2012 was a great year for Gault Family Chiropractic and its’ practice members and we have some incredible things in store for 2013. As you know, over our 12 years of practice we constantly learn new things, refine our care and evolve both our clinical skills and service to you in the office. We are currently in the midst of another such evolution as we have many exciting things we will be unveiling in the new year.

Any time changes are taking place, it is important to know EXACTLY where you are coming FROM. You can’t leave a place you don’t know you are at (someone really smart said something like that)! There is no better time to assess where we are than at the start of a New Year, so in this article I will highlight 2012 at Gault Family Chiropractic. Next week I will give you a peak of what is ahead in 2013.

BTW…I recommend doing this with yourself with any part of your life that is important to you (health, finances, relationships, etc.).

Since the office opened in 2000, one of the things that has set us apart is the support we provide our practice members through coaching and workshops that help people to take what they gain through our care and apply it to their lives. 2012 was no different as we continued with our regular workshops and SRI coaching while adding a completely new quarterly program called The Fireside Chat. The chat is a more advanced workshop with a short presentation by me followed by opening the floor for questions and conversation including hands-on demonstrations. Our first two chats have been a huge hit and have been lots of fun for everyone. Our next Fireside Chat  will be March 26^th.

    As per tradition we started 2012 with our Best Year of Your Life workshop in January to kick off your year right and we will be starting 2013 the same way on Jan. 29^th. This workshop is NOT to be missed.

Many of you know that when it comes to clinical care, I am obsessed with delivering high quality. We focus on NSRT (NeuroSpinal Restructuring Technique) with the goal of correcting Neural Resistance and I take that goal very seriously. It is for that reason we invest a tremendous amount of time and energy (and Air Miles) continuing to refine our skills. NSA is one of the tools I use to achieve this and in 2012 I attended both the Advanced NSA seminar and The Bridge program in Denver and had the opportunity to study closely with system developer Dr. Epstein.

In addition, in 2012 I studied some new complementary tools our practice members can learn to reduce Neural Resistance and we will be expanding the use of these in 2013.

Over the years we have realized that we are more than just a chiropractic office. Our practice members become a part of our family and sometimes our office becomes like a second home. For that reason we made a lot of ‘home’ renovations to make our physical space more inviting and conducive to promoting your health. More will follow.

While I never wanted to be a product ‘pusher’ (and am still not) we realized that many of our important complementary recommendations for supplements and other things were not being carried out due to lack of availability. It is for that reason we expanded our product line to high quality fish oil, vitamin D and probiotics, as well as EMF fighting Q-link products and spine supporting pillows. All of these products are personally used by myself and my family and are an excellent way to support your care by reducing Neural Resistance.

2012 was also a year that my profile as a speaker and coach outside of the practice took off. In October I was honoured to be one of the headline speakers at Cornwall’s 2^nd annual BizFest where I spoke about the same principles we teach in the office and how to use them to face adversity in life and business. I also continued to run the first year coaching, tutoring and practice evaluation program for X-CELS – an international company teaching chiropractors around the world. I love working with this program because it allows me to have an impact not JUST in my community, but internationally as well.

Of course many other things happened in 2012, but in a nutshell, this is where we are at. Lots to celebrate and so much more possible. I am even more excited to share what we have in store to serve you even better in 2013! Stay tuned for next week’s article.

Happy New Year!

We have now defined our Prime, Keystone and Drain sides of the Triad of Change – if you haven’t go back to the previous articles before reading this. We are now ready to use the Triad to create success in any and every part of our lives. We are now ready to use our personal combination of Structure, Perception, and Behaviour for optimal results.

First, decide on something you are committed to changing, improving, or getting desired outcome in. Using the Triad is a muscle that will get stronger in time, so I would recommend starting with something simple. One of your New Year resolutions (even if you have already dropped it) is a great place to start. What are you COMMITTED to changing?

