On Fridays I like to share experiences I’ve had during the week with patients and in my personal life that I’ve found significant. I like to share them in hopes that you might find value in them and have something resonate with you in your life.
A question I get all the time. At least once or twice every week, I am asked by a patient if I can teach them how to give their spouse an adjustment and/or have someone adjust them. This is always an odd request because I am certain they would not leave a dental appointment, haircut, or meeting with their accountant asking a similar question.
Like anything, it takes thousands of repetitions to get good (at a minimum) at being a chiropractor and performing adjustments. When you get great at it, it will begin to look easy, but it’s not unless you have done it thousands (or millions) of times. At least once every week, I have a patient that is coming to me in pain because they let a friend try to do something to their spine. Schooling and experience accounts for a lot, so when it comes to something that affects your body or health, go to someone that knows what they’re doing and save the do-it-yourself stuff for other areas.
A recent lesson. The football team I coach won their first title this past weekend. These young men have played together for years and are very supportive of one another. This particular team was highly competitive and enjoyed seeing one another succeed. What struck me most, was that they were never concerned with who got the credit, only how they did as a team.
The lesson this reinforced, for me, when you have a group of committed people striving toward a goal that are unconcerned about who gets the credit, you can achieve amazing things. Interestingly, when this attitude is adopted, individual performances become stronger, which makes the others want to raise their level of effort. As this occurs, the sum of all the parts becomes stronger and a group of people become a highly functioning team with immeasurable potential.
A recent interaction. My wife and I had a Zoom call with a young man that is doing the Men’s Challenge I’m hosting for my SAM Designer Health business. I asked him questions about his goals, current habits, and experiences to get an idea of his starting point. As we ended the call, I told my wife I would bet my house that he will attain amazing results.
The reason I said this, is not because he’s a super athlete or genetic marvel, it was simply based on his attitude. Everything he said expressed to me that he was willing to learn, hungry to achieve results, and excited for the process. He was not looking to achieve a goal overnight or argue any piece of advice we gave to him. In my experience, people such as this always succeed in fitness, business, or any endeavor. That is because they are open minded, willing to work, and able to get out of their own way.
Something I believe. I get advice all the time – on parenting, running, training, business, the list goes on. Sometimes the people that give this advice really know their stuff. Other times, they have absolutely no clue but still feel they’re an expert. I believe that experience is the best teacher and sharing the experiences you’ve had with someone is far more valuable than giving them your advice or opinion.
When someone is interested, I love to share with them things that have or have not worked well for me. It’s like I am giving advice, but in a way that spares their feelings and lets them understand how I reacted in a similar instance. I also enjoy when people share experiences they have had in their life with me, because I think of it as a way to hopefully use what has worked and avoid what hasn’t. Sharing your experience with someone makes you more credible and that information is far more valuable than just giving an opinion.
Some quotes I love.
“If you don’t stand your ground, then all that happens is people push you backwards.” – Jordan Peterson
“If you’re going to quit anything, quit being lazy, quit making excuses, and quit waiting for the right time.” – Joe Duncan
“Fear is normal. Every person feels fear at some point. Step aggressively towards your fear – that is the step into bravery.” – Jocko Willink
Want more?
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