Thank God it’s Monday,

Thank God it’s Monday,

What is the role of the Chiropractor? There are many different ideas and concepts but I would suggest the primary roles are to lead, educate and inspire. We need to tell the truth about where health comes from, how we lose our health, how to regain it, and then how maintain our health and vitality for the full expression of life.
Once you tell the story, all future decisions are based on the desired outcomes of the patient. The goals need to be agreed too mutually. Is it our job to hold people accountable to those goals? Yes, as long as their goals remain unchanged. We should never motivate them through fear or guilt because doing so never ends well.

As you can see there are many aspects to the doctor-patient relationship, a lot of potential roles to play. Unfortunately, all these roles require a lot of energy. Trying to make people do things that they really would prefer to avoid, is tough work. Is it any wonder why we are exhausted at the end of the day?

When you spend so much time invested in the decisions and outcomes of others, it is easy to loose your way. This is a recipe for professional burnout. This is the number one reason Chiropractors get disconnected from their passion.

No one wins with this practice style. Patients feel guilty and ashamed for letting you down; we wonder why we have such a large amount of inactive files. Investing so much of your energy in outcomes that you can’t control, will never result in the practice you deserve.

Here are the solutions. Let it go. Let go of the need to control the outcomes. Tell people the truth about their health. Do not use guilt and fear to motivate but be honest of the consequences of decisions. Honor and respect your patients to make decisions that best reflect their value system. You and your patients will enjoy this style of practice.

To change what we have requires us to think and act differently then we currently do.

Have an abundant and inspired week,

Thank God it’s Monday,

Do you know people who always seem to take offense to every little thing?

By the way, a very important fact; “Being offended is a choice, it’s a consciousness.”

Welcome to today’s society. Why is it that the most self-proclaimed tolerant individuals are usually the least tolerant? They demand tolerance on issues that are important to them however they to fail share that same tolerance with those they disagree with. Their intention is to shut down dialogue and conversation by proclaiming offense, which causes them to go on the defense. This is a sign of intellectual weakness, an inability to logically defend their position free of emotion.

Welcome to the grievance hustlers.

This is a dangerous trend in our country. When we lose the ability to have a fair and open-minded debate to express differences of opinions, we lose the opportunity to solve very serious problems. This leads to divisiveness, an erosion of values.

Our current leadership are masters at this. They divide people by race, gender, culture, socioeconomic status, class, geography, etc. Then they sell us on a solution. Their power is built on divisiveness.

Why am I writing about a national topic that is not very inspiring? We need to become aware of what is taking place. We must not fall prey to this well organized, destructive and undermining tactic. We must never engage these people emotionally. It is a “no win” situation. They are looking for confrontation.

These people will pull you down in every way. Avoid their negativity. Eliminate these energy vampires from your life. They are toxic and bad for your health. You will be happy you did.

Have abundant and inspired week,

Thank God it’s Monday,

One of the most undermining human behaviors is procrastination. The inability to start or to take action on the tasks that are likely to yield great results in your life is by definition, procrastination. So why do we struggle with procrastination? Do we enjoy suffering and struggling? When we procrastinate, that is what we experience.

Everyone one experiences procrastination to some degree.

As humans, we often avoid things that are likely to cause us pain. This is a good thing if it prevents us from getting hurt, but not so much if it is going to have a negative impact on our lives. If a task is going to require us to get uncomfortable and put us in a vulnerable position, we will procrastinate. Most of the time, we will look at the list of things we need to do and tackle the easiest of tasks first. We then use the excuse, “I was to busy to get to it.” When in reality, we purposely chose to avoid what was going to make us uncomfortable.

A recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article pointed out that we do this in every aspect of our society. Even our leaders are procrastinating doing what is required to protect our very future as a country in the face of catastrophic financial ruin. Why is it that everyone knows that the amount of the national debt is unsustainable and eventually will lead to a lot of pain for our country (SEE GREECE) and yet no one has the courage to do anything about it? This is the path our country is on.

