Successful goal-setting can lead to better mental health. But only if we approach it correctly. It requires mind management—the practice of coordinating the activities in your mind. It’s building awareness that we are literally carving a new path in a dense forest—a little bit at a time.

It probably comes as no surprise that when life gets us down, one of the first things most of us do is look for the easy way out. In fact, for our brains, the easy way is the preferred way. The path of least resistance, the fast route to calm and peace, and the road more often traveled is generally the preferred path—even if we know, it’s not what’s best for our mental health.

Great teachers let the consequences of life do the teaching. So what might happen if we allowed pain to be our teacher? What could we learn? How would we benefit in the long run? There is only one way to find out. The result is not just a lesson learned but a path that leads to greater mental health.

There are hundreds of thousands of apps to help with our physical health, but what’s out there that can help our mental health. And if you’re like me, you want something simple, practical, cheap, and not just another lost app on our phones that collects proverbial digital dust.

Through my journey, I began to wonder about the journey of others. What about those who struggle with mental illness? What about those who feel perpetually alone despite God's unrelenting presence in our lives? What about those haunted daily by thoughts of suicide, no matter how much you pray or ask for help? What about the guy who suffers from a constant state of addiction because his brain is genetically prewired to addiction? Or the mom, who, no matter how much she is loved, feels unloved and worthless and can’t stop comparing herself to others.

We think a lot about our physical health. Gyms, trainers, videos, endless internet searches for the latest trend in diets and workouts, and so much time and money spent on it all. What if we devoted that kind of time and energy to our mental health?