Posts Tagged ‘Behaviour’

BEING EXTRAORDINARY!

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

What’s the difference between being “ordinary” and being “EXTRAORDINARY”? If you look at the word extraordinary a little closer you will see that it is just a little EXTRA than ORDINARY!

When we think about being successful (whatever this might mean to you) we find that there are certain fallacies about how others achieve success:

FALLACIES ABOUT SUCCESS

  • They are better looking than you…
  • They have more talent than you do…
  • Luck!
  • They have stepped on someone else to climb higher…
  • They have ripped people off in order to get ahead…
  • They were given success on a silver platter…
  • It’s easier for others than it is for you…
  • They were born successful…
  • Someone gave them a head start…
  • They stumbled on it…

While some of these things may be true about some people who appear more successful than you: They are not THE reasons why they are more successful!

WE ARE ALL EXTRAORDINARY!

Every person has the ability to be “extraordinary”. If you don’t believe this then you should read autobiographies of some of the world’s most loved and famous people. What you will find is that each of these people at some point regarded themselves as the least likely person on Earth to succeed. But something in that person’s life helped them to make a decision that they could, and would be extraordinary.

So being extraordinary is first and foremost a decision that YOU are going to be EXTRAORDINARY.

People who are “ordinary” have usually decided to “settle for”. If your business had two extraordinary years of growth what would this mean for the following year? If you were to decide that you couldn’t possibly sustain this growth and development, and that in future years, you just wanted to maintain things as they were then you would become ordinary!

If you were to look at other practices and compare yourselves, and decide you don’t need to stretch anymore; then you would become ordinary!

If you were to look at the services offered by many other businesses and see how much more you offered and decided that you don’t need to do anymore; then you would become ordinary!

Being extraordinary means that you create your own standards; focus on how you can improve those standards; and don’t measure yourself by other people’s standards.

The only catch to making a decision to be extraordinary is that after a while your customers expect and demand that same level of service. So, to further surprise and satisfy your patients you have to discover new levels of “extraordinariness”…

“EXTRA”

Let’s look at some of the characteristics of these “extra” things that allow you to become extraordinary:

1) They are usually repetitive: All top sports people achieve their incredible skill levels by repetition of the basic skills of their sport. Peter Daicos the legendary Collingwood footballer said that he found the more he practiced, the luckier he became!

Examples of repetitive tasks in a chiropractic practice could be the scripts and remembering to talk about chiropractic to every patient. When thirty or more patients come through your office each day the things you say and the discussions you have appear repetitive to you: But to that person it could be the only conversation they will have about chiropractic that day, that week, that month, maybe that lifetime?

2) They are usually simple and easy: Each extra little thing that adds to your level of extraordinariness is in itself probably a very basic skill. But it is the very thing that others fail to do for this very same reason.

Forgetting to greet a patient as soon as they arrive, forgetting to tell a young mother that she can bring her children and they will be looked after while the mother receives an adjustment, forgetting to find out anything about a new patient’s family and friends (and missing 3-4 immediate referrals), forgetting to explain to a brand new patient what you are going to do before you do it…

WHY NOT?

If we can become extraordinarily successful by doing repetitive and simple things then why aren’t we all millionaires?

1) FEAR: Despite their simplicity these little extras often appear hard. Remember your first “crush”? All you had to do was ring them to ask them out to that party. It would probably only take ten words to ask the question and there were only two possible replies; either of which would give you instant emotional relief. But how difficult did that phone call become in your mind: Probably difficult enough to stop you doing it! Enough to give you dry mouth, rapid pulse and sweaty palms just at the slightest sight or thought of a telephone. But: If you did overcome that fear and make that call: Remember that feeling of euphoria and energy afterwards (no matter the reply)? This is the “adrenaline buzz” of being extraordinary!

The amazing thing about that fear though; was that the only way you overcame it was by ACTION! By doing the very thing that you feared. And you were able to take that action because you got yourself to the point of FAITH: Where you were so convinced that they would say yes that you just had to ring. Or, you were so convinced that they were going to say no that you didn’t care for them any more anyway. Or, that you realized that either reply would make you feel better than you were feeling by not ringing them!

2) LAZINESS: Because these extras are simple and repetitive, they are probably the first things that we put off and ignore. To do these things means exactly what the word means… EXTRA! And let’s face it many of us don’t want to do extra if we can avoid it.

Laziness usually manifests as excuses – “they’ve probably heard it all before”, “No-one wants to listen to this health stuff”, “people are turned off by a sales pitch”, “I tried that once and it didn’t work”…

Well, on the other hand – if you don’t tell them maybe no-one else on the entire planet will either – and maybe that could have massive consequences for that person?

So, as you can see, not doing the “extras” is what holds us back and stops us from becoming extraordinary.

HOW TO…

1) Take time to reflect on the things you do each day and ask yourself two questions:

a) Am I consistently doing the little things that will allow me to become extraordinary?

b) What am I not doing, or what am I avoiding doing which is preventing me from getting an “extraordinary buzz”?

2) Allow your creative imagination to sprout wings: Start to think about “extra” things, which may appear simple and repetitive, but will add to your being extraordinary – pick one and put it into practice: Once you have mastered it move onto the next one. And if you think it didn’t work, replace it with a new one…

3) Develop your faith:

a) That you can be extraordinary

b) That by doing the “extras”, things will start working out for the better

c) That if those little “extras” don’t work you will still be in the process of becoming extraordinary

d) By understanding that if you do the possible, God will take care of the impossible!

