Unit 9 Project

       I.            Introduction: 

Why is it important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically? What areas do you need to develop to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

 

It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically so that they are living a life of optimal health and well-being and they are guiding their patients by example. In order for a health care professional to be successful in their field, it is necessary that they understand the process in full and they can teach from experience, which will gain them not only their patient’s trust but their respect as well. The saying you need to “practice what you preach” is so appropriate especially in this field, when adapting to this new lifestyle it becomes a learning process, in most cases people are visual learners and they need to see proof that a particular method does indeed work and can be successful, by leading through example this can be achieved and the lifestyle can be sustained over time. It is also important to keep in mind as a health care professional that each and every patient is uniquely different, therefore their plan of care and treatment needs to be tailored to meet the needs of them as an individual, this is important because all too often a provider can get “stuck” in their ways and find a method that works well, however it’s important to keep in mind that just because one method works for one individual does not mean it will work for everyone.

 

The areas in my life that I need to develop in order to achieve my personal goals are actually a combination of spiritual, psychological, and physical, I have included all three because I am acknowledging that I am not perfect and there is certainly room for growth and change in all aspects of my life. Spiritually I would like to have a stronger connection with my faith, I am building on this aspect of my life, the further I ponder this thought the more whole I feel, life tends to lose much of its meaning when you lose sight of the power greater than yourself, so spirituality is very important, and continues to be a learning process in my life. Psychologically, I would like to continue on the path that I am currently on because I have truly come leaps and bounds, I have learned to appropriately deal with stress and disappointment in my life, and I have learned to act and not react in situations that are overwhelming, because of this my life and quality of life have improved on levels that I cannot begin to explain. I do still struggle with some issues of self confidence, although I have spent my entire life setting and meeting goals, and I have become very successful on both a personal and professional level, I still struggle with feeling worthy of others respect, and I often feel like I don’t meet the standards of others, even after being reassured by others that I am respected and just as worthy as the next person, this is an area of my life that I will continue to work on in an effort to improve this aspect of my life and to build my confidence. Physically there is a large amount of room for change, I have been at a point in my life where I am physically fit and I think that overall it improves the quality of a person’s life because you are able to enjoy more, I would specifically like to improve this aspect of my life so that I can keep up with my kids, work, school and life in general without feeling exhausted all of the time, I think this improvement would help me achieve my goals in a more timely manner. I believe that acknowledging the fact that there is room for change is the first step in life, and it creates an environment for being open-minded which increases the chance of being successful in your accomplishments.

 

    II.            Assessment:

How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?

 

I believe that my growth spiritually, physically, and psychologically have grown at different rates, and I expect that trend to continue, I believe that each of these aspects of my life build off of one another, and in order for me to be successful in one area of well-being, I must improve or maintain another area of my health, not only do they build off of one another but I also believe they complement each other. Assessment in general is a tool that can help us improve and evaluate our current life, Dacher describes assessment as the tool we need to choose to transform our health and life from conventional to integral, from ordinary to precious (Dacher, 2006). On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being completely unhealthy and 10 being optimal health, I think I would rate my overall well being at a 6, this is lower than what most people would rate their self however, I am simply acknowledging that there is a great deal of room for change in my life and within myself.

On a physical level of wellness I know that I can make improvements in so many ways, I'm actually not sure where to even start, however I think I would rate myself at a 6 for this area, my current method of staying "active" involves chasing after three growing kids, work, volunteering, and juggling life, and the juggling of life always seems to be in fast forward mode, I know that is not good, but it is simply how my life works at this given moment, at some point in the future I would really like to take on an actual physical activity that I am dedicated to.

On a psychological level I am going to rate myself at a 8, I have a special way of keeping myself psychologically healthy and the system I have works for me, and because of this I am able to live a very happy life, I can't say that there is a proven "method for madness" however it works for me and my life, I am a deep thinker and a great problem solver, I have also vowed to myself not to let negativity weigh on my shoulders, so I have methods of dealing with that stress and finding useful ways to deal with it, my goal in this area is to continue to work on my problem solving and to share my methods with others who value seeing life in a different light.

On a spiritual level I'm going to rate myself at a 7, I can't necessarily say that there is one area of my life that completes my overall spiritual well being, however I do truly believe that there are many aspects of my life that collaborate and create something very beautiful for me, I have a deep connection with my family and friends along with a strong connection to my religion, the one aspect of spirituality that I would like to improve for my future is identification and self worth, I would like to continue to gain a better appreciation for who I am, and what I am capable of, the result of this is being able to then share that positive experience with the world.

 

 III.            Goal Development:

List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical, Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.

