Powerful Insights That Can Transform Your Life

As a chiropractor, I have the opportunity and the extreme privilege to work with some truly incredible people. I went into the chiropractic profession because I wanted to have a profound impact on people’s lives, but what I have found is the amazing people I work with everyday have influenced me more than I ever could have imagined. Everyday I learn and grow from the people in the practice. Everyday I gain new insights and I would love to share some of them with you.

1) Don’t take life too seriously or you will miss out on a ton of fun!

I walked into a room the other day to long-time patients of mine – two female best-friends in their eighties. I greeted them by asking them, “How are my beautiful young ladies doing today?” She responded with, “Oh my, you are so full of it!” I said, “What? I’m not full of it at all!” She said, “Well if you are not full of it, then you must be blind.” I concluded, “Yes I may be blind, but I only have eyes for you.” The women, myself, and the staff were all hysterically laughing at the exchange that went on, and I left that conversation with a great lesson – Don’t take life too seriously or you will miss out on a ton of fun!!

2) Don’t take anything for granted because you never know when it may disappear.

I have a patient who has been coming in now for a couple of months. When she first came in she was in excruciating pain and could hardly move. She came in with a bold request. She said, “I am going in for foot surgery in two weeks. I have to be off my feet for at least six weeks and I can’t imagine dealing with both. Can you put me back together again by then?” Of course I explained the process of healing and that it takes time but I would do my best to remove the interference to her nervous system so her body could heal to the best of its ability. She responded very well to chiropractic but faced a formidable challenge she could not have prepared for – the difficulty of being on crutches and not being able to walk for over six weeks. How could she prepare for that? She’s never had to mandatorily forgo walking at any point in her life so how could she prepare herself for the challenges she would face? Throughout this experience we have discussed on her visits, how much we take the simple things in life for granted – like walking. To be completely candid, many of you are lazy and do very little exercise in your life. 59% percent of you to be exact do no exercise at all. If you are one of the 25% of the people in the U.S. who do exercise 3 or more times per week, than what else in your life are you taking for granted? If you find it, it could transform the way you live your life. We have way too much to be thankful for in our lives – Don’t take anything for granted because you never know when it may disappear.

3) The quality of the people you surround yourself with make all the difference in the world.

The other day I was finishing up and adjusting one of the last patients of the day and she had this very inquisitive look on her face. She looked at me with these skeptical eyes and said, “I have to ask. What is your deal at this office? “ I asked, “What do you mean?” She clarified, “Well, I have been to other chiropractors and this just seems to be much different than anywhere else. You guys are always so happy, you focus on not just symptoms but on the overall function of the body, and it just seems almost too good to be true.” We both could not help but laugh. My reply was this: “This may seem too good to be true because we choose to live our lives much differently than the general population. The sad truth is that most people hate their jobs, are not happy in their relationships, have very low self-esteem, and basically live their lives for the weekend where they have a brief reprieve from their normal life. We, at the office, truly love our jobs, love our patients, surround ourselves with positive and supportive people, and we worked very hard to put together a team that was equally as passionate about life, and it makes all the difference.” It really is true, the quality of the people you surround yourself with make all the difference in the world.

Every one of my patients are a true gift in my life. There are some that have left as quickly as they have entered and there are others that will be patients and a part of my life forever. Every single one of them has brought some very powerful lessons and experiences to my life and for that I am eternally grateful. I took a very powerful personal transformation seminar called Landmark Forum. In it one of the distinctions we received was this: “Life is empty and meaningless.” It seems very depressive and dreary but when explored is very powerful. What the distinction means is that there is no inherent meaning in life or inherent meaning in the experiences we have in life. The only meaning is that which we give to those experiences. When we can begin to see life as empty and meaningless, we can begin to define and create the life we have always wanted to live. I am going to leave you with a very powerful quote I heard recently. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were going to live forever.” - Ghandi

Have you ever wondered where true happiness comes from?

Have you ever wondered how two people can grow up in similar surroundings with similar influences and one person becomes outrageously happy and successful whereas their equal counterpart lives a life of misery and insignificance? What causes one person to come from nothing or bounce back from heartache, despair, and hardship whereas another person in a similar situation becomes bruised, beat-down, and permanently scarred? Is it pure and random luck or is there a key component that an individual possesses that allows them to bounce back and create a life of happiness and significance? Before we answer that question, let’s discuss what I mean by happiness. I do not mean a superficial, short-lived sense of joy that comes from buying the latest HD television or Prada bag. The happiness I am talking about is a deep, burning joy for the life you have created and continue to create for yourself. It is a raging passion that drives everything you do and gives your life significance. So where does that kind of happiness come from? That happiness comes from creating a sense of purpose in your life. It comes from developing a sense of purpose that is congruent with the values and standards you have created for yourself and drives everything you do.

We are about to step into a new year, and for some of you, a new life. Now is the time to wipe the slate clean and begin to design the life you would love to live. Now is the time to develop a true sense of purpose that is congruent with your values yet extends beyond yourself to change the lives of those around you. Now is the time to evolve and increase the standards you have set for yourself. As Michelangelo has said: “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” Do not settle anymore for a life of mediocrity. Settle for nothing less than the best because you deserve it. Think you are not worth it? Think you are not strong enough? Think again! There is no difference between you and the greats like Mother Theresa and Ghandi. The only thing that sets them apart is they took a stand for what they believe in, developed an unwavering purpose, and made a unconquerable commitment to living out their life’s purpose. They saw what others did not see. They believed more than others believed. They had a desire to become more than other people were willing to become. Maybe you have no desire to have an influence like Mother Theresa or Ghandi but you do have a desire to be the best you possible. You must begin to see what others are unwilling to see and to do what others are unwilling to do. Michelangelo stated about his Statue of David: “I saw an angel in the block of marble and I just chiseled 'til I set him free.” Become your own Statue of David. See yourself as a block of marble just waiting to chip away the block until you have created a masterpiece within yourself. This can only begin by developing a deep sense of purpose and committing everyday to living out that purpose. You find your life’s purpose and devote your life to living out that purpose, you will not only create a life filled with joy, happiness, and fulfillment but you will also create a life of significance that will have in impact on the people around you and for people for generations to come.