All posts tagged: headaches

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 am thankful for.  I began doing these 5 Spots about 3 years ago.  I started by emailing them to a few hundred patients and then later, posting them on my website.  My goal was to journal my thoughts in a format that my children could one day refer to.  At the same time, my hope was that people I sent them to, would find value in them as well.  Though the group reading them was small, the feedback was immediately positive.

The other day I was made aware these 5 Spots have been read well over a million times, which shocked me.  It has been fun to see the readership grow throughout the years, and I was humbled by it.  More importantly to me, however, each week I hear from at least one person that tells me something I wrote resonated with them, inspired them, and caused them to take an action.  Combined with the fact that my older sons now read these columns each week on their own, gives me great pride.  I am extremely grateful for all of you that take the time to read these.  Writing this each week has become a big part of my life that I truly enjoy.  Thank you!

A piece of advice I love.  There is a saying I often think to myself and tell others when the situation dictates, “Be a grown up.”  This is a general statement, but it encompasses a lot.  To me, this simple declaration is a reminder of how to do things properly. 

In my opinion, being a grown up means to be responsible, not complain, show up on time, see things through, give appropriate effort, plan, and much more.  Reminding yourself to act like a grown-up will help guide your behavior toward something productive.

A workout I always enjoy.  Anytime we get a snowstorm, I make it a point to go for a run.  Each time I do so, I get odd looks from neighbors and people shoveling driveways or driving past.  To most, running in cold temperatures and bad elements is terrible and foolish, but I like it.

I always enjoy how quiet and serene things are when the snow is coming down and I love when my footprints are the only ones I see.  More importantly, these runs in challenging elements help get me comfortable being uncomfortable.  This fuels my mental resolve and helps me view challenges in a more positive light.  Whether it’s freezing cold, snow, or the hottest days of the year; I like to train in the toughest elements because it helps me become physically and mentally tougher in my daily life.

A concept I like.  We all have things that stress us out.  Work, finances, relationships, words someone said, world events, etc.  I call these things “mental rent.”  Just as you don’t want to pay too much rent for the place you live or work, you want to work at keeping your mental rent low.

For example, if you are unable to pursue a healthy relationship with someone because you are still getting over how badly an ex treated you years ago, you are paying that person a very high mental rent.  Mental rent is important to understand because the more bandwidth you spend on negativity, the less you’ll have to create progress and growth.  If you’re thinking about someone, something, a past event, whatever, ask yourself if it’s worth putting your hard-earned mental rent toward.  

Some quotes I love. 

“The ones who say you can’t and won’t are probably the ones who are scared that you will.” – Zig Ziglar

“Winners are not people who never fail.  They are people that never quit.”

“Success requires commitment, not a miracle.”

“Men’s best successes come after their disappointments.” – Henry Ward Beecher

“Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don’t so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head.” – Joe Henderson

Want more?

• Don’t forget to follow Dr. Kenney on Instagram @Coloradochiropractor
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• Interested in weight loss, more energy, enhanced performance and more?  Respond to this email and we can add you to Dr. Kenney’s email list for SAM Designer Health, his nutrition and exercise business!

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.   

How do you get used to running for so long?  After I mentioned the 34-mile run I did in my brother in law’s honor a few weeks ago, I have gotten this question a lot from patients.  The honest answer is that you don’t.

What happens when you present yourself with significant challenges repeatedly is, they never become easy.  Rather, your ability to adapt when things get tough increases.  For example, I have never run thirty, fifty, or one hundred miles and thought it was a breeze.  It’s always grueling but I have developed the ability to make mental, physical, nutritional, and other adjustments where it never seems insurmountable. 

This same premise applies to our daily lives as well.  As we face challenges, we do not become immune to them, but we become more resilient.  Situations that would have once kept us down no longer have the power to do so.    

An important concept.  I’ve had recent dealings with a small business owner making common mistakes.  Blaming others, spending money looking for the magic bullet, ignoring the need to work hard as an individual, worrying about the future while ignoring the present, micro-managing, and more.  This reminded me of the importance of leadership.  When the leader of an organization, team, or family displays shaky leadership, it has an unsettling effect on those around them.  It’s like the captain of a ship not knowing what direction to proceed. 

Leadership to me is not a one-time event or series of words.  Rather, it is the actions that a leader displays to those around them.  When those actions show consistency, integrity, intelligence, planning, etc., it builds confidence in those around them which leads to better performance.  When a leader displays poor qualities such as indecisiveness, quick temper, failure to take responsibility, lack of drive, poor preparation, etc. it leads those around them to lose focus, interest, and productivity.   Strong leaders are crucial to families, businesses, teams, and all groups of people.

A great lesson.  My youngest son is 3 ½ years old and says “I love you” all the time.  He’ll say it to me, his mom, and then list off his siblings, and grandparents.  What he does every time that I like is that he includes his own name in there.  He tells himself that he loves himself.

