This is a series of thoughts addressing the theme of excellence based on a famous quote from Rita Mae Brown, the American novelist and activist. She stated that “You cannot invest your life’s spirit into a compromise” and over the next few weeks I want to visit some of the key components of this viewpoint and how it relates to your practice. Theme – Surround yourself with people who expect more of you. My thought goes to an experiment in…
We all have a history of experiences, which contribute to our current abilities, wisdom and insights. Some chiropractors have had 10, 20 or more years experience in practice whilst others have had one years experience 10, 20 or more times. What is the difference that makes the difference? Ilia Priogine made observation of what he called dissipative structures where he noted that in any closed system when the pressure built to a certain point the system ‘popped’ to a new…
With the recent organized attacks on chiropractic it appears that chiropractors are ‘pulling their heads in’ and laying low. Not willing to ‘rock the boat’ or state their position they are shrinking to an apologetic life of victimhood and settling for living below the line of accountability. This strategy results in chiropractors’ outreach to the public being negatively affected. Lower service rates obviously affect income and we are seeing many chiropractors (especially in Australia) taking a drop in income. This…
In broad definition the word integrity means being complete and whole. This means having all parts and not just having them but having all the parts working all of the time producing the results that you desire. In this series of blogs I want to break this definition down into the specifics that relate to chiropractic and your roles as a chiropractor. Firstly, a quote from Socrates that is relevant in this discussion. He said, “Be as you wish to…
On the back of our discussion from last week we considered the direction people move – TOWARDS what they want and AWAY from what they don’t want. I contend that most chiropractors move towards what they want and assume that their practice members do the same. This assumption leads to frustration as people drop out of care prematurely and fail to follow through with long term care that optimises function. The average person is more motivated by the idea of…
As chiropractors, we have an intense desire to help people. We have a very effective array of tools to give relief and support and we are very eager to employ them. This desire often sees us diving in to ‘help’ a person at the first indicator they present with. We think that they have come to see us to get chiropractic care for their presenting complaints. This is the chiropractor’s assumption and it is in error. When people come to…
We live in a moment-by-moment world. People just want their current issues fixed. They want instant results. They are driven in most areas of their life by a short-term perspective. They want to be fixed right now and they won’t worry about it until next time the issue occurs and at that time they will seek the same ‘band aid’ solution. Chiropractors aren’t too dissimilar. They just want to fix a problem with their practice. It may be a team…
It would seem that a huge quest for people is to have balance. Balance in their life, their home, business, practice, team etc. Much time and energy is spent trying to bring life into balance and yet all too often this quest is not accomplished. Maybe our perception of balance has a missing component to it. I suggest that the thing that gives balance its form is time. We could say in the middle of the night that there is…
The turning of the clock into a New Year gives us a time to integrate the learning from last year and project forward into what might be in the year ahead. If you have planned it appropriately, you may have this time of the year set up so that you are doing your life differently – you may be on holidays or you may simply be on a different daily schedule to what is normal. This week can be a…
As many people in the world pause to honour the celebration of Christmas, it is appropriate to also reflect upon our life and world with the gratitude that it deserves. Too often in our busy life, we get immersed in the day-to-day business of living and practicing. We keep our head down, bum up and nose to the ‘grindstone’ and sometimes forget to smell the roses. Let Christmas be the reminder to give thanks. With the recent passing of Nelson…
Some of the most humbling times of my professional life have been when I have left a practice and moved on. When people know that you are leaving they make a point of sharing their gratitude for what chiropractic under your watch has done for them. This is when the tears of appreciation flow and the stories of personal change come to the fore. For many of us we may find that the day-to-day humdrum of practice with all of…
A rare thing happened in the practice yesterday. The power went down. Something happened to the lines outside and several thousand people were off the grid for the afternoon and evening. In our building, we have an extensive group of health professionals and it was interesting to observe the behaviours that were elicited by this sudden change in the environment. In some cases, it was a state of emergency and in others just a slight change in plans was called…
