Unit 9 - Final Project

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.