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 learned in practice. Years ago, I worked with another chiropractor who would encourage me to draw out the length of my visits with chit chat and other pointless things. That seemed wrong to me, so I refused to do it. Instead, I would listen better, focus more, work efficiently, and try to give patients the best treatment I could in less time, not more. Soon I became far busier than the other doctor because people saw me as more “thorough” and I “spent more time with them.” In other words, I focused on the quality of time rather than quantity and the patients noticed the difference. We often glorify the numerical amount of time we spend on things, but that number is less important than the quality of our efforts.
Something I believe. My wife is helping a woman in our program with nutrition and exercise. This woman is very honest with her food logging and the other day after doing well, she admitted that she’d ditched her healthy foods for Doritos and Snickers bars. I believe that a time like this can be critically important.
As humans, we get into patterns of behavior, some good and others not as much. If I had to guess, I would bet this woman has done this before, has felt ashamed and unworthy, then gone back to her old habits. Rather than allow that to happen, my wife acknowledged what the woman had done, then made kind, common sense suggestions on how to correct it going forward. The woman immediately went for a long walk and got back on the program again. I believe that all it often takes to make enormous progress is to see (or have someone show us) a new path forward. If we can get on that path even for the briefest of moments, it can be enough to break an old pattern and convince ourselves we can succeed.
Something I’ve been using with success. I ran across the “knees over toes” program on Instagram created by Ben Patrick. I had previously heard this mentioned on the Joe Rogan podcast but forgot about it until recently. This program is a series of exercises that strengthen the lower body muscles as well as stabilizing the knees and ankles. With as much running as I do; this is right up my alley.
I have been incorporating parts of this program into my daily routine and have immediately noticed less popping in my knees, better strength throughout my runs, and my leg muscles feel much looser and stretched out. Best of all, the exercises I am adding in are quite simple and require little or no equipment. If leg strength and/or knee stability is something you need, I would encourage you to check this out.
An effective tool. I love the movie “Chef” about a chef that loses his high-level job and opens a food truck. In one scene, his sous chef and young son are serving a free lunch as a thank you to some workers that helped them. His son tries to serve a burned sandwich and doesn’t think it matters because they weren’t paying for it. The chef and sous chef see this and are not happy. The father then takes him outside and speaks to him, explaining that every sandwich they serve has their name on it and behind it. Serving something (free or not) that is not up to their ambitious standards disrespects and de-values what they do. It’s a great scene and valuable lesson.
What I believe can be effective, is finding something that we feel strongly about – cooking, business, a hobby, exercise, etc. and then apply those standards to anything we care about. As an example, I am a physically intense guy and put a ton of energy into my training to get the results I desire. However, I apply those exact standards to being a chiropractor, father, husband, and coach. The lofty standards I hold myself to in once aspect, I hold myself to in the others. Find something for which you have incredibly high standards and then try to apply similar standards in other aspects of your life. You will be thrilled with the results.
Some quotes I love.
“Small hinges swing big doors.”
“Your triggers are your responsibility. It isn’t the world’s obligation to tiptoe around you.” – Brand MacDonald
“Shout out to everyone making progress that no one recognizes because you never let anyone see your darkest moments. You’ve been silently winning battles and transforming yourself, be proud of every step you’re making in the right direction. Keep going because you got this.” – Diamond Dallas Page
“Athletes eat and train, they don’t diet and exercise.” – Lori Jones
Want more?
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