Anxiety: Behaviors and SMART Goals

Okay, now you may be convinced that when you're anxious you can change your behavior to improve your mood. What about planning those activities and steps? What should you consider when you brainstorm ways to face your anxiety? 

Thankfully, there's a simple acronym to help you plan this- SMART

• Specific: make a specific plan, not a vague one. Think about all the necessary steps to complete your plan and all the innerworking parts
• Measurable: determine what evidence you will use to track your progress and completion
• Attainable: make sure that you goal is something that is reasonable and within your power to pursue
• Relevant: decide whether this goal is something that fits in line with your overall objective or values
• Time-based: evaluate whether your goal is something that can be done within a certain time frame and determine a deadline for yourself that gives you ample time to complete the goal in a reasonable manner

These 5 things to consider will help us organize and make a comprehensive plan to change our behaviors in response to anxiety provoking situations during a crisis. 

Suppose you lost your job during the pandemic and you need to find a new source of income. This is an extremely anxiety provoking situation. How can we change our behavior and create a plan to address this? Below is an example of what we might consider if we use SMART goals for this.

• Specific: I can look for remote jobs or essential jobs in my area on job-listing sites, by calling compaies near me for opportunities, and asking around my social network. After finding opportunities, I can submit my resume, cover letter, and application to jobs I qualify for. 
• Measureable: I can measure my progress on my goal by keeping track of the opportunties I find, and counting how many places I send in my application to.
• Attainable: I have credentials and experience in my past that makes me qualified for certain jobs. This goal is achieveable, but I need to put in the work to find jobs I can apply to.
• Relevant: This is relevant to my current situation as I need a job to pay for my living and shelter. This will be my new source of income
• Time-based: I will set a dead-line to apply to at least 4 jobs by the end of the month and check in on my progress again to re-structure my goal as needed.