I.
Introduction.
Developing psychologically,
spiritually, and physically is crucial for health and wellness
professionals. By developing yourself, you are able to better
help others develop as well. Living what
you teach will not only help build your clients trust and confidence in your
ability, but will make you feel more confident and prepared as well. By living what you teach you can truly show
the full potential of what your clients can achieve and why it’s worthwhile. By developing psychologically, you become
more in control of your mind, body and soul.
You are able to focus more on your goals and eliminate your wandering thoughts. You can better control your emotions and
stress in difficult situations.
Developing spiritually makes you feel whole. It helps put it in perspective to the big
picture and know that there is something beyond us included in the picture of
life. Feeling whole is something that
everyone should experience and health and wellness professions should be able
to help someone find their spirituality.
Physical development allows you to be strong and confident. Wellness professions need to incorporate
physical well-being n their life so that they can better help their clients by
advising how often to exercise and what nutritional guidelines they should be
following. If the professional hasn’t
developed these aspects, then clients will be less inclined to listen or follow
the guidelines set by their professional.
I believe I have room for improvement in all health areas, however the
one I would like to focus on the most is physically and psychologically. I am still in progress of losing weight and
becoming a healthier person overall. I
also need to learn to calm my mind and remember the loving-kindness
exercise. When I become stressed, it’s
very hard for me to become unstressed or to ease my mind which will hopefully
get better as I practice meditation and mental health.
II.
Assessment (1-10 scale, 1 is considered the
lowest)
Spirituality – 7
I think I have a
decent grasp on spirituality. My
exercise routines include hiking or being outside approximately 75% of the
time. Ever since my very first hike just
a year ago, I’ve been addicted with nature and the beauty it creates. I now understand this the way I develop my
spirituality. Becoming one within nature
helps me relax, focus on my brain on the task ahead, and truly makes me feel
whole. I feel the same way as well when
star gazing. Seeing how tiny the stars I
the sky, and then realizing how gigantic they truly parts life in perspective
for me and can be extremely therapeutic.
It helps clear the fog from my mind and everything becomes clearer.
Psychological
– 4
I
believe I need the most help psychologically.
I found that it was very difficult for me to focus my mind when
meditating. It really showed me that I
have plenty of room for improvement. It
also helped me better understand why I get side-tracked so often and quickly
when doing homework. I need to learn to
calm myself and allow for my thoughts to come in and out without me acknowledging
them. I also tend to get overwhelmed
when stress very quickly. I need to
learn to deal with stress better through increasing my mental wellness
Physical
– 4
There
is definitely still room for progress when it comes to my physical health. I am still producing healthy lifestyle habits
and exercise routines that are helping me improve. I have made large strides so far in my
journey, but there is still much room to cover.
I understand the importance of exercise and eating nutrient dense foods
rather than caloric dense. I need to
keep up with my routines to continue developing further. I’ve stopped thinking about my weight in
terms of how I look, and have begun focusing on my weight in terms of
health.
III.
Goal Development
Physical: My goal is to continue gaining control over
my weight and to lose a total of 100 pounds.
I currently have 40 left to go.
Spiritual: My goal is to continue
learning and practicing loving-kindness to strangers. My goal is to start donating and volunteering
more often to help spread positivity and kindness. I will volunteer my time at least once per
month.
Psychological: My goal is to continue meditating and
developing control over my mind. I will
meditate at least 3-4 times per week for a minimum of 20 minutes per
session. This will help me calm and
focus my mind so that I can reach stillness and reduce my stress.
IV.
Practices for Personal Health
Physical: I will continue working toward my 100 pound
weight loss goal by meal planning and creating an exercise routine. When meal planning, I will choose 2 or 3
dishes that I will prepare for that week.
Meals will be cooked on Sunday and separated into proportionate serving
sizes. This way I know my intake for the
week and have everything prepared to help prevent me from eating out or picking
unhealthy options during the week. I
will also make a habit of going to the gym 3-4 times per week before work. I was not doing this before since I was able
to exercise outside. However, due to the
changing seasons I must change my routine.
My workouts will include at least 30 minutes of cardio and 1-2 main
muscles groups.
Spiritual: I will work on my spirituality by donating
more, volunteering more often, and practicing loving-kindness to
strangers. I will donate food or
clothing and volunteer my time at least 6 times per year. To practice loving-kindness, I will make an
effort to compliment a stranger at least once a week. This will help spread happiness and warmth to
people who will hopefully do the same.
Sometimes all we need a friendly smile to brighten our day. This will help better position me in my
meditation when going through the loving-kindness exercise.
Psychological: I want to be able to control my mind better
and not get so stressed out so quickly. Conducting
the subtle mind exercise is a great way to help ease and relax my mind. When my mind is finally relaxed, I am able to
focus much more and my stress is lifted. Another way that clears my mind is taking a walk
through the woods. Listening to music
while becoming one within nature helps release my anxiety and completely calms
me. Everything that had happened in the
day, is now in the past and it allows me to focus on now.
V.
Commitment
To ensure that I follow through
with my goals, I will create a journal.
This will help keep me accountable for my goals and the steps needed to
achieve them. During the first 6 months, I would like to 20 pounds, have
volunteered at least 3 times, and donated at least 3 times. I hope to get in a meditate state much quicker
as I practice the subtle mind and loving-kindness exercises. Speaking to strangers and complimenting them
and my peers more often will be a sign that I’m becoming more mentally sound
and at this point I should be able to focus myself on tasks much quicker. I will
keep motivational tips on my bathroom mirror to help emphasis my mission. I also want my loved one to be involved in my
goals to help me stay on track. I hope
to have a friend volunteer with me every once in a while or get a gym buddy to
help me stay focused. Eventually, all of
these things will become habits and second nature and it will then become the
norm. At this point, I believe I will be
much closer to truly engaging in integral health.