4) Act:

a) “Fake it till you make it!”

b) “Try on” a new behavior to see if it “fits” and give it sufficient time to “wear in”.

c) Take the first step on an incredible journey which consists of continuing to take more first steps, each after the other; till you arrive at a fantastic exotic location!

Click Here To Find Out More About Coaching…

BE - DO - HAVE

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

Many of us spend much of our thought life thinking about what we HAVE or what we would like to have; and even what we don’t have or don’t want to have.

Whether we are thinking about our finances (“If I was rich the things I could do…”), our material possessions (“I need that toy…”), our relationships (“If he/she paid me more attention I would be happy…”), our business (”If I saw more patients then I would enjoy practice…”), our health (“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired…”) etc.

When we are day dreaming about what we would like to have, or stressing about what we currently have , we forget that there is always something which precedes what we possess! And this is - what we DO!

It can be a depressing thought, but many personal development authors tell us that what we have and what we will have in the future are a direct result of what we have done previously and what we are going to do next! Action leads to results.

There is an even higher activity though, which precedes doing, and hence also having. And this is - BEING!

Have you ever thought about what you want to have and someone has advised you what to do. But, you just don’t seem to be able to break through and consistently DO a new behaviour. This is because you haven’t changed your BEING.

There’s times when we all wonder why two people can be taught the same procedures but get totally different results - This is because their BEING is different.

So - to make quantum leaps in our personal development, we need to make changes in our BEING! Our being is the roots of our character and personality: Our beliefs, our mission statements, our values, our visions, gifts and talents.

Who do you want to be? What will they say about you at your funeral? Are you here to serve or to receive?

Business management in the ‘80s taught people to plan what they wanted to HAVE - set goals - then work backwards to determine what they needed to DO - and this in turn would direct what the person needed to BE.

Sometimes Christian ethics teaches us that we just have to concentrate on our BEING, and God will provide for all our needs (our HAVES). This ignores the fact that whenever we get our BEING into true integrity we become inspired with things we can do - which leads to what we will HAVE, by “God’s Grace”!

Then there’s those of us that are so trapped in the DOING that we forget what we were BEING when we got inspired to DO! (read the last line again slowly!) And we can’t even remember what we are going to HAVE as a result of that DOING! We just keep on doing those things over and over into the future, because they are what we have been doing in the past.

The new business and personal development ethic is based on putting first things first - work out your “BEING”, and spend time regularly keeping in touch with that BEING. This will direct and keep your “DOING” on track. The “HAVING” will then just become a by-product of these processes, a symptom or fruit of our BEING!

Click Here To Find Out More About Practice Coaching…

Practice Tip - CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN WHAT PEOPLE THINK AND WHAT THEY DO

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

There is compelling scientific evidence that what people know about diet and how they eat are in many cases two different issues? I’m sure you have observed that this void between knowing and doing crosses over into all health behaviours?

1) The acute antalgic low back or torticollis crisis patient who promises you that they will keep seeing you forever for maintenance care if you can only help them get out of agony; who then discontinue somewhere between visit two and six because “they are fine now and will ring if they have any further problems”.

2) The reactivating patient that confesses that they were feeling great while they were doing the exercises that you taught them, but then they just forgot about them because they didn’t have any pain. And then they ask you “why does this problem keep coming back?”

3) The osteo-arthritic retiree that starts complaining of increased aching and stiffness, and when you ask them if they are still taking their Glucosamine, they respond “Oh I finished the bottle and thought I’d see how I’d go without them for a while”.

4) You meet an old regular practice member who discontinued 1-2 years ago, and when you ask them how they are going they give you the long list of ailments, diagnoses and prescriptions that they now take, and then pass comment “you know when I used to see you I didn’t have any of these problems”.

There’s a push in our profession right now to adapt us into risk-factor screening machines, who then pass appropriate educational brochures to those at risk, and warn them of the dangers of not changing their ways. Think about this: Most people who are overweight already know they are overweight; most people who are unfit already experience the effects of it; most people experiencing symptoms of Diabetes are aware of the symptoms… They don’t need you to identify the symptoms of their condition. They need help closing the void between their awareness and their behaviour!

If you want to be a wellness practitioner let me tell you a major paradigm shift you are going to have to make - It’s not about you, it’s about them. Wellness is a personal journey of lifestyle choices leading towards better life and health outcomes. You can’t make the decisions for them - if you try to then its not wellness - it’s medicine.

Here’s four questions that you must ask your practice members to make massive changes in your wellness relationship:

1) “What is your biggest health priority right now?” Their choice not yours.

2) “What are three things you think you could do to improve this area of your life?” Their choice, not yours. But this may be the point where they ask you for your educated opinion.

3) “What information do you think you need to help you make this change?” This is the point where they will most likely give you permission to feed them with resources.

4) “What would you like me to do to make sure you follow through on your plan?” This is where you help them to make some commitments, set some goals for them to achieve, define some measures for monitoring their progress, and set a time-line for review.

Click Here To See How Wellness Coaching Is Done…