As I have visited with chiropractors throughout the years, it seems so many are just not content in their practice and life.
Between insurance denials, rising costs of doing business, the desire – and need – to make more money along with the fires that can and will pop up daily, being happy can be one heck of a challenge.
Here are a couple of hard and fast rules I follow to ensure my headspace is in a happy and content place.
Don’t compare yourself to others
With the evolution of social media came the ability to gain an instant access glimpse into the lives of others and a convenient way to keep up with family, friends and of course our fellow chiropractors.
Various online groups and forums provide a convenient platform through which you can share with and learn from your peers. However, I caution you to guard your mind when reading posts and don’t fall into the trap of comparing your ‘practice accomplishments’ to others.
It doesn’t take long to stumble onto doctors that post their practice and life success highlight reel. Just remember that what they share is typically just that… the ‘highlight reel’ with just as many highs, lows and challenges as the next chiropractor lurking behind the trailer.
Play your game based on your business and marketing plan being careful not to condemn your efforts by comparing them to perceived successes of others.
Move linearly…not circularly
My wife and used to have a running joke at the house where when she would show back up at the house after dropping the kids off at school she would fly past me saying “OK time to get after it!” to which I would respond “good luck chasing your tail feathers!” and so she would begin to chase herself in a circular motion to provide me the ‘erratic chicken’ demonstration that never failed to make me laugh – well it’s funnier to see than to read.
It took me years to get her to stop and sharpen the saw (i.e. organize and plan her strategies and ‘to dos’). Now she plans her week every Monday morning and is much more efficient and productive.
Don’t make this common contentment sabotaging mistake. Take time every Sunday night to plan your week and a few minutes every morning to plan your day. Meet with staff at the beginning of the month to set goals and strategize on how you will accomplish them including any upcoming marketing. Roll-play scripts and protocols once a quarter to ensure staff isn’t slacking on execution.
Stopping to sharpen your saw will help you keep the business moving forward on the most direct path towards success.
Keep doing something – anything
While my wife was someone who would do with limited direction, many more people will plan without doing.
Act more than you plan… ever if it’s without the perfect plan in place. That’s right I said it, act even if it’s not perfect and ready to go. You can always tweak it as you see how it plays out.
This especially applies to marketing strategies and office protocols. Strategize, Plan and then Execute. If you are a person that will get stuck in on the merry-go-round of trying to make it perfect before you implement it, set a time frame for yourself of a week or two and at that cut off point, activate it and change it as needed.
One of the greatest mistakes any business person can make is getting stuck in the habit of ‘analysis paralysis’ (or Saddling Up as I like to call it). Planning how you are going to grow you practice is all well and good but the reality is that ‘planning’ is not doing.
My recommendation is to make sure that while you are planning a new marketing strategy or protocol to implement, you should at the same time be in the middle of executing another.
Be ‘doing’ a lot more often then you are ‘planning.’ The goal should be to go home every night exhausted but satisfied in the ‘action’ you took that day.
