This is one of those activities that I don’t like to complete – rating myself in areas of health and wellness. Sad to say, since I am in health care, but here goes…
In all honesty, I would give myself a 1 in all areas of physical, spiritual, and psychological well-being. I do not exercise, suffer from episodes of severe depression, and battle personal struggles with self-esteem and self-confidence. Overall, my life is generally in a roller-coaster state going from being on top of things and staying on track to being almost paralyzed with overwhelming feelings of stress and fatigue.
A physical goal of mine would be to start exercising on a regular basis. I would like to get to the point that I take the time to walk for 30-45 minutes each day. Spiritually, my goal is to attend church on a more regular basis and stop letting poor excuses get in the way of getting out the door and to the service. I want to take more time to connect spiritually with God and live according to his will rather than running the other way. It is difficult to set a goal for my psychological well-being. Rather than wishing away concerns I should set the goal to be more positive and confident in myself.
Moving towards my goals is always the hard part. Throughout several classes in this degree plan I have had to rate myself and set goals. I have never reached any of those goals and getting started seems to be the problem. One thing I have learned is that my thought patterns are the culprit. For example, I have a difficult time going for a walk on a particular day because I feel like one walk is not going to “do any good”. So I stop myself there. Looking for instant gratification, I guess.
The Crime of the Century exercise: This guy has got relaxation figured out…again, had a hard time staying awake during the whole thing. I think I may start playing this at night when I’m going to bed. The sound of his voice, alone, does the trick! The use of colors in this exercise was interesting and I liked the positive thoughts he had us repeat. I haven’t gotten to the feeling refreshed after the exercise part yet – still feel tired afterwards – but maybe that comes with time.
I totally agree with your post. What you said here hits home because that is pretty much what I wrote on my post. I need to start exercising more on a regular basis, as well as going to church. I believe in God, I just do not go to church that often. I do not believe that you have not reached any of the goals that you have set for yourself. I'm sure that there are some that you have probably exceeded, but are not looking at those. You are probably dwelling on the ones that you have not accomplished, like I do. It is sad, but we all do it. It always seems like there is so much more that we can accomplish and then degrade ourselves because we are unable to do so. Best wishes to you!
ReplyDeleteStick with it, dont give up. It will work. Every small step we take helps, always always keep pushing forward, never give up. One day you will notice it has all come together. Just take baby steps they all add up. I can not work like I would like to but, I keep trying. You cant let it keep you down, you can do it! Stay positive and tell yourself over and over you can do it and it will eventually happen....Melissa
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouragement! I'm sure there are several things that I do and accomplish daily that deserve some self-praise...I just need to begin recognizing these things!
ReplyDeleteStacey - I think that it is so easy to defeat ourselves. At least this exercise forced us to look at these 3 areas of our being. I like this class as it raises my awareness to what can happen if we are willing to put some effort into our health, happiness and wholeness. Think of something like walking outdoors listening to music as a break from studying or working and it won't seem like such a chore. I know I can get set in a negative mindset and will give up yet I know that it will release some endorphins to then help me to rise above the lousy attitude. Sometimes the energy I put into making excuses is more than what is actually required once I start what I perceive to be the dreaded task (homework is a prime example).
ReplyDeleteBarbara
I agree that it is extremely easy to defeat ourselves. One problem I have found that I have is I am scared to change.
ReplyDeleteIf you stay a certain way (overweight in my case) for an extended period of time, you tend to define yourself that way and to identify with that person. It is easy to set goals and to just shrug and say "oh well" or to beat yourself up when you do not meet those goals, all while, not realizing that you are sabotaging yourself because you secretly fear the person you will become if you meet that goal.
Now that I am starting to recognize that fact, I am hoping it will open the door for me to begin to change and to life my life fully.
Buffy