Unit 9 Project

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?    

As health and wellness professionals, we play a somewhat delicate role in the lives of many individuals. We are privy to information that clients most likely don’t share freely. We are trusted with this information, than often looked to for answers or advice.

            In order to be equipped to give our clients sound advice that can truly help them, it is vital that we ourselves are prepared in every sense: psychologically, spiritually, and physically. We need to ask ourselves questions like these: how can I possibly give a client advice on stress management if I am not able to handle the stresses in my own life? How can I guide an individual towards meaningful meditation if I have no personal experience in this area? How can I teach physical fitness if I don’t have the knowledge and discipline to keep myself fit? In order to be a trusted, believable source of guidance and information for my clients, I first must learn and apply these principles in my own life.

            My personal goals include more focus psychologically and spiritually. Physically, I am able to guide my clients with confidence. But I realize that I have the tendency to use exercise as an “all-inclusive” outlet in my life, meaning that I use it not only to keep myself physically fit, but I also use it as my only source of stress management. I neglect meditation and spirituality and find myself just coping with stress rather than managing it.

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

            Throughout the past 9 weeks of this course, I have spent a lot of time looking deeper into myself and assessing my personal strengths and weaknesses. I draw comparisons of myself up against the different passages from books and articles that we have read; as well as friends and individuals in my own life that have character traits that I admire and aspire to pattern myself after. Spiritually, I realize that I need to do a LOT of work. I have definitely strayed far from where I wish to be. I was raised in a God-honoring environment, and I want to aspire to spend more time in prayer and spiritual meditation. So in this area, I would score very low according to my standard of ideals. Physically, I rate myself fairly high. I exercise on a regular basis, focusing on both running and weight lifting. I absolutely love it, and it is something that comes easy for me. I try to eat balanced, nutritious meals that compliment my physical goals. This is definitely an area of my life that reflects my personal strengths. Psychologically I again score lower than I care to admit. I don’t manage my stress well, and I have a tendency to just bury my emotions rather than acknowledging and taking action to better them. I have a very difficult time disciplining myself to take the time to meditate and focus the way I know I need to in order to attain the psychological benefits that I know are there waiting for me.

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

            I love goal setting. In the past 2 years I have really discovered that when I create goals and write them down, it makes a huge difference in actually achieving them. Physically, I want to bench press 150# and back squat 200#; and I want to reach these goals by June of this year. My psychological goal is to implement daily meditation into my life. After taking this course, I fully believe that meditation is my key to managing the incredible stress that I feel on a regular basis, and I believe that the benefits will affect many areas of my life. My spiritual goals include attending church more often, and practicing prayer and spiritual meditation on a regular basis.

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.

            I’ll begin with the physical element here, because I have (in the past, and currently) experienced a lot of success with my methods. I have several consistent workout partners, and we schedule our workouts and hold each other accountable. I am very self-motivated when it comes to physical health, but having the added accountability really helps on those days when I need the extra nudge to keep going. I also write down fitness goals at the beginning of each month. I make them very attainable, yet make sure that they involve something that I have not yet achieved. It gives me something to work towards that is very possible, yet will take work to reach.

            My psychological growth is going to take more work on my part, simply because I am not as motivated to achieve the results. Since I respond well to written goals, I believe that it will help me to add “Focused Meditation” to my list of goals I want to achieve in the month. (I try to write a new list every month, and I tape the list to my closet door where I can see it every day.) I also need to research an app that one of my personal trainer friends told me about. It is a meditation app, and comes highly recommended. This would be a great place for me to begin actually implementing meditation into my life, and learning what types of programs I respond to.

            Spiritual growth always seems to be something I put on the back burner. I want to begin making it a point to not get out of bed in the morning before I take the time to have a few minutes of prayer. I believe that this will be an excellent place for me to begin bringing depth back to my spiritual development. I also used to keep short devotional books beside my bed, and read them before I went to sleep at night. I plan to begin doing this again, and in this way I am beginning and ending my day in spiritual meditation.

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?

            As I mentioned, I respond best to written goals. I always keep the papers that I write my goals on; and I think that the best method for me to assess my progress (or lack thereof) in the next six months will be to write out a six month goal sheet in addition to my regular monthly goals. That way, I have specified exactly where I plan to be in six months. Life is pretty simple when it is written in black and white, and it is pretty hard to deny whether or not you have achieved goals that are clearly written out. I believe that my best strategy for success will be to create the long-term (six month) goals; then sub-divide those goals into monthly goals that I refresh every 4 weeks. Taping them to my closet door has really been one of the best things I ever started doing, because I see them multiple times a day, every day. It has really helped me in the past, whether it’s been financial, career, or physical goals. I have no doubt that this strategy will also be beneficial in reaching my psychological and spiritual goals as well.