My journey continues... the plan for the next leg (Unit 9 Project)

Introduction

            Psychological, spiritual, and physical development is important for integral health.  All three aspects, though related, do serve a purpose in a whole individual.  An integral approach to health and wellness requires focus and intention to develop in each area.  As a health and wellness professional, the importance of developing psychologically, spiritually, and physically is even greater.  As a professional, it is important to lead by example regardless of your profession.  This particularly important for health and wellness professionals because you are trying to help people improve their health and wellness and you have better credibility if you have been and are continuing to do the same.  In addition to building credibility, the journey you take to develop each aspect of yourself will provide exposure to tools, exercises, and resources that you can recommend to your clients.  Finally, the more you develop yourself, the better place you will be to help others do the same.

Personally, I need to develop in all areas to develop the goals that I have for myself.  On the journey to integral health, I believe that a person should never stop developing in all three areas.  My long term goals are to become a health and wellness professional and to be the best person I can be, psychologically, spiritually, and physically.  I set out with these goals in 2009.  Though I have made great progress and will be graduating in 6 short months, I still have some internal development needed in order to achieve my goals.  One major area I need to work on is physical.  I am overweight and though I am in good shape, the first impression people get when they see me is not healthy.  I believe that I need to improve in this area in order to gain the credibility of my future clients and to demonstrate that the focus should be on individuals.  My goal is to be the best me I can be and to be proud of that.  Once I make some improvements in the physical area, I know I can.

Assessment

            For me, the best scoring system to rate my spiritual, psychical, and psychological health is to use a word rating system.  I choose the ratings of unacceptable, needs improvement, acceptable, and excellent.  The reason I choose these adjectives for the rating is that it helps me to know what area I need to focus on most.  Unacceptable is something that needs immediate attention.  Needs improvement to me means that focus is needed and a game plan for improvement should be in place.  Acceptable is a good place to be but excellent is even better.  I added the excellent rating to give me something to work towards, though I do not truly believe I will achieve that rating since development should always continue. 

Psychological Assessment – A few weeks ago, I rated myself a 7 out of 10.  Today I would rate myself as acceptable.  I do believe I have grown mentally over the last few weeks.  I am in a good place with my mental fitness and I continue to challenge myself and strive to achieve the excellent category

Physical Assessment – A few weeks ago, I rated myself a 5 out of 10.  Today I would rate myself as unacceptable.  For people who know me, they would probably say this is a bit harsh, but I know I can do so much better.  It is important for my long-term health to focus on this area and to lose weight.  From a fitness perspective, I am in great shape.  Most people with my weight cannot do half the stuff I do; however, I know how much more I could do if I lost weight.  It comes down to the best me I know I can be and the example I want to set for future clients.

Spiritual Assessment – A few weeks ago, I rated myself an 8 out of 10.  Today I would rate myself as acceptable.  Again, I do believe I still have work to do, but I am comfortable with where I am right now based on the goals that I have set for myself.

Goal Development

Psychological Goal – Stress management is a huge mental challenge for me.  One goal that I have for myself is to keep things in perspective and not let myself get worked up over little things or things that I cannot change.  Though this is a tough goal to formalize and articulate, I know it is something I need to do.  In order to achieve this goal I am going to remind myself that I am one person and be more realistic with the expectations I have for myself.  I am also going to be more open to assistance from others who offer to help and not be so particular if they do not do things they way that I would do them.

Physical Goal – I have a goal to lose 55 lbs before my wedding in August of next year.  This is a realistic goal for me since I have 10 months ahead of me.  I have set a goal of 7 lbs per month between now and then, which should support achievement of my goal early.  I will continue with my physical exercise routine 5 days per week and add in a cardio workout on Saturday.  The biggest key to my success is setting an appropriate caloric goal and logging my food to ensure I achieve that goal.

Spiritual Goal – Though I am satisfied with my spiritual wellness, there are always opportunities for improvement.  One goal that I have for myself is becoming more aware of the various spiritual and religious choices of others.  This is important to me as a health and wellness professional because it will allow me to be more open and understanding of my clients’ spiritual practices and needs.  In order to achieve this goal, I will find books and resources to read about the various spiritual options that I know of.  On my search, I am sure I will find some options that I was not aware of.

Practices for Personal Health

            It is difficult to categorize the strategies and exercises under physical, psychological, and spiritual because all three are interconnected.  I have chosen two exercises for each domain, but struggled a little because I know the exercises will benefit all domains. 

Physical Growth Strategies – In order for me to grow physically and improve physically, my current focus is on my weight.  Two strategies that need to work together to grow in this area are exercise and nutrition.  I already have an exercise routine 5 days per week for one hour each day.  I alternate cardio and strength training on those days.  I will be adding a 6^th day to my routine so that I have three cardio workouts and three strength-training workouts per week.  I will also look for other ways to be active during the day such as playing with my niece, taking a leisurely walk at lunchtime, and taking breaks from my work desk to move around.  The second strategy, nutrition management, is a tough one for me.  However, I will use the information I have learned from other courses and set a daily calorie goal.  In addition, I will plan meals, go to the grocery store regularly, and log my food in MyFitnessPal.

Psychological Growth Strategies – I would like to grow in the area of stress management and compassion.  I am naturally a caring person but the loving kindness exercise has given me motivation to improve in this area.  I will complete the loving kindness activity 3 times per week.  I will schedule this time and include some extra time to journal my thoughts and feelings after each session so I can reflect later.  The subtle mind exercise is one that I will do daily to help train and calm my mind.  I will complete this exercise every evening in an effort to relax.  I will also use the strategy throughout the day, as needed, if a stressful situation arises.

Spiritual Growth Strategies – Exploration is the greatest spiritual growth strategy that I will pursue.  This is important to me because I want to learn about as many religions and spiritual beliefs and cultures as possible.  I will do this by talking to people openly about their beliefs, reading literature, and conducting online searches for information.  In addition to my exploration, I will also include prayer in my daily routine.  This will allow me to develop my own personal spirituality.  I will do this by praying every morning and throughout the day, as I feel compelled to do. 

Commitment:

            Assessment of progress is the easy part of the process.  The bigger challenge is motivation to achieve the goals and maintain the long-term practices.  The greatest assessment tool that I have for myself is tracking of goals.  I like to document the goals I set for myself and the timeframe allotted to achieve them.  After a certain period, I go back to the goals and see how I am doing.  This provides me with an opportunity to adjust strategies if necessary and see the progress along the way.  I also enjoy documenting the journey in a journal because it allows for more detail and provides a clearer reminder of the journey.  Finally, time management and planning will be critical to my long-term success.  Setting aside time to complete the exercise or strategies that I have outlined is critical.  If I schedule my time accordingly, I can ensure I allow sufficient time to complete all tasks and not get lazy.  I am excited about my continued journey to the best me I can be.