Final Project

HW420 Final Project

            Trying to grow and develop in a new area is best done with the assistance of leaders and mentors. This way, the leader or mentor can provide motivation and guidance to get through obstacles along the path on the way to achieve these goals. In order to grow psychologically, spiritually, and physically, it is best to seek guidance from those who practice what they preach. A mentor who practices in that specified area will be fluent in the language, and relatable for the student. It would be easy to just hand over a book or brochure with do-it-yourself instructions, but we are not simple home appliances being pieced together. We are beings who feed off of the energy and guidance of others, and in order to obtain optimal goals, it is more easily attainable by seeking the guidance of somebody who is familiar with the path.

            In each of these fields, I feel that considering what I deal with, I do pretty well but still seek assistance to do better. Spiritually I was not brought up in a religious family, but always felt a desire to be connected to something. Christianity never seemed to click or appeal to me. I have always had respect for it, but it just did not seem like the correct path for me. Then when I got older I discovered Buddhism through an old roommate. I had heard of it before, but more in a hocus pocus kind of way. A lot of it seemed to flow with how I felt, so I have been recently attending classes and feel it has really opened up my mind and filled in some spaces for me in my heart. Physically I am still a work in progress. I go in and out of being obsessed with exercise and dieting, to falling off the wagon hard. I love when I am on top of my game because I suffer from depression often and can physically and mentally feel the benefits when I am on top of things. But the hardest part for me is working it into my schedule. A goal I have is to work harder on my time management in order to squeeze it in, and to make it a desirable and attainable program, unlike my old programs where it would be an hour of something I dreaded on top of an already overly filled day. Psychologically I deal with a lot of stress from family and personal issues with my job. I am currently seeing a behavioral specialist once every two weeks who helps me to deal with my family issues and helps by giving me assignments to work on in my life. My job I find boring and unfulfilling, which is why I am currently going to school in order to get into something to help me fill that void.

            My goal for spirituality is to continue to grow and learn everything I can in order to continue to open myself up. And to learn how to deal with the negativity of many of my family members that I often have to deal with that do not seem to agree with this path I am on. My goal physically is to lose some weight I have gained from stress to feel better physically, and to improve my state of mind through the many mental benefits exercise provides like increases in serotonin and dopamine. Psychologically, I hope to be on a more understanding level with certain family members who I feel carry toxic negativity all the time. I have a sister who is very angry at the world and constantly picks fights with everybody. I tried for a long time to come to an agreement with her, but I finally gave up for a while after she crossed too many lines. She has burned many bridges and has no friends or family who socialize with her as a result of her constant rage and bullying, and I was the last one to throw in the towel since I couldn’t take any more. My hope is that she will eventually come to her senses as I feel she is at rock bottom and we can continue as close sisters. I hope to improve my relationship with my mother. My mother is often negative and judgmental of others out in public. I feel she has done this for so long that she often does not even realize that she is doing it. I will often point it out to her and tell her it makes our time less enjoyable for me. I feel that she is starting to become more aware of how she acts and seems to be getting better. My goal is to continue on this path with her and it will hopefully improve our relationship.

            My strategy for my spirituality is now that I have taken the introduction classes, is currently on working on getting signed up to meet with a mentor. I have been in contact with somebody from the temple through email and she is currently working on getting me scheduled with somebody. I ran into my old roommate over the weekend and she just returned from Nepal, India and loved it. We spoke about in a couple of years going together and I am really hoping to do so with her. Physically my strategy is to purchase a daily planner and at the beginning of the week, schedule in everything that I need to do in order to fit in that time to work on my diet and fitness goals. I feel if I have it written in front of me and see it is obtainable, I will be more likely to reach my goals. I also plan to schedule in time to work on food preparation on Sundays when I have more time so that if I don’t have time on a weekday, I do not cave as I normally do and grab something unhealthy. Psychologically I plan to continue going to my sessions with my behavioral specialist. I feel that she is really listening to me and helping me when I have self-doubt about the things I am doing. I constantly stress myself out over if I did the right thing or not in my actions, and it helps to have her support and guidance on the choices that I make. I also feel that continuing to work with my mother on our relationship will help to improve my psychological well being as well.

            I plan to stick to my commitment by writing down all of my goals in a journal that I get and make a scrapbook out of it by adding quotes, articles, photos, and anything else that adds motivation. I think it is important to always keep goals fresh so in six months I plan to make a new list of goals that will be the next step up. I hope to make this a part of my regular routine to help keep a visual of my goals, and to keep my motivation consistent.