Now comes the magic of using the Triad. The reason most attempts at change fail is because people tend to attack the wrong (drain) side of the Triad. Using our new model we will address our strengths (prime and keystone) and then merely observe the shift in our drain.

When we shift any 2 sides of the Triad, the third automatically and effortlessly will become congruent with the others! Let’s say you want to lose weight and behaviour is your drain. Most people would focus on exercising more and eating better food. This won’t work in a sustainable way. A more successful approach would be to create a Structure of perhaps scheduling workout times, setting up a home gym, only shopping on a full stomach, and keeping a food diary as well as changing Perceptions by reading affirmations, doing SRI exercises, envisioning a new thin you, imagine being a beacon of health for your grandkids, etc.

Do you see how when you change your perceptions and structures, the behaviour will have no choice but to shift also? If you took the above actions you would naturally and effortlessly exercise, eat better and therefore lose weight, however if you focused on those things with a behaviour drain it would be a struggle and inevitably lead to failure.

So, this process can seem very complex – especially if it is your first exposure to it. Allow me to attempt to simplify the steps:

1. Decide what you are absolutely committed to changing.

2. Address your Prime and Keystone sides of the Triad (DO NOT go after your drain).

3. Be certain that you are congruently using all of your fuel sources (from previous articles).

That is it! You will see that success is addictive and as you build your muscles you will be able to apply this to more and more things in your life.

In case you need some motivation, mastering these skills is much more important and urgent than losing some weight, winning a game or making some extra money. Our world is changing and we are moving into a period where resources will be scarcer and institutions we have grown up with will be thrown into instability. The greatest asset you can possess in these times is resourcefulness and adaptability. Those who have it will thrive while others will struggle.

Things like the Triad of Change, SRI exercises and NSA care are designed to provide resourcefulness and adaptability. Commit to mastering your Triad and not only will it allow you to create the life you deserve in any climate, but it will set the stage to create a legacy for your loved ones and everyone to come after you. The time is NOW.

I would like to thank everyone who made it to our 2 Making 2012 the Best Year of Your Life Workshops last week at Gault Family Chiropractic. I look forward to hearing all of the success stories.

Stay tuned for some exciting programs that are being created in the community that can help you take your life to the next level in so many ways!

The last two articles had you define the Ultimate Vision for your life and then discover how you use your Triad when you are both using your success formula as well as struggling or failing. Were you able to see how you use your Triad differently in these instances? If yes, great and if not go back and revisit last week’s homework.

This article will go further into knowing your exact formula for success by recognizing your Prime, Keystone and Drain sides of the Triad. This will set the stage for putting it into action and making 2012 the best year of your life.

The Prime side of your triad is the side that you naturally default to without thinking. This is the side of the Triad that we spend the most time in. It is important to understand which side of your triad is the prime because it can be used in both a constructive and destructive manner (good to know).

So, the first exercise is to take out a piece of paper and answer the question, “Life is….?” Spend about 5 minutes just letting your thoughts flow out onto the paper. When you are finished, take a look at what you wrote. Did you write mostly about structures (rules, frameworks, beliefs, physical things)? Did you write mostly about behaviours (actions, achieving, loving, expressing, etc)? Or, did you write about perceptions (love, peace, feelings, etc.)?

The answer to this question will give you your Prime side of the Triad. Sometimes what you write will be mixed between two sides. If so, look more closely at what you wrote near the end of the exercise. This is likely the more accurate side.

The Keystone side of the Triad is the central source of energy and stability. It is the side of the Triad we are using when really making progress in the Triad. It can be used to link the Prime and Drain in a way that can liberate new energy and resources.

To determine the Keystone side of the Triad, we need to know what comes to us in an easy and effortless way – both coming from ourselves and others. If you enjoy following other people’s rules and also find it easy to follow your own rules, perhaps structure is your keystone? If you easily take action and are inspired by the actions of others, perhaps your Keystone is behaviour? If you can easily change your thoughts and moods and can effortlessly be in the presence of others in less than resourceful states, perhaps it is perception.