Though he’s so young, this is a lesson for all of us. Sometimes we forget to love ourselves but it’s crucial.  We often have kindness and compassion for those around us and talk to ourselves in a way we never would to others.  Take a lesson from my son and “love you some you!”

Something I often hear.  “I don’t have time.”  I hear this often about exercise, self-care, business matters, and more.  This is usually another way of saying it’s not a priority and I don’t think I’ve ever heard it from someone that is incredibly successful or legitimately busy.

High performing people always prioritize what is important and get what must be done finalized.  Conversely, those that are scattered often do a lot, but much of it is unimportant and could be avoided by prioritizing better.  Anyone can be busy, being productive is the key.  If you find yourself saying you don’t have time, take a hard look at where some of that time is going, and you may be surprised how much you can free up.

Some quotes I love.

“Failure is not aiming too high and missing.  Failure is aiming too low and hitting.” – Marc Mero

“Behind every strong person is a story that gave them two choices:  sink or swim.”

“There are no traffic jams on the extra mile.” – Zig Ziglar

“Sometimes the reason that you’re suffering is because you won’t let go of the things that’s biting you.” – Jordan Peterson

“Life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve.  This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent.” – Tony Robbins

“The repetition of affirmation leads to belief, and once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” – Muhammad Ali

Want more?

• Don’t forget to follow Dr. Kenney on Instagram @Coloradochiropractor
• To see previous Friday 5 Spots, visit www.newbodychiro.com
• Check us out on Facebook under New Body Chiropractic

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 recent experience.  As many of you know, last Friday I ran thirty-four miles to honor my brother-in-law who would have turned thirty-four that day.  Halfway through my pre-planned route, I came to my first series of trails.  Due to the snow last week still being on the ground, the footing was not great, but it was well traveled and not terrible.  After a few miles of that, I came upon the beginning of a 7-mile section of trail that didn’t appear to have so much as a single footprint on it.  That would mean I’d be blazing my own trail in the cold through ten inches of snow, up and down hills; not ideal for any long run.

At this point, I had the choice to either continue my current route knowing it would be hard, or detour to paved roads and make it easier.  I chose the hard way and it ended up being more challenging than I expected, each mile feeling as if it were three.  It was cold, I fell several times, I was in pain, and was in the middle of nowhere.

All that said, this is the portion I’ll look back on and remember fondly.  When you challenge yourself and then overcome, there is a feeling of accomplishment and pride.  Trudging through that snow alone, I talked aloud to my late brother-in-law often, and brought myself into a stronger mental state than when I began the run.  If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you so remember to seek out those challenges when you can.

Something I believe.  Focusing on winning is extremely important.  It helps keep us driven, determined, and with an eye on the end goal.  This is crucial but things do not always end up as we’d like.  For that reason, I believe something that is just as important as winning is learning how to take a loss.

I saw several examples over the past week of people or groups that lost in various endeavors and behaved shamefully.  They made excuses, involved people that didn’t need to be, cried foul, said things weren’t fair, and on and on.  They compounded their loss by embarrassing themselves with poor behavior.

No one should ever want to lose.  But if it happens, there are ways to handle it so that it turns into something positive in the future.  Evaluate your performance, ask what you could have done differently, what can be improved, what you learned, etc.  Do not make excuses, feel sorry for yourself, or get down.  Take it on the chin, own it, and grow from it.

Something I heard and loved.  One of my son’s previous football coaches spoke at his church group this week.  He told a story (that I was in attendance to witness) from 2 years ago.  They were playing in a tight game against an extremely physical team that was hitting hard and talking a lot.  They hit our quarterback often and got into his head.  He came to the sideline to get a play from the coach facing a 4^th and 32, down 6 points, with under a minute left in the game.

He told the coach that he was scared.  The coach asked if he meant scared about the situation or getting hurt and the player told him that he was just scared.  At that point, his coach told him the play and told him that one of the players would be open on this play, that he’d make a perfect throw to him and that they’d score and win.  That is exactly what happened.  He completed a 74-yard touchdown pass on that play and my son’s team won one of the craziest games I’ve ever seen.

The point the coach made by telling this story was that sometimes in life, you may not believe in yourself.  In those times, it may be the words of someone else that help you.  Furthermore, there will be times when it’s you that needs to hear these words and other times when you are the person that must deliver them to someone else.  When used properly, there is great power in your words to help others, and theirs to help you!

A concept I believe in.  In the lead up to the memorial run I did for my brother-in-law last week; I was asked by many patients and friends what my backup plan was.  In other words, what would I do if it were cold, if it snowed, if the roads and trails were tough to run on, etc.?  Would I postpone, and if so, to when?  My answer was that I was going when I’d planned regardless. 

When there is something important to you, do not allow yourself to negotiate it with anyone (including yourself).  Honor your commitment in the way you promised and give all you have.  If it seems like it will be harder than you expected for some reason, begin it anyway.  Honor your commitments by showing up and giving nothing less than your best.

