For some people it has been especially hard over the last year and COVID certainly hasn’t helped. Whether you’ve lost your job, lacking motivation, or going through a breakup, there are ways to improve your mental wellbeing.

It might not seem like it now, but hard times don’t last, and things will get better. Start looking toward the future, and working towards what you want, even if they’re small steps. Here are some ways in which you can get motivated and positive about the future:

In your mind, think of where you’d like to be in either a few months, or a year from now.

Create a vision board. Find some images online of things you’d like, whether it’s a dream house, a car, money, more friends, health, etc. Save the images and have them all on either your laptop or mobile screensaver, or print them and attach to your wall. Look at it everyday and try to manifest those things into your life.

Write a list of all of your achievements so far and look at it daily. Whether it’s having a good job, being a mother or having a certain talent, be proud of yourself.

Try to be positive and optimistic. If you focus on the bad, you’re likely to get bad results. Believe you can have what you’re seeking. Write a To-Do List, and do something every day that your future self will thank you for. Tick off each goal accomplished and add more to the list.

Exercise. Exercising is really good for releasing feel good endorphins. You don’t have to go to the gym. You can put on an exercise video on YouTube, join online workouts with others, go for a walk in the fresh air. If you do this daily, you’ll start to notice a change.

Meet friends for a coffee. Socialising helps massively. If you don’t have many friends there are apps to meet new friends, such as the BFF section on the app Bumble, and it’s free!

Listen to music. Listening to upbeat music whilst you’re washing up, or cleaning etc, should help to improve your mood.

Talk to someone. Crying and letting it out when you feel overwhelmed is natural. Keeping your emotions in will leave you frustrated. Maybe seek a wellness coach online. They can help you find your happiness.

Meditate. There are several meditation videos on YouTube. Meditating for five minutes a day is the perfect way to try and get rid of any negative things, and get you relaxed and optimistic.

Lastly, remember, tough times don’t last, tough people do. You can do this!