goals! We offer free 20-minute consults for new online therapy clients to assess goodness of fit, and we cannot wait to meet you!