Even though we can’t do anything about our national debt we certainly can control our world. Here are some of the suggestions that were made in the WSJ article to avoid procrastination.

Here are some of my favorites, as published by the WSJ:

•  Break a long-term project down into specific sub-goals. State the exact start time and how long you plan to work on the task. (not just “tomorrow”, be more specific)

•  Just get started. It isn’t necessary to write a long list of tasks, or each intermediate step.

•  Remind yourself that finishing the task now, helps you in the future. Putting off the task won’t make it more enjoyable.

•  Reward yourself not only for completing the entire project but also the sub-goals.

I would also add, avoiding procrastination requires you to have clearly defined goals, a passion, and a desire to grow and not be ok with mediocrity. You need leverage on yourself. Why do you want to accomplish your goal? Whose life will be improved and why? Does this fulfill your purpose? Is your cause greater then yourself? You also need an accountability partner who will be there to offer support.

Get started today. Put your most important task at the top. Do it first thing in the morning. Once completed, it will increase your self-worth and increase your “can do” attitude. Do this daily and soon procrastination will never dominate your life.

Have an abundant and inspired week,

Thank God it’s Monday,

I recently had the pleasure to listen to Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame football coach. He was talking about leadership. He touched on the 4 basic needs that everyone within an organization needs to feel safe and happy.

1. Something to do.

2. Someone to love.

3. Something to hope for.

4. Something to believe in.

When you think about it, these are the core needs for everyone to experience fulfillment. It is no different for organizations. There must be a core belief system in place that guides every organization in order to be successful. These core beliefs attract the right employees, defines your brand, and creates your tribe or following.

When a team or organization has a passion (love) for who they are and what they believe in, it creates a purpose bigger than our own. This results in a clear action plan (The do) to see that the organization’s purpose becomes reality. A strong purpose will overcome any obstacle allowing us to reframe challenges as opportunities to learn from and become even stronger. Therefore, hope is the dominate emotion and energy.

Now is a great time to take stock and evaluate the current state of your practice or organization. Does your organization have a clearly defined purpose? Can everyone in your organization articulate the purpose? Are they in love with Chiropractic/your business? Are your daily activities consistent with your purpose or are you constantly putting out fires? Constantly putting out fires, is symptom of a practice out of purpose. Finally, is your culture one of hope and excitement for the future of chiropractic and your business.

If you answered negatively to any of these questions, it is time for a reboot. Lets begin by looking at this together so you can move forward in 2016.

You were born to be great. You invested a lot of time and money to make a difference in your communities and the world. You can’t lack these 4 essential needs if you are to maximize your return on that investment. Lets make sure you are prepared to make this a reality.

Have an abundant and inspired week,

Thank God it’s Monday,

Please consider this commonly held myth within Chiropractic. “If people knew what you knew, they would do what you do.”

This belief often traps Doctors into a belief system that people within your community just need to be educated on Chiropractic and they will come running to your office. Does that mean all we need to do are more lectures and screenings? Well, if you have been in practice for any length of time you know that a plethora of dead files of folks who were once educated on the benefits of care fill a large room in your office.

So, where are they? Why do you still have a need for new patients? See what I mean?

The fact is, patients don’t always follow your advice. That’s ok. Not everyone is ready from the get-go to radically change their lifestyle. Everything you told them made perfect sense but change is hard. That is why it is critical to meet your patients where they are at. Honor and respect their decisions and don’t make them wrong if you feel they have not accepted your recommendations.

Continue to love them. Keep in regular contact with them by providing them with a constant stream of health and wellness info that will further their paradigm shift. Eventually some will get it, but some will never get it. That’s ok. Serve without judgment. Make your office a safe zone that respects the decisions of everyone. They are more likely to return at a later date.

This will reduce your stress and disappointment. Patients will no longer avoid you when you see them around town. You both will finally be free.

Have an abundant and inspired week,