Chiropractic Blog

We are remembered for our secrets.

Consider Richard Nixon, Jimmy Swaggart, Bill Clinton and countless others whose reputations are forever linked to the secrets they tried to keep.

Besides the enormous amount of energy required to keep our secrets secret, leading a double life is filled with worry and a constant level of alertness that prevents us from relaxing and being ourselves. Eventually, the shame, guilt and vigilance take its toll. The truth comes out. It always does. And sooner is better than later.

Is it a patient you've crossed a boundary with? A staff member you've hidden your financial difficulties from? The broken vows you made to your spouse? Or the secret stash you consume after everyone goes to bed?

If you find yourself in this tangled web, confess. Today. It's the only access to the peace and ease that you mistakenly thought was possible by keeping your secret secret.

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Happiness is largely a choice. How we show up when circumstances do not play out like we would prefer, is a decision.

Being depressed and withdrawn when patient volume is down and ecstatic when the numbers are up, produce a stressful rollercoaster practice. And it's not just the weightlessness at the top or pulling the extra Gs as your practice bottoms out. It's the costly toll that it takes on your support team.

If you're one of those moody bosses who appears to be a victim of outside conditions, realize that you destroy confidence, lower productivity and can actually bring about the conditions you're trying to avoid.

Forcing others to walk on eggshells is an expensive, self-indulgent luxury few practices can afford. Instead, choose to be upbeat. Decide to be optimistic. Only you can control your state. Become mindful of and assume responsibility for the emotional wake you create in others.

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It's probably the most counterintuitive fear of all: the fear of success.

When imagining ourselves reaching our goals or achieving our success we may hold back or turn away because of its additional obligation, responsibility or accountability.

With success comes the obligation to be a good steward. Most lottery winners shun this obligation, squandering their newfound financial resources on the frivolous, inconsequential and temporal.

With success comes the responsibility to maintain the new, higher level of productivity. Some, who imagine a future success and the potential failure of slipping back, avoid disappointment by keeping circumstances reasonable and controllable.

With success comes greater accountability and the judgment of others. For some, walking the talk and setting a good example may seem too burdensome.

As Nelson Mandela said in his inauguration speech when quoting Marianne Williamson, "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure."

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I have used this space repeatedly to assert that the consultation is more important than the report of findings. That’s primarily because it’s an opportunity to set boundaries, delineate responsibilities and supply leadership in the relationship. Yet, far too many chiropractors see the consultation as something to be endured or a procedure that merely delays getting their hands on the patient’s spine.

Chiropractors who rush through the consultation or fail to see its opportunities rarely enjoy the intimacy or influence afforded chiropractors who do. In fact, they continue to tinker with their report of findings, incorrectly thinking that the lack of patient follow through is due to some shortcoming in “selling” their recommendations at the report.

Instead, a far more productive pursuit would be to examine whether appropriate “rules of engagement” are being set when first meeting the patient at the initial consultation, pre-care interview or whatever you call it.

How long can you delay gratification?

Many of us avoid big projects, large initiatives or take on new opportunities because the payback, either financial, or more commonly, emotional, isn't immediate. This keeps our lives insignificant and our impact small.

Consider something as simple and effective as creating an annual marketing calendar. If your vision doesn't extend beyond this month's rent or today's mail carrier bearing insurance checks, creating (and implementing) an annual marketing calendar may seem a needless luxury.

This aversion to delayed gratification traps us in the urgent, consumed by the hottest fire licking at our heals. It's a common form of the isometric practice--expending massive amounts of energy, but not getting anywhere.

This week (or month), arise a half an hour earlier and work on something big! Something huge. Something whose payoff may be months or years from now. It's a way out of the mediocre status quo.

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Virtually all chiropractic practices are personality-driven small businesses. This begins to explain why a procedure, script or technology works for one chiropractor, but falls flat with another. While a cookie-cutter approach is often taught at practice management seminars, this overlooks the key distinction that success is always based on the “who” not the “do.”

This is also why chiropractic students who score well on tests and win the clinical awards often fail miserably in actual practice. Frequently, the introversion and analytical skills that make a good test taker, produce a “living-in-your-head” experience that patients find difficult to connect with or perceive as being aloof, judgmental or lacking confidence.

If you’re going to be successful connecting with and leading today’s patients, you’ll want to apply these five disciplines.