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.
An interesting comparison. By chance, I have recently spoken to two of the people in chiropractic I have spent the most time around in my career. The first is someone that I don’t particularly care for. The examples he set are ones I go out of my way to never follow, and my business style is the opposite of his. That said, whenever I see this person, they never fail to tell me how much they’ve helped me. They want to take credit for the success I have had, despite having no role in it.
The second, I consider my mentor and someone about whom I cannot say enough wonderful things. I use the lessons he taught me in chiropractic and business daily. When I talk to him and give him acknowledgement for my success, he is humble and appreciative but always insists on giving me all the credit. Successful people tend to be excited with the success of others, while insincere or selfish people tend to want credit for things they had no part in.
Something cool. One night this week my 2-year-old daughter woke up crying and my wife could not console her. Normally she is easy to soothe and would go right back to sleep, but this time was different. Something seemed odd about her cry to me, so I went into the room, picked her up and palpated her spine. I felt a misalignment in her back that can affect the nerves connecting to the stomach and intestines. I adjusted her (took about 30 seconds), put her back down and went back downstairs.
One minute later my wife came downstairs and said the second I adjusted her she stopped crying and was asleep almost immediately. My wife was happy and amazed that I was able to do that for our daughter so quickly. This type of thing is common in children. Misalignments of a child’s spine usually manifest more as visceral symptoms (as opposed to pain) such as colic, reflux, tummy troubles, ear infections, bed wetting (enuresis), and more. Once the spine is re-aligned, it can often improve instantly. I have been blessed to help thousands of children doing just this throughout my career and it always makes me proud.
A lesson I think of often. When I ran the Leadville 100 in 2019, it was the toughest race I’d ever done, which is expected when running one hundred miles, all at two or more miles above sea level. I struggled and as I came into an aid station at mile forty, I was cooked. I entered the aid station and fell to my knees exhausted.
Instantly, a volunteer came over to me and brought me a drink and food that he thought would help. He gave me a few seconds to drink and then said “You are a muscular dude to be doing this race and you’re doing amazing! I am seriously proud of you!” Before I could even say thank you, he reached down, scooped me up to my feet and said, “but you’re falling behind, so you need to get the F out of here right now!” He pushed me out the door and I took off running. I think of this often because it always reminds me that what we want to hear is never as important as what we need to hear. Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is give them the hard truth.
Something I believe. I was speaking to someone about “toughness” this week and they were asking what I thought it meant to be tough. When I was younger, I would have thought of it exclusively in physical terms. However, as I’ve gotten more life experience, I realize it is much more.
True toughness comes when you face something that by all accounts should destroy you but does not. When you reach a low point but still trudge on, you’re tough. If you don’t think there is any way you can continue but still do, you’re tough. When things seem hopeless and yet you are still able to find a reason to have hope, you are tough. Expressed in these terms, toughness is something that any of us can attain. While there can definitely be a physical aspect to toughness, the mental portion is far more important.
Some quotes I love.
“Sometimes the battle is between you, and the old you.”
“The longer you entertain what’s not for you, the longer you postpone what is.”
“One person can help bring you to the top or help bring you down. Be mindful of who you let in your circle and most importantly, who you let in your mind.” – Joe De Sena
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