Setting and achieving regular short-term and long-term goals can have a positive impact on your mental health, but do you know how? Personal goals provide motivation and a sense of purpose. Achieving your goals gives you a sense of accomplishment and self-worth, leading to good mental health. 

Set SMART goals. Write down goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-oriented. With the use of the SMART method, you have a higher chance of accomplishing your goals. You are in control of your life!

An interesting new finding tied to anxiety, stress and sleep deprivation is called 'FOMO,' or, the Fear of Missing Out. This type of anxiety is seen in people who feel so uncomfortable without their smartphones and electronic devices, they start to stress out about missing what's going on. While we all like to keep in touch, this is seen more in those who are tied 24/7/365 to their communication devices, desperate to be in the know and included as much as possible. 

While keeping that blue light going right before bed can contribute to trouble falling asleep, it has obvious other risks attributed to it. If you identify with this and feel genuinely concerned about your addiction to your devices, have a chat with your doctor. If you've just been a little more obsessed than usual, and are noticing your attachment taking you away from normal activities you enjoy, practice shutting down for a few hours a day, and especially before bed!

Every single person can access their intuition and life purpose through the practice of meditaiton. Meditation opens the mystical third eye which is known as the gateway to the soul and knowledge beyond the five senses. 

A daily practice of meditation exercises different parts of the brain that become active when we meditate and strenghten our connection to our own intuition. We can develop a stronger communication line with our soul to hear what it is we came here to do through a regular practice of meditation.

This allows us to find what will truly make us excited to wake up in the morning. Meditation helps us shed the identity created by our environment and the ego that covers up our true loving purpose or it validates that what we always felt is indeed our purpose. Intuition increases our ability to know what is best for us to pursue and what is best for us to let go because the old saying is true 'all that glitter's isn't gold.'

Here's a quick tip to help you expand your thinking so you don't limit yourself. Words create thought patterns and quite literally program our life. When we recognize this power, we can use it to take the lid off of our mind. 

Sit quietly and close your eyes. Ask to see where you are limiting yourself in your mind. Wait for the answer to show up. Write down what comes. Now ask yourself, where did this limiting viewpoint come from? Write down what comes.

The answers that come to us can be simple yet profound. Our mind is very powerful and when we use it to our benefit we can overcome many obstacles that we allow in our lives that make us work harder than we need to. 

Are you using meditation to let go of negative perceptions about your life? Your perception dictates not only your experience, but also attracts certain things and people into our lives.

You're the screenwriter of the movie of your life. Sit and meditate and look at your negative perceptions where you may be overcritical or not seeing the positive side. Release those thoughts to the universe and replace them with gratitude.

Now, look at the stories that have been playing in your mind about your life. Are they positive? If not, let them go and play one with a happy present, past and future!

How resilient would you say you are? Beating stress isn't about finding the miracle cure or avoiding your triggers at all other costs, it's really about learning how to react to it when it pops into your life. We are faced with stress from all angles, but if we can change how we view what's overwhelming in the first place, we'll be mentally and physically healthier. 

Resilience is about dealing with stress in a positive way, so the trick is to remember that anything can be faced and conquered. Stress will never go away, but the way you react to it can be flipped on its head.