Some quotes I love.

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”

“Your energy introduces you before you even speak.” – Kate Broddick

“Don’t watch the clock; do what it does.  Keep going.” – Sam Levenson

“Food is the most overused anxiety drug.  Exercise is the most underutilized antidepressant.” – JJ Virgin

“Freedom is not a reward for compliance.  That’s how jails work.”

“It will be hard but hard does not mean that it will be impossible.”

Want more?

• Don’t forget to follow Dr. Kenney on Instagram @Coloradochiropractor
• To see previous Friday 5 Spots, visit www.newbodychiro.com
• Check us out on Facebook under New Body Chiropractic

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’m looking forward to.  In August 2020, my brother-in-law, Sam died unexpectedly at the age of 32.  He was my wife’s youngest brother, and we became very close in the time I knew him.  He was my assistant coach in football and business partner and co-founder of Mile High Cryotherapy.  February 4^th is his birthday so last year I began the tradition of doing a “Sam Run” each year in his honor.  Therefore, each year on his birthday, I create a route and run my own “race” equal to the age he would have been.  This year will be 34 miles which I’ll run throughout Highlands Ranch along trails and roads.

I understand this isn’t how most people would honor a friend, but it works well for me.  I am not someone that complains or dwells on things (even something as tragic as this).  Therefore, the miles are my time to process my emotions and to visit with him in my own way. 

When I run long distances, my mind becomes clearer than at any other time.  In this case, I use this clarity to think about my friend and by the end I’m at a better place than when I started.  This is my therapy, and it helps keep me positive and productive even when dealing with such a significant loss.

Something I believe.  I had two separate conversations with people this week that had embarked on what I would call a lifestyle transformation involving exercise, nutrition, mental, habits, and more.  I talked to the first person and asked how their program had been going over the first couple weeks and they told me it was hard, but they were seeing excellent results.  The second person also told me it was hard, and they’d quit and then proceeded to give me 4 minutes of reasons why.

Both conversations reminded me of a saying I like to use, “If it’s hard then do it hard.”  If you are going to embark on any worthwhile challenge, it is not going to be easy.  Most people quit when the first challenge hits.  To be the type of person that accomplishes the extraordinary, you’re going to have to be tough, gritty, persistent, and tenacious.  If you’re not, you will not succeed in the long run. 

If you’ve outlined a goal that is important to you, prepare yourself to keep going when things get so tough you don’t know if you can go on, because that will happen.  The effort it takes to attain a lofty goal is like a gas tank.  Most are willing to give a quarter of a tank.  Be the person that is willing to run until you’re on fumes and even push it in neutral if you must.  That’s what it takes.

Something I loved.  My oldest son and I were having a conversation and he mentioned a kid in his strength and conditioning class.  He told me that even though he was skinny, he is always taking furious notes in their strength and conditioning class, and then working ridiculously hard when they get to the weight room.  I love hearing stories about people that don’t complain about what they didn’t get genetically or ability-wise, while at the same time maximizing their production through effort and consistency. 

I told my son that as a coach or business owner, I’ll always take people with a desire to learn and great work ethic over people more talented.  People like that tend to not make excuses and work the hardest because they don’t have the same level of natural ability to fall back on.  A saying I love is “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” 

An excellent lesson.  My oldest son and his friend love to go house to house and shovel driveways when it snows.  They work hard and do excellent work.  They’ll usually do 8-10 driveways and charge $20.  My son told me that when they offered their services to one guy, he told them $20 was too much and that $15 was the right price.  I think this shook him a little and he asked me if he was charging too much and what my thoughts were.

I explained to him that by the fact people were hiring and re-hiring he and his friend so often, the price was not an issue.  They provide a great service and should be compensated for their time.  Next, I told him that one person wanting to pay less for a service is not a reason to sacrifice your own time and effort for less than you deserve.  Finally, I told my son that if he were to lower his price based on that guy’s recommendation, he’d regret it.  When we do a job the best we can but for less than we’re worth, we can become resentful.  Offer the best service you can, make sure it’s as high quality as possible, and then charge what you’re worth for it!

Some quotes I love.

“If you feel it in your stomach, it’s your intuition.  If you feel it in your chest, it’s your fear.  Pay attention to your body.  It is your guidance system.” – Rich Lopp

“What would the world be like if people stopped avoiding the things they knew they should do?” – Jordan Peterson

“I don’t think people’s opinions need a warning or disclaimer label.  If you’re offended or upset about other’s words and opinions, don’t listen to them.  Or do and get over it.” – Ryan Michler

“Life is a book.  Every day is a new page, every month is a new chapter, and every year is a new series.”

“Every next level of your life will demand a stronger you.”

Want more?

• Don’t forget to follow Dr. Kenney on Instagram @Coloradochiropractor
• To see previous Friday 5 Spots, visit www.newbodychiro.com
• Check us out on Facebook under New Body Chiropractic