Dr. Kenney’s Friday 5 Spot
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.
Something I believe. No one wakes up and says, “I’m going to start doing things today that will ruin my life.” Most of us tend to have a healthy fear of actions that are “really bad,” “too far,” or “off limits” so we avoid them. However, we often easily succumb to the disease of “not that bad.” This is where we justify poor behavior by thinking it’s better than some of those around us, that we could be doing worse, or that we could improve anytime we wanted to. This mindset is far more dangerous than we realize.
The danger comes as our standards get progressively lower and soon, we have landed ourselves in a place we thought we’d never visit. This can happen with how we eat, exercise, relationships, alcohol consumption, other vices, you name it. I have ended up in bad spots myself and realized too late this was how it happened. That is why I believe that the first step is to outline what standard you want to set for yourself. If it’s average, understand that you will slowly make your way to the bottom. Conversely, if that standard is high, you will seek out actions that lead toward better things. “Not that bad” can be terrible, so set your sights higher.
Something I loved. An extremely nice mom stopped by our office this week with her young son in tow, trying to promote her new cookie/sweets business. She gave a brief, professional presentation to Jordyn and asked if it would be ok with me if she could leave samples every week for my patients to try and help promote her business. Jordyn said she would speak to me and get back to her.
I was more than happy to try and help this woman out. Though I personally was not able to meet her, I did see her and her son walking up to my building, and it made me smile. It’s tough to make it in business and even tougher to do while being a great parent that provides for a family. I hold a special place in my heart for those that are willing to hustle and do whatever they can to succeed, especially while having excuses to do otherwise. It inspired me to see someone so humble and hungry to succeed that they’d go door to door to make it happen. It reminded me of when I moved to Colorado, quickly ended up getting divorced and starting from nothing in my career and finances. I’m rooting for this woman to succeed and will do anything I can to help.
Something I have noticed. In business, athletics, and life, I have been around high performers, low performers, and those in between. Something that has always stood out to me is that low performers always feel satisfied with even minimal effort. They do extraordinarily little but believe there’s not a single thing they could add or do differently to succeed. Conversely, the highest performers do a ton yet still worry they’re being lazy and could be doing more. This dichotomy fascinates me because I have been on both spectrums at various times in life.
Having lived both sides, I can tell you that the ultimate difference is not ability, luck, genetics, or anything else; it’s mindset. When you want to achieve something so badly that it burns in your soul, you never feel like you’ve exhausted all avenues or resources in your quest. You will endure setbacks, stress, and hardships but keep going. On the other hand, if you don’t have this hunger, you will tend to do little, pretend it’s a lot, then blame outside circumstances for the failure. From experience, I can tell you that there is always more that can be attempted, added, subtracted, or reconsidered to move forward.
Something to be aware of. My belief is that each day our body has a certain amount of energy for us to use in one of two ways. Used properly, that energy will be utilized for productivity in health, relationships, work, and other endeavors. When utilized poorly, the results become vastly different and often detrimental.
When we sit around too much, over-consume social media, watch doom and gloom on the news, don’t exert ourselves, and put toxic substances in our body; things do not go well. We squander the energy that could make us productive and can become lazy, anxious, overwhelmed, overthinking, unmotivated, and lacking confidence. We waste our fuel and end up feeling unfulfilled. Therefore, be cognizant of how you structure your days and expend your time and energy. Done properly, you should find yourself feeling energetic, healthy, efficient, and more productive.
Some quotes I Love.
“The king is always strong because the queen is his backbone.”
“Your thoughts are the architects of your destiny.” – David O. Mickay
“It’s not what you’re capable of, it’s what you’re willing to do.” – Mike Tomln
“Failure is success if we learn from it.” – Malcom Forbes
“You only stop learning when you quit.” – Ruud Gullit