Dr. Kenney’s Friday 5 Spot
On Fridays I like to share some of the experiences I’ve had during the week with patients and in my personal life that I’ve found significant in some way. I like to share them in hopes that you might find value in them and have something resonate with you in your life.
A great story I was told. When my 2-year-old son was born my wife (who worked with me here) and I had no childcare on Thursdays, so we’d bring our little guy to work with us. It never went well and was stressful. My wife would answer phones, schedule patients, and put people into our cryotherapy machine while I saw patients so between that, the baby and being postpartum she was not in a good spot.
She told me this week that at an extremely low point she carried our son with her as she put one of our patients/clients into the cryotherapy machine. This woman who was in her late 50’s told my wife after seeing her with the baby how lucky she was and a couple other simple things. My wife explained to me that those words completely changed her as a mother. She no longer saw the stresses of motherhood but focused on the gift she’d been given. 2 years later, my wife reached out to this patient on social media and shared this with her – how her words helped shape her into a better mother and gave her a stronger sense of gratitude. The patient was completely moved by this and told her that she’d always dated or been around doctors or people that helped others and so she herself had felt like a failure that she’d never helped anyone. She told my wife that hearing she’d helped her gave her the best feeling imaginable – that she had made a difference. The point of this story to me is that sometimes taking the time to share some kind words with someone can make all the difference. This woman helped my wife and that led to my wife helping her. I thought this was beautiful and worth sharing.
Do you count calories? I am passionate about healthy eating, so I get this one regularly. I do not count calories. My focus is on eating healthy foods and then listen to my body by eating more when I feel hungry and less when I’m not. I’ll usually eat about 5-6 times per day and 2-3 are actual meals while 2-3 are more quicker meals like a protein bar or shake and a piece of fruit. It is worth noting though that when I was young I did count calories when I was bodybuilding so I do have a very good idea as to how many calories are in what I eat so I’m not thinking I’m eating 2,000 calories when I’m really eating dramatically more or less than that. That knowledge probably helps me not to worry about counting them.
A concept I want you to understand. Discouragement is a dangerous thing. We compare ourselves to others, to where we once were, get depressed about our body, our finances, or any number of a million things. So, what should we do? My advice is to start with whatever you can do RIGHT NOW. If you walk for exercise go another block. Do 1 more pushup, try to have a great day at work today even if it won’t solve your finances instantly. Accept where you are, take responsibility and try to do a good job with whatever you have this second. Stay super short term and do something good right now. This will begin leading you where you need to go.
Workouts I’ve been enjoying. I ran across a guy on YouTube that has some excellent dumbbell workouts that can be used to train different areas of the body. I’ve done several of these workouts this week and it’s been fun learning some new exercises and remembering a few forgotten ones as well. If you ever feel like you’re in a rut with your workouts, places like YouTube can be a great source of inspiration and learning. Try changing up your workouts in some way – the variety will help you physiologically, physically, and mentally. These videos were a welcome change for me and I’m not ashamed to admit they were done by a dude that was probably in diapers when I started working out!
Some quotes I love.
“It’s impossible”, said pride. “It’s risky,” said experience. “It’s pointless,” said reason. “Give it a try,” whispered HEART. – Inky Johnson
“Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6
“Nothing’s more unattractive than a muzzled up obedient ‘man’.” – Erin Marie
“Work hard, do good, and keep your mouth shut.” – JP Dinnell
Want more?
- Don’t forget to follow Dr. Kenney on Instagram @Coloradochiropractor
- To see previous Friday 5 Spots, visit www.newbodychiro.com and go to “blog”
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