How to Set Mental Health Goals You Can Actually Maintain
How to Set Mental Health Goals You Can Actually Maintain
I am notorious for thinking too big. I tend to set a long list of goals and then feel discouraged when I can’t maintain all of them. This is something I see often in therapy as well, clients who are motivated, insightful, and genuinely wanting change, yet feel stuck when their goals feel overwhelming or unsustainable.
Many people struggle with goal setting and mental health not because they lack willpower, but because their goals don’t align with how change actually happens in the brain and nervous system. As a therapist, I see this frequently with clients working on anxiety management, burnout recovery, and emotional regulation. Learning how to set realistic, sustainable goals increases follow-through and supports long-term mental health.
Why Big Goals Can Increase Anxiety and Burnout
Big, lofty goals often feel inspiring at first, especially at the beginning of a new year or during a life transition. However, vague or overly ambitious goals can unintentionally increase anxiety, perfectionism, and all-or-nothing thinking.
In therapy, we know that the nervous system responds best to clear, achievable goals. When goals feel manageable, they reduce overwhelm and increase motivation. This is why mental health goal setting works best when goals are broken down into smaller, actionable steps.
Break Mental Health Goals Into Small, Actionable Steps
One of the most effective therapy-informed goal setting strategies is breaking big goals into smaller pieces.
Common long-term therapy goals might include:
Improving mental health and emotional well-being
Reducing anxiety or stress
Preventing burnout
Building healthier relationships
Increasing emotional regulation
These are meaningful goals, but they are not behaviors. To support real change, they need to be translated into specific, actionable steps.
For example:
Setting a yearly mental health goal
Breaking it into quarterly therapy goals
Identifying weekly habits or coping skills to practice consistently
In a therapy setting, this might look like:
Practicing one grounding or anxiety coping skill regularly rather than learning many at once
Attending therapy consistently before expecting major emotional shifts
Focusing on nervous system regulation before behavior change
Small, consistent actions support sustainable mental health improvement.
Focus on Fewer Therapy Goals to Reduce Overwhelm
Another essential part of effective therapy goal setting is focusing on fewer goals at one time.
Many clients enter therapy wanting to work on everything at once, relationships, anxiety, trauma, boundaries, work stress, and self-esteem. While understandable, trying to address too many areas at once can lead to emotional overload and increased stress.
A helpful therapeutic question is:“What is the one goal that would make the biggest difference right now?”
This approach:
Reduces overwhelm
Supports emotional regulation
Builds confidence through achievable progress
It also protects against comparison. Exposure to social media, self-help content, or others’ healing journeys can create pressure to “do therapy right.” However, constantly shifting focus can interfere with progress toward your own mental health goals.
Set Therapy Goals With Compassion and Flexibility
Healthy goal setting in therapy is not about pushing harder—it’s about creating change that feels emotionally safe and sustainable.
Helpful questions to ask when setting mental health goals include:
Is this goal realistic given my current stress level?
Does this goal support my emotional well-being or add pressure?
Can this goal be adjusted as my needs change?
Progress in therapy is rarely linear. Goals may need to shift over time, and that flexibility is a sign of emotional awareness—not failure.
Final Thoughts on Mental Health Goal Setting
If you’ve struggled with goal setting in the past, it doesn’t mean you lack discipline or motivation. Often, it means your goals were too big, too vague, or disconnected from your current capacity.
Therapy supports sustainable growth, not quick fixes. Big goals are welcome, but they are most effective when broken into smaller steps that build consistency, self-trust, and long-term mental health.
Healing happens gradually, one intentional step at a time. Let our trained therapists help you take those steps.