“I couldn’t see myself doing that.”

Do you have some reluctance about doing the things that you’ve paid coaches to suggest you do? If your resistance isn’t based on a conflict of values or ethics, you have a growth opportunity.

Doing is the result of who you’re being.

If you’re being uncertain as you attempt to do, your doing will suffer. If you’re not fully committed as you attempt to do, your doing will suffer. If you’re seeking approval as you attempt to do, your doing will suffer. If you’re defensive as you attempt to do, your doing will suffer. If you’re already prepared with plan B, your doing will suffer. Your body (who you’re being) speaks louder than what you say or do.

Start with being fully, authentically you and the doing to be done will come naturally. In fact, when you know who you are, you won’t need anyone suggesting what to do!

Last week when I was in Spain, I became present to a subtle distinction that you might want to give some thought to. If my understanding is correct, it could significantly change what you do with every patient you adjust. Seems to me, becoming mindful of this observation could take the already excellent results you produce with most patients to an entirely new level. What could possibly be so revolutionary? A simple statement made by one of the speakers: “If you do the same thing, every time, with each patient there’s no art in your chiropractic.”

Profound.

We have conveniently divided the practice of chiropractic into its science, art and philosophy. The science and philosophy have often served as the battleground for the schism between the vitalists and the mechanists. However, the “art” of chiropractic seems to have been ignored, or at least relegated to the notion of “artfully” and masterfully delivering your particular adjusting technique. Yet, this too easily overlooks one of the most dangerous aspects of working with the nervous system: it learns.

Have you mistreated patients for the last couple of decades, using manipulative techniques that were justified as “being for the patient’s own good.”

Relying on fear tactics, using your limited social authority or imposing financial policies in an attempt to get patients to do the “right” thing (according to you) has prompted hundreds of inactive patients to avoid your office. They shun your practice when they experience their inevitable relapse. They fail to recommend you to their friends at work, saving them from your heavy-handed interpersonal skills.

What’s worse, you don’t see how parental and manipulative your tactics actually are!

Does your name become you, or do you become your name?

Naming a thing gives us dominion over it. Naming things creates the distinctions necessary to distinguish this from that. Horse. Zebra. Similar, but different. (Allopaths can’t even respond until the set of symptoms has a name!)

Is your practice name authentic to your purpose? Does your practice name limit your practice? Is your practice name congruent with your intention when delivering care?

Family Chiropractic. Is it? Or just wishful thinking?

So and So Wellness Center. Why do patients drop out when they feel better?

Cityname Pain Relief. Are you guaranteeing a cure?

Then there’s simply: Chiropractor. In other words, you already know what chiropractors do. Right?

Nothing destroys your creditability faster than assuming a name that doesn’t ring true with a patient’s experience. Patients may contemplate, “I wonder what else they fib about?”