Which side of you Triad do you believe is your Keystone?

The Drain is the least effective mode of the Triad and is the side that must engage last when successfully making progress. The way to determine the drain is by asking yourself what you obsess over in both yourself and others. Someone with a perception drain (yours truly) obsesses over their own thoughts and feeling as well as those of others. A person with a behaviour drain obsesses over what they must do and are driven mad by other’s actions. A structure drain obsesses over their own rules and other people breaking them.

Which side of the Triad is your Drain. Sometimes the best way to determine your obsessions is recognizing what drives you crazy (in a negative way) about your significant other.

To give you my own personal example, my Prime is structure. I naturally see things as structures. Even my experiences are stored as snapshots taken in frozen time. Behaviours are seen within the structure of rules and concepts. My strength is my own structures and rules and I am paralyzed by being stuck in another person’s rules or if someone breaks my rules.

My keystone is behaviour. I take action easily and don’t get caught up in what other people do. I am also inspired when others take positive action.

My drain is perception. I obsess over my own thoughts and am easily caught up in my own head. I also obsess over what other people think, what they think about me and whether or not they agree with my own perceptions.

Your homework for this week is to have a draft of your Triad of Progress from the perspective of your Prime, Keystone, and Drain. Next article we start to make things happen!

To see Dr. Epstein himself speak about The Triad of Change click HERE

Don’t forget, I will be presenting this topic live at Gault Family Chiropractic on Tues. Jan. 24^th and Wed. Jan. 25^th. Both are filling fast, so reserve a seat now.

Your Personal Success Formula

In the last article you learned how to tap into your ultimate vision for your life in order to ensure congruency in your actions and to prevent the self sabotage that commonly interrupts your efforts for transformation. Now that your ultimate vision is clearly defined, it is time to get to work discovering your personal success formula that can be applied to absolutely any area of your life.

The Triad of Change/Progress

The simplest and most profound way to discover and define your personal success formula is The Triad of Change model developed by Dr. Donny Epstein – also the developer of NSA and SRI. The Triad breaks down all of our experiences into three components: Structure, Behaviour, and Perception. Each of us have different combinations of aptitudes and challenges with these components and recognizing them allows us to apply our personal success formula.

Structures include physical structures such as how a room or workspace is set up. Structures can be organizational set-ups as well, such as a time schedule or political structure. If we use an example of someone who successfully loses weight some structures could be their home gym, where they buy groceries, and their meal and workout schedule.

Behaviour is simply the actions we do or don’t take. Exercising, eating well and avoiding sugar are all behaviours that support our example of weight loss.

Perception is what we focus on, what we are aware of and how we see the world. Focusing on playing with our yet unborn great grand children, fitting into our high school jeans and feeling healthy and full of energy are all positive perceptions that support weight loss. Feeling the pain of a loved one having a heart attack, acknowledging that early death or disability will leave your children uncared for or watching a video about clogged arteries are negative perceptions you can also use to drive your transformation.

Now comes the tricky (and fun) part! Everyone uses the Triad a bit differently and it is up to you to figure out how it works (and doesn’t work) for you. Once you know this it is easy to apply your formula to be successful at anything!

Some Homework

So, here is your homework for this week: first think of something you are really good at. Something that comes naturally to you or a change you successfully made in the past. Perhaps it is a sport, hobby or skill that you are a natural at. Maybe it is cooking. Maybe you kicked a bad habit like smoking. Now look at your Triad in relation to that talent or change. What are the structures, behaviours and perceptions that surround and support this? How do they fit together? Which one do you address first, second and third? Write this down on a sheet of paper.

Next, choose something that is a struggle for you. Perhaps a bad habit you have not been able to quit, a history of bad relationships or something as simple as a messy desk? Now look at your Triad for this part of your life. What are the structures, behaviours, and perceptions like here? How are they different from when you are successful? How do they fit together differently?

