The turn of the year means a renewed focus on self, goals, and all things wellness for the new year. There is no time like the present to shift gears and set yourself targets for your wellness in 2022. If you’re looking to set some wellness goals this year, then consider adopting one or more of these 8 wellness goals now.

1. Giving back to others

One of the best ways to improve your wellness, and more specifically your mental wellbeing is to give back to others. The warm glow you feel from helping others release so many amazing chemicals in your brain and help make you feel more positive about yourself. Charities and charitable giving, such as a donate to Malawi drive or giving blood are great ways to experience this warm glow for yourself. It’s all about the intent to give something with no expectation of anything in return.

2. Self-care

Self-care doesn’t have to be time-consuming or difficult to achieve, it can be as simple as setting aside 10 minutes a day for mindfulness or meditation. The main goal of self-care is that you have dedicated time to not think about the troubles of the day or the stresses of your job. Set a manageable goal in terms of time and make sure you spend that time switching off. You can even create a self-care menu to choose from so you can make this priority more frictionless.

3. A balanced diet

A regular on the wellness goals sheet each year is finding the right balance in your diet. This goal isn’t about making drastic changes, it's about setting achievable goals that will slowly change your lifestyle over time. A great place to start is with a daily fruit and vegetable goal. This means you can introduce good whole foods into an existing diet and then slowly allow that diet to change over time.

4. Make time for the things that matter

Life is busy and it isn’t always easy to find time for the right things. Work and other commitments can make it hard to spend time with the people who fill your cup. A great wellness goal for 2022 is to set time aside for seeing your friends and family more often. Surrounding ourselves with the people who know us best more often will make you feel happier and fuller in life.

5. Exercise and movement

Another regular on the wellness goals sheet each year is exercise or movement goals. In 2022, change things up a little and set goals that are manageable and help you build towards a bigger goal. Instead of immediately setting a goal to go to the gym every day or hitting 10,000 steps each day, take a bite-sized approach. Go to the gym twice a week or hit 5000 steps per day. Start slow and allow yourself to build the necessary confidence to go bigger.

6. Read more

Like self-care, reading is a great way to forget the stresses or anxieties of life. Set yourself a goal to read a certain number of books in 2022 or even go as granular as a number of pages read per day. Allowing yourself time to sit down and dive into a good book will have your mind clearer and have you feeling more relaxed in no time.

7. Sleep routine

Wellness isn’t just about doing things in your awake hours, it's also about prioritising the sleep hours. The more sleep you get, the better you feel and the more your body can recover. Set yourself a goal to go to bed at a certain time, knowing you’ll clock a set number of hours. If this feels a little too constrictive, try targeting a set number of hours each night. Sleep is crucial for wellness, so don’t sleep on this goal.

8. Write it down

Don’t bottle it up is one of the best pieces of wellness advice you’ll ever receive. In 2022, set yourself the goal to journal more often or even a goal to start journaling. Writing down your thoughts, feelings, and emotions each night is a great way to decompress from the day. This lightening of the load can do wonders for your mental health and wellness. Don’t go crazy, there are plenty of existing templates you can use to get started.

Wellness isn’t a fad, it’s about taking better care of yourself now to avoid any potential issues down the road. To achieve this, setting yourself achievable yet challenging goals is key. If you need some help setting wellness goals in 2022, try using one of the 8 goals today.