 

Physical: My goal in this area is to create a better awareness and love for my physical body, and learn to love what I have been blessed with. I have been a healthy eater my entire life, and I value that I respect my body enough to make smart food choices, it also helps the way I feel. I am going to commit myself to becoming more physically active, and being creative in finding a physical activity that I enjoy and can do for a long period of time. Long-term I would like to lose weight and become physically fit; it has been much too long since I have seen muscle definition in my body. Meeting my goal will take work and dedication, but I am up for the challenge.

Spiritual: In an effort to expand on this goal I would like to have a better knowledge and general understanding of my religion, so that I can better apply these principles in my everyday life. I would also like to become more in touch with my inner self and identify who I am deep down inside, by letting go of the ailments in my outer life that weigh me down. I would also like to have a greater spiritual connection with those people in my life that are near and dear to my heart. This aspect is one of the most important aspects of my life because it speaks volumes about my character, who I am as a person, what I want out of life, and what I have to offer the world.

Psychologically: This area for me is surprisingly the easiest area to set goals in my life, I think this is because I am so head strong, I have a good handle on my psychological well-being, this has come throughout my life through experience and trial and error. It is extremely important to me to keep it together mentally and release negative emotion and feelings as they approach before they weigh me down and cause harm to me or my life. I have learned to be a problem solver and set goals for myself which allow me to be challenged, as a result I have created a stable mental environment and proved to myself over and over again that I am most capable of achieving anything I set my mind to. My favorite quote is “Never settle for anything less than your dreams” (Unknown), this quote is the story of my life and I share this philosophy with just about everyone I care about, life is mysterious and there is always the unknown, but we can achieve what we set out to achieve in life depending on how hard we want to work for it. Pushing forward in life and never giving up on something you believe in is very important. I have learned that life has so much to offer and not to sell myself short by getting “stuck” and just settling in life.

 

 IV.            Practices for Personal Health:

What strategies can you implement to foster growth in each of the following domains; Physical, Psychological, and Spiritual. Provide at least two examples of exercises or practices in each domain. Explain how you will implement each example.

 

Physical: I plan to create a physical activity goal which will force me to become committed and teach me to love my body again. I plan on joining our local health club and joining my good friend who is a Beachbody coach at the gym at least four days a week for a high cardio workout. Aside from the gym I would like to get my kids and husband involved, and start taking family walks, this is something we did in the past and we all found it very enjoyable and a good opportunity to communicate, while being physically active. I plan to build my strength and endurance over time, in an effort to alleviate some of the fatigue and muscle weakness I currently have. Although I am a seemingly healthy eater I do have a weakness for sweets, so I plan to give up the sweets and save them for special occasions. Bringing my friends and family onboard with these new strategic goals is important for sustainability, and support. I would like to learn my limits and push myself in an effort to prove my inner strength and dedication.

Spiritual: My main goal for spirituality is to gain a better knowledge and understanding of my religion, so that I can be at peace, share these values with my family, and live the principles of my religion in my everyday life. To achieve this goal  I am going to commit myself to attending church on a weekly basis, and even possibly an adult bible study group. I think that the bible study group would be very important because it would give an up close look at the religion and its meaning. Aside from attending church I would also like to begin reading the bible again, understanding the word of god and what it means in my everyday life. I hope to make both of these practices a regular part of my everyday life and I hope that it will improve my value and outlook on my faith.

Psychological: My goal for this aspect of my life is to continue keeping a positive outlook on life and humanity, always give others the benefit of the doubt before jumping to conclusions and ridding myself of negative emotions and feelings as they enter my mind. I plan on achieving this through regular meditation and deep thinking. Throughout this course I have found two exercises, loving-kindness and calm abiding to be extremely effective in my life and I can only see them continuing to improve the quality of my life and my mental health.  These exercises allow me to slow down my thoughts focus on my inner self, and yet acknowledge the emotions that are plaguing me, I can address each emotion and feeling as they enter my mind, deal with them single handedly and then release them back out of my mind, this creates a feeling of freedom for me and allows me to keep a clear mind.

 

    V.            Commitment:

 How will you assess your progress or lack of progress in the next six months? What strategies can you use to assist in maintaining your long-term practices for health and wellness?

Assessing my progress over the next six months will be crucial to my overall success in these commitments. I plan to continue to stay motivated through my actions and through my results. My biggest strategy is going to be to keep a personal journal where I can track both my struggles and my successes, this will not only hold me accountable for my actions but will also be a great tool for assessing my progress as time goes on, I think a journal will help keep me on track. By revisiting my journal entries I will have a very clear idea of the “need to know facts” such as why I am committing myself to these changes, what I am capable of as a person, and how the changes directly affect my life. Along with my journal I will continue to use visualization techniques which I find extremely helpful in accomplishing my goals, because it gives me a very clear cut idea of what I am aiming for in life. I think that a culmination of all of my efforts will be motivation; each area of my life will build and upon each other and positive change will soon follow.