To care for the spirit, marry your individual purpose and values along with how you can make a difference with others.
Spiritual wellness is defined as expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life, including one’s morals and ethics. It may or may not involve religious activities. Goals for your Spiritual Wellness can include:
- Explore, challenge, question, and clarify your personal values.
- Become aware of how values develop and change from life experiences
- Develop integrity by acting in ways that are consistent with your value
Last December I set the intention to develop a wellness program while improving my own well-being in. For me, it’s difficult to “talk the talk” and not “walk the walk”. A trusted work colleague encouraged me to seek instruction from experts that could guide me in the right direction. His wisdom was the impetus for setting this goal: “even if it’s just learning the lingo, find a program that puts you in the rooms with experts you can trust. The rest will fall into place”.
I searched program after program trying to determine which would be best for me. Online vs in person, number of courses, value for the cost, ect.. ect.. When I came across Cornell’s program and attended a Q&A session I knew this was the right certification for me.
In addition to creating a wellness program, I also started my own journey to improved physical health. I was very concious to ensure this journey would be different from others. I would open Myself ot the process and allow my values, and beliefs around health and wellness to be challenged in meaningful ways. I also created space in my life to dedicate focus, time and energy to aligning both professional and personal pursuits. This part was hard…. saying no and putting boundaries to some projects, people, and even personal interests was like building a muscle over time.
For background, Certified Health Coaches are members of the healthcare industry who have additional training in the science of health behavior change. A Health Coach is a partner in an individual’s behavior change process. This process involves supporting the patient or client as they set goals, unearth values & strengths, and access intrinsic motivations to encourage the development of sustainable healthy behaviors and attitudes.
Over the last 9 months I found so much value in each lecture, paper, posting, project quiz, ect… I applied it to my own life, family and friends that would ask for assistance. The Cornell Nutrition model has changed the health trajectory of my entire family; starting with me.
Now, each day that I promote prevention, culturally responsive wellness, and healthy population-based approaches I do so knowing I started with Myself. That brings a peace of mind I only could’ve obtained internally.
In peace,
-J-
References: What is Health Coaching Vanderbilt University;meaning creates passion Suze Orman