The following is my final paper for this course. I have enjoyed it even though I feel like I need another 10 weeks to fully grasp all of the concepts. I have likewise enjoyed meeting all of my classmates and while I know that there will be yet one more post to this blog it kind of feels like the end already. Until next unit...
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?
Developing ourselves psychologically, spiritually
and physically is important not only for ourselves but to allow us to better
guide and teach others to do the same. This process is ongoing and
ever-changing so there is always room for improvement and goals are just nearly
or temporarily met as our lives take on new directions and meanings as we grow
into ourselves, becoming who we want to be. I personally need vast improvements
in all three areas in my life but firmly believe that as I make improvements in
each area it will directly improve the other two.
II.
Assessment:
How have you assessed your health in each domain? How do you score your
wellness spiritually, physically, and psychologically?
Having
assessed my health in each domain by looking at how I feel overall and my
general state of mind I feel like I can score myself as follows. On a scale of
one to ten I would score my spiritual wellness at about a 5.5 now, my physical
wellness at a 6.5 and my psychological wellness at about a 6.
III.
Goal development:
List at least one goal you have for yourself in each area, Physical,
Psychological (mental health) and Spiritual.
Self-improvement is probably the hardest to attain,
it’s much easier to see what other’s need to change and how they can achieve
said change. This project will serve as my written reminder of my goals.
Physically my goals are fairly simple but not easy by any means. I would love
to lose weight or should I say, drop 2 pants sizes and to increase my strength
and flexibility. Psychologically I would like to be able to manage my anxiety
and stress better and spiritually I would like to become a more enlightened
individual and find a deeper sense of myself although I am still working to try
and clarify my own definition of sprituality.
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.
The best way for me to start fostering growth in the
physical domain is to increase exercise and decrease calorie intakes but it’s
not really that simple because each domain is connected to the other.
Therefore, not only do I need to exercise and eat right but I need to decrease
my stress level through meditation and create within my mind a healthy outlook (Dacher, 2006). Meditation and
contemplative practices are integral for healthy psychological growth and a
healthy mind means a healthy body (Dacher, 2006). Contemplative
practices can be used to foster growth in the spiritual domain as well.
Utilizing the Subtle Mind practice as well as the Loving Kindness practice and
by following these, again physical and psychological health are affected as
well (Dacher, 2006).
So, by getting up an hour earlier in the morning I
can implement some additional physical conditioning and flexibility training,
adding meditation to it as well. I can also carve out some time for a walk
mid-day which will not only benefit me physically but psychologically as well
because taking time out for oneself creates a better state of mind. Exercise
clears the mind and reduces stress and anxiety which in turn increases physical
and psychological health. Using meditation and visualization techniques learned
during this course I can foster better growth psychologically and calm the
mind, even using the subtle mind in order to calm my mind and create a healthy
outlook on life in general (Dacher, 2006). Finally, developing
my spirituality can be done by opening my mind to the betterment of self and
others. I know that allowing myself to connect both physically and mentally my
overall health and wellness will improve daily even if it’s just a tiny bit at
a time. I will set a reminder to make sure that I do what is necessary to be
happy, healthy and wise.
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?
It’s easy to talk about what you want to do and make
it sound great but it’s another thing entirely when push really comes to shove
to actually act on it. By telling others of my goals and setting reminders on
the computer and phone I think that I can maintain these practices long term
and keep working toward my goals. I think another way to stay on track is to
find a friend to help me to be accountable and to remind me that while I may
not want to get up and exercise, I will feel better when I have done it and
while I may feel like meditation sometime is difficult to do with a busy
schedule, my mental well-being will be much improved and therefore so will my
physical well-being. I will continue to post on my blog, if nothing else using
it as a journal to remind myself of what I need to do. I will get rid of all
excuses and push forward I know I want to improve all aspects of myself not
only for me but for my family as well. This is my motivation and six months
from now, I will post on my blog another assessment and will update my goals.
Do I think it will be easy? Do I think I will always succeed at each goal? No,
I know that it will be difficult and that I will often fail to remember my
goals and will lose motivation but I will always move forward, regaining
momentum and focus until I am successful.
References:
Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral Health; The Path to
Human Flourishing. Laguna Beach: Basic Health Publications, INC.
