Living Well – Goal Reflection

S. pecific

M. easurable

A. ttainable

R. ealistic

T. imely

My wellness goal has always been at the core of my intentions. I began this class with what I would consider a pretty well-informed and experienced understanding of wellness. That being said, I gained so much from this class because it expanded what I knew of wellness and touched on areas of wellness which I was neglecting to consider or implement, and it also forced me into activities and learning processes which showed me some major weaknesses I had in my personal wellness which needs more attention. This assignment and others helped also by pushing me to construct a practical goal to attain for optimal wellness.

The pedometer project showed me how much I’m active and walking daily. It gave me a way to make a good estimate of how much I’m walking daily without the use of a pedometer too.

At first I was only walking about 5,000 steps per day without pushing myself. Using the pedometer and pushing myself to walk more, I reached an average of about 8,000 steps per day. My goal was 10,000 steps per day and I had to really try to walk extra each day to reach that goal. I enjoyed it but it was definitely an extra 15-30 minutes every day of walking and moving around. I appreciate the difference it made me feel, both physically and mentally.

Ultimately the S.M.A.R.T. Goal assignment gave me an idea of how I would like to implement and maintain a certain way of life scheduled with a regular routine of activities which build and maintain optimal health and wellness.

My goal to reach and maintain is to:

*work out at the gym 2-3 times a week

*a bit of yoga, push-ups, walks and exercise each day

*1 yoga class weekly or biweekly

*Capoeira Angola (martial art/dance) 1-2 a week or biweekly

*1-2 Dance classes or Dance games/videos a week or biweekly

*massage therapy weekly or biweekly

*good food daily (vegetarian/vegan diet)

*good sleep daily

*Study and Reading daily

*Meditation and Prayer daily

*family time

*social outings

*writing, playing, recording music weekly

Now this seems like a lot. But all of them are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, & timely. The idea is that I intend to create a sort of weekly & monthly schedule where I incorporate the type of classes I want to take regularly which contributes to my wellness such as yoga classes, Capoeria classes, work out at the gym, massage therapy, dance classes, playing music with friends and social outings. And the second half of the goal is the maintain a certain active lifestyle daily at home or wherever I choose to be with such activities as yoga, walks, exercise, stretching, good sleep, eating well, family time, meditation and prayer, my music, study and reading.

The challenge is to maintain a schedule which will combine and balance all these activities and not overwhelm myself in conflict with the daily activities or life in general. Really, the goal is to set up life in a more active way, in a sense aligning social activities around active and wellness activities and shared experiences. I believe that the greatest challenge is just allowing the lazy feeling to get out of hand, because while we all need to be lazy and lounge around and relax sometimes, it’s most beneficial when we have been active and accomplishing things in life when that lounging, relaxing and contemplation really is appreciated most.

Having a regular wellness routine will be beneficial for me, I know that I could not fit all of the activities in weekly in my life, but it is a list of my tried and true activities and ways of living which I know I’d like to fill my life with. So as I approach my days ahead in monthly preparation I will try to pull from these attractions to fill and schedule my days. Thus, in the near future I will hopefully have established a routine of activities and wellness-related social outings as well.