This exercise will set the stage for everything we will be doing in the next few weeks to ensure 2012 will be the best year of your life! Make sure you do your homework and next week we will determine which side of your Triad of Change is your Keystone, Prime and Drain.

Remember, I will be presenting 2 free workshops putting all of this together in one shot: Tues. Jan. 17^th at Gault Family Chiropractic and Wed. Jan. 25^th at Caveman Strong. Register now to reserve a seat.

Let’s face it – very rarely do we keep our New Year resolutions. Or in the face of repeated failure we no longer even make them, passing them off as something only “silly, lesser people” do as if we have evolved beyond them. Seriously, regardless of the time of year how often do we actually keep our promises to ourselves? If we did, we would all have 6 pack abs, buns of steel, be independently wealthy, travel the world and be in a fairy tale relationship!

Learn from Your Success…and Failures

Yet, once in a while we get it right. We make the change and make it stick for the long term. Sometimes we are successful at quitting smoking, losing weight, saving the money, starting a business or transforming the relationship. This begs the question of, “why?” What made it work this time? How was it different than the 26 times I failed?

Over the next few articles we will be looking at these questions and helping you to discover and implement your own formula for success that will help you to make 2012 the best year of your life. By the end of this series you will no longer just hope that this will be the year everything works – you will know that applying your personal success formula will create the result you are looking for.

Because many of you may still be hung-over from all of the food, drink and excess of the holidays, we will ease into this process by talking about our Ultimate Vision for life.

What is Your Ultimate Vision?

It is common that our efforts for transformation and change become sabotaged because we are not clear about our ultimate vision for our lives. We may set a goal to exercise 1 hour every day with the intent to transform our body, but if one of our highest values is spending time with our family we may unconsciously be pulled to not exercise as it takes away from family. Someone who wants to quit smoking yet cherishes socializing with dear friends who are smokers may experience a similar conflict.

The great news is that all of these conflicts can be creatively negotiated, but our vision for our lives must be consciously chosen and defined in order to do so. Between this week and next, spend some quiet time alone and write out your vision for your life. It is important to include all aspects of your life: body, learning, finances, habits, career, leisure, family and friends. Go into as much detail as possible and include the feelings and emotions that will accompany your life.

If you struggle with this exercise, stay with it. Often the streams of ideas that come just after you want to quit are the most true and profound. To help you can start by making a list of the values you want in your life. This could be compassion, integrity, patience, excitement, learning, etc. Another helpful exercise is to write out what your perfect day would be like. What would you do, who would you do it with, and how would you feel?

Some Homework

Having a clearly defined Ultimate Vision for your life is the first step finally making the changes you deserve. Read this vision once per day for the next few days. You know you have it when reading it gets you excited inside. Feel free to refine the wording to maximize this effect.

Next article we will begin to discover your personal formula for success.

I will be presenting a complimentary workshop of the same name as this article on Tues. January 17^th at Gault Family Chiropractic and Wed. January 25^th at Caveman Strong. Seating will be limited so phone to reserve your spot.

On behalf of Gault Family Chiropractic I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Be sure to celebrate in preparation for Making 2012 the best year of your life.

As inspiration for the new year, here is a video of Tony Robbins speaking to a crowd about his personal discovery of Network Spinal Analysis and introducing Dr. Donny Epstein as well as a recent article by my amazing colleague, Dr. John Amaral about some of the technicalities of NSA. I hope you enjoy.

In a few days I will be posting my first article in a series helping you to Make 2012 the Best Year of Your Life, to go alongside the workshop of the same name to be presented – both in my office and at the Caveman Strong gym – on Jan. 17th and 18th respectively.

Click HERE the Tony Robbins/Donny Epstein video.

Click HERE for Dr. Amaral’s article

“Even the predictable turns into a surprise the moment we stop taking it for granted.” Brother David Stendl-Rast