It is important for health and wellness professionals to develop psychologically, spiritually, and physically because they are the most important role models to their clients. Even professionals need to practice human flourishing; they need to rid the mind of unnecessary, negative clutter, confusion, misunderstandings, and stresses. (Dacher, 2006) This will help them as professionals better help their clients, and flourish in their career. Being physically healthy can directly affect psychological health. You cannot reach a happy, healthy, whole life and mind without taking care of your body. Our current medicine practices are causing more harm to patients; they treat the person from the outside and pay no attention to the person inside. (Dacher, 2006) This does not work because not one person is the same, so their treatment should not be the same. The path to positive spirituality is also very crucial to our health. It is the most undeveloped aspect of our life, it is the principle source of modern-day epidemics of mental suffering and premature disease, it is the one area of our development that will mostly directly catalyze the full development of our life, and the development of our inner life is the most unique and precious opportunity given to us as humans. (Dacher, 2006) I personally have some development in all three of these areas.
From a 1-10 scale (1=the worst, 10=the best), I rate my physical self at a 7, I rate my spirituality at a 6-7, and I rate my psychological self at a 7-8. There is always room for improvement, but I feel very confident with my life at this moment. This class has really shown me the importance of all of these areas and the importance of improvement. A goal I have for my physical self is to stop giving into my sweet tooth, and start practicing yoga. A goal I have for my spiritual self is to make it to church more often and start volunteering. A goal I have for my psychological self is to control my anger and keep my head up when I’m feeling down. Practicing yoga and meditation can foster growth in all three of these areas. Making sure I get to bed early every night can also foster growth physically and psychologically. Hopefully in the next week I will be able to begin my desire to volunteer, there is a couple great children’s hospitals around my house that I am looking forward to helping at. I believe this will also foster growth psychologically and spiritually.
When this class ends it will be very important to continue educating myself and practicing human flourishing. I am thankful that I will still have my books to read because they were great for school but they will be great to keep reading for my own personal development. I also hope to find a job/career where I can use my knowledge in health and wellness, and further my education and practices in that field.
Reference
Dacher, E., (2006). Integral Health: The Path to Human Flourishing. Basic Health Publications, Inc.
