Unit 9 - Final Project

I.                   Introduction:  It is very important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually and physically because by developing these areas in their own life, they can be more compassionate and understanding towards their patients.  They will be able to offer their advice of what practices worked and not worked for them.  A patient will also be more likely to follow their health or wellness professional’s advice if they knew that their professional was also doing the same in their own life.  I need to develop physically in order to achieve my goal.  Exercise is lacking in my life.

II.                  Assessment:  On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, I would score myself an 8 in wellness spirituality.  I try to stay positive and focused.  I try not to let stress get the better of me and I have always lived by the Golden Rule; do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I also am a great believer in karma so I always make sure that I have the best intention in everything that I do.   Psychologically I believe I would score a 7.  I definitely need to get myself better motivated to start exercising.  I know once I finally start and start seeing the positive results such as feeling healthier and lighter, it will be a great motivator for me.  Physically, I would score myself a 5.  I know this is the area where I need the most development and improvement. 

III.               Goal Development: Physically my goal is to lose at least 10 pounds by my birthday in July.  Psychologically my goal is to wake-up 15 minutes earlier than my usual time and meditate before starting my day.  Spiritually my goal is to now write seven things that I am grateful each day instead of five.

IV.             Practices for personal health:  Physically exercise has been lacking in my life.  My plan is to start exercising at least three times a week for 20 minutes and start walking our dogs at least every other day in the late afternoon.  I am also going to start being more aware of the type of food I eat.  My sister was just diagnosed with thyroid cancer.  This is a wake-up call to start taking better care of myself inside and out.  Psychologically I will try and meditate before I get up in the morning.  By meditating, I will have a head-start to a less stressful and a more aware day.  I am also going to try and take some more time for myself; reading and spending more time outdoors gardening.  Spiritually, I will try not to fall asleep before praying each night and thanking God for all of the blessings I have in my life.  I will also continue to keep family and friends in my prayers who are in need of divine intervention.  I’m also going to try and volunteer more; at our local animal shelter and at a shelter for abused women.

V.                Commitment:  I will assess my progress or lack of progress in the next six months by my state of mind.  If I am feeling improvement physically, psychologically and spiritual from where I am now, I will know that I am making progress and heading in the right direction.  If I feel no change in six months, I will know it is time to regroup and rethink my goals.  The strategies that I will use to assist in maintaining my long-term practices for health and wellness is to not procrastinate and to not be hard on myself if I have a momentarily lack of judgment; I will just pick myself back up again and continue on where I left off.  I will not be hard on myself and think that I have failed in reaching my goals.  My main strategy is to be a role model for my girls.  If I can show them instead of telling them the importance of being healthy physically, psychologically and spiritually, I have achieved success!

Reference

Dacher, E. (2006). Integral health: the path to human flourishing. Laguna Beach, CA: Basic Health Publications