*my plan*

source

I. Introduction:

"Practice what you preach" is an old, but still good, saying just about everyone knows. In this case, well in every case really, it is very important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically themselves, before they can try to help others in those areas. Dacher states it nicely, "To become the agents of a more expansive health, we must begin with our own life" (Dacher, 2006, p. 167). We can be book smart and have all the education in these areas of health, but we would be missing the full throttle grasp if we have not experienced them hands on. Plus, patients are more comfortable with you, more confident in you, and more willing to actually listen to what you have to say to them.

The areas of weakness that I have at the moment is in physical exercise. For me this area of weakness also weakens me psychologically. Coming from a certified personal trainer background and playing sports all my life, I have set very high standards for myself. Just recently I have stepped down a bit on the physical activities and focused more on my spiritual journey. I do not regret this but it has not only affected me physically but also mentally. I get down on myself when I do not keep myself disciplined with workouts. My goal is to get back on track with a healthy regime that allows me to focus on all other areas of my life as well.

II. Assessment:

* Spiritual well-being, 8.5: Ahhh, spiritual well-being makes me happy. This is a HUGE part of my life. Not because I am a pastor's wife, or because I am a kid's pastor myself, but because it is everything I live for (or at least try to). I would say I am at an 8.5 in this area. Clearly, I want to be a 10, but no one is perfect. :) I want to make ministry my full time job, not only my actual job but also full time in life. All the time, I want to walk with God.

* Physical well-being, 7: Like I said I grew up playing sports my whole life. I played for several teams, for my own physical health, and for fun. Yes, I actually enjoy working out and being active. :) Right now in my life, I would say I am at a 7 for physical well-being. I am definitely eating healthy (especially since we are trying to start a family) but I know I can prioritize more exercise into my crazy busy schedule.

* Psychological well-being, 6: I would say this one has also been a challenge. I am constantly busy, doing something, thinking of something, thinking of doing something, etc. :) I can definitely get overwhelmed at times, and if I did not have my spiritual well-being pretty strong, then I am pretty sure I would go crazy. I don't know how some people can do it. But I would give myself a 6. I have really improved with my stress and worry (thanks to my faith and prayer), but I still have some work to do. I feel like there's always something going on and I just need to concentrate on the now time and not about the future.

III. Goal development:

* Physical goal: To put my certified personal training self to work. Like I mentioned above, I am certified, but once I quit working at the gym I have fallen off. I know I have the discipline. I just need to make the time, and the discipline will easily come with it. I would like to get back to my 5 days a week of training, but realistically, I would say at least 3 times a week (with my lovely dog walks every day of course).

* Psychological goal: My goal is to worry less. This flows with my spiritual walk. One of my favorite verses from the bible is Philippians 4:6 "Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything." I love this. I am not 100% there yet. I do pray about everything, but I still have a tiny bit of worry. That is frustrating. I do know that I feel so much less stress, worry, pain, suffering, etc. when I give it all to God (not trying to preach, but just writing my thoughts). I want to get my priorities straight with some time management restructuring as well.

* Spiritual goal: I would love to walk with God constantly, in everything I do. I do not want to get intimidated by that statement. I know how it can be, how hard it will be with temptations, the easy way out, even at times the minority in the group, etc, BUT I do know the rewards, and they are definitely well worth it. I would love to keep up with my daily (at least every day) readings of the word, and my prayers. Prayer works, so I must keep that up. I would also like to reach out to more people in my church home, those in need. Even if it is just to listen, help move things, or have lunch with them. We are looking for houses closer to our church home, so I am super excited that I will be closer to our church family and be able to help them more.

IV. Practices for personal health:

* Physical: Early mornings! I love working out in the morning before my day starts. I use to teach boot camp courses at 5:45 AM! Now, that is a little too early, but I loved being done with my workout and seeing the sunrise. This allowed me to not find many excuses not to exercise since I would do it right at the beginning. I have all sorts of knowledge on specific exercises...I just need to find the time. I think it will work when I literally tell myself that I have an "appointment" or "class" to go to and make myself responsible for being there. I also need to have an accountability partner that will go with me. Then I will feel even more obligated to go and not let that person down.

* Psychological: Focusing on others usually helps me have a clear and less crazy mindset. Plus it gives me that good feeling that I am not being selfish and caring and loving others. I love the Loving-Kindness exercise. It does just that. It takes away all selfish thoughts of myself and allows me to focus on loving others no matter what. God wants us to love all: friends, family, stranger, and even enemies. I also enjoy the Subtle Mind exercise. "This practice teaches us to tame and stabilize the moving mind, develop a witnessing consciousness, shift into calm-abiding when possible, and experience unity consciousness when the earlier stages have been mastered" (Dacher, 2006, p. 75). Who wouldn't want that??

* Spiritual: It helps me when I am surrounded by positive, uplifting, and God-loving believers. I have less distractions and less things/people pulling me down. I am not saying that I only hang out with this crowd, because I have plenty of friends who are non-believers. I do not judge them at all or hound them with my beliefs. I know God has a plan for them and I will be there for them no matter what. I need to educate myself more with God's word. I have a lot to learn. I have a few spiritual mentors that I can come to and pick their brains, and I should not take them for granted. Pray works for me. Having that quiet time or just random short prayers here and there makes a huge difference in my life.

V. Commitment:

I have been thinking about this lately, and I would absolutely love to keep up with this blog that we were assigned to all term. I feel that this is a great tool to jot down thoughts and concerns, and also to be able to share with others who might be interested and have a few kind words to offer. I would love to keep up with this blog and maintain the health, happiness, and wholeness theme. I would love for other classmates to partake in this with me, that way they as readers will know where I am coming from with this course as a background. I feel that this will help me keep up with progress or lack of progress by use of accountability.

My husband and I are about to open a new door in our lives with starting a family. I feel that I will need my health and wellness more than ever when this time comes. The motivation of having other people counting on me being there physically, psychologically, and spiritually will definitely help keep me on track. I feel that having this course behind my belt has opened my eyes, heart, and soul, and I feel that I am a better person for taking this course with Professor and my classmates.

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