Week 4: All or Nothing!

I have always described my personality as the “all or nothing” type.  If I commit to something, I give 100%, or I don’t make the commitment.  I have noticed similar patterns in my health as I’ve reflected this week.

Throughout the week, I’ve looked at the levels of health Corey and Corey discussed and have tried to be honest with myself about how much importance I place on each.  “Tried” is the key word there.  What I’ve found is that it is really hard to be honest with myself.  I want to believe that I value each aspect of my health equally, but the hard facts of how I spend my time during different seasons of my life do not necessarily paint the picture the way I see it in my idealistic mind.  In reality, I value sleep, but rest very little outside of that – (all or nothing).  I value exercise and have a consistent exercise plan in place throughout March- October, but while I’m coaching basketball, I often don’t make it to the gym for several weeks at a time – (again, all or nothing).  My diet is very similar as well.  I carefully plan out my meals, making sure I get the proper amount of protein, fruits, veggies, and carbs throughout my days, but often find myself diving into a piece of cake (or two), candy, or some other unhealthy treat that does not fit into my eating plan at all.  And often when I contemplate having sweets, I do so with an all or nothing mentality – “I will eat nothing or I’ll have two!” 

I think my goal to improve my overall health and wellness is to allow myself to see gray when it comes to health.  I need to recognize that I don’t need an hour to rest, but 5 minutes could do my body good.  Changing my mindset so that I take a 20 minute jog, even when I don’t have an hour to go to the gym would be a step forward for me.  Khong refers to this as “continuous awareness”.  I would like to be more mindful of how the extremes of my life positively and negatively affect my overall health and make changes to assure that I am as healthy as possible in all realms.

After my challenge of reflecting honestly this week and reading the Kuang article, I think being honest about self is likely something that is difficult for most.  In a counseling setting, I believe it would benefit both the counselor and the client to spend some time honestly reflecting on the life of the client, including topics we’ve discussed before such as childhood and adolescence, as well as issues like health and wellness.  The only way we can overcome obstacles and become more complete individuals is by first recognizing the obstacles for what they are and acknowledging the areas we (or our clients) need or desire to grow.     

Corey, G., & Corey, M.S. (2008). I never knew I had a choice: Explorations in personal growth (9^th ed.). Belmont, California: Thompson Brooks/Cole.

Luan Khong, B.S. (2007). The Buddha's influence in the therapy room. Hakomi Forum, 18, 11-18.