After 12 years as a chiropractor and having worked with thousands of different people, I have found only a few factors that are great predictors of a person’s success in care. By far the most valuable is simply the individual’s commitment to what they are doing. People who make a decision, commit, and follow through get results. Those who don’t…are a crap-shoot.

Why We (I) Fail

I have both succeeded and failed (and observed others do the same) enough to recognize that this applies to every area of all of our lives. The reason that so many people struggle, fail and become frustrated with their health, fitness, finances, relationships and careers is that they never fully commit to anything. They are dabblers and dabbling will never create success.

Training With a Bulgarian Master

One of the things I appreciate about my friend, coach and business partner, Tyler Touchette of Caveman Strong, is that he is definitely not a dabbler. When he decided to start an Olympic weightlifting club in Cornwall, he committed to doing it well. As a result, a small group of us had the opportunity to be coached and spend some time with world record holder, world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, Alex Varbanov who travelled from Toronto with his family to train us.

Focus

Mr. Varbanov knows what it takes to be successful and dabbling is definitely not a part of it. He gives and expects full focus at all times – even when lifting what he calls a “small bar.” There is no music playing. After each set you sit quietly focusing on your next lift. As we started to approach our maximum lifts EVERYONE was expected to stop talking, stop moving and stop making noise.

Details, Details, Details

Attention to detail is also an important part of commitment. Following a specific training schedule. Eating the right stuff at the right time. Resting appropriately. Constant assessment and reassessment based on outcomes. Everything is taken into consideration.

It was an absolute blessing to be able to observe how someone who has reached the pinnacle of their discipline thinks and acts. Yes, this story is about weightlifting, but it is really about so much more than that. This is about your life.

What do YOU Want?

Do you want to be vibrantly healthy? Don’t dabble…do! Do you want to be financially wealthy? Don’t dabble…do! How about a relationship they will write poems about? You have to jump in with both feet.

Everyone (almost!) I meet with in my office wants some result that has been eluding them. They want to be free to do the activities they are unable to, or work to support their family. They want greater awareness, or mental and emotional well-being. They want strategies to facilitate their own growth, evolution and inevitably their greater contribution to the world.

Many achieve this, but there are always some who think they can take a short cut. They miss visits, they make excuses and they don’t follow through. They skip the workshops and don’t do their exercises at home.The result is frustration and disappointment.

The great thing is that it is never too late to turn it around. Really decide what you really want in your life and commit to making it happen. Don’t be a dabbler! Act now!

Thorin Gault, D.C.

« Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. »
Paulo Coelho

This weekend a group of Olympic weightlifters from Caveman Strong had the opportunity to participate in a private 3 hour training session with the legendary Alexandar Varbanov. Alex is an Olympic medallist, 3 time world champion, set multiple world records and is pound for pound one of the greatest lifters in the history of the world (I looked it up). Since concluding his competitive career he has become a world class coach. Being able to work with Alex would be like a hockey player having one on one ice time with Gretzky!

While I learned too many things to mention in this article, perhaps the most valuable was recognizing the role of progress and pain in creating our ultimate payoff or result.

Lack of External Does Not Always Equal Internal

I am very new to the sport of Olympic weightlifting (which is to power lifting what a concert violinist is to a fiddler) and I have to admit I had started to grow frustrated by what seemed to be a lack of progress. In fact my recent totals have actually been LESS than they were 6 months ago when I started to seriously train! I had been asking myself what have I been doing wrong and realized after my session with Mr. Varbanov that I wasn’t doing anything wrong except that my totals should be even lower!

I Suck, But In a Better Way!

What does this mean? It means that even though my results are worse, I have made tremendous progress in my mobility and technique – both things that will set the stage for much bigger totals in the future. I also learned that I have much more work to do in these areas before the big external results begin to manifest. You see my biggest asset (my strength) had been my largest impediment because I could use it at the expense of developing solid technique and mobility. The problem with this is I was at the limit of what I could produce at that level of skill – which really wasn’t much at all.

Sometimes, Some Pain Means Massive Gain

I also learned some lessons about pain. Essentially what Alex prescribed as correction strategies involved movements that I have avoided because I find them uncomfortable and painful. The question now is, am I willing to experience temporary discomfort for long term progress? The answer is YES, by the way!

Lessons For Life

While this anecdote is about weightlifting, this article is really about so much more. How can these lessons be applied to your health and life? Are you guided by short term results (symptom relief) at the expense of long term health? Do you choose comfort over success? Do you stop making progress on your health (diet, exercise, meditation, chiropractic care) the first time it feels painful or uncomfortable? How you answer these questions will determine your long term health and wellbeing.

How could these lessons apply to your financial success (debt vs. Savings)? How about your relationships? How about your career? What other areas of your life would be forever enhanced if you committed to progress instead of short term results and embraced some pain and discomfort in order to achieve the long-term payoff?

How You Do the Small Things Is How You Will Do the Big Things

One of the reasons I love sports (or any skill) is that they provide you with a classroom to learn about the secrets of life. The courage comes in taking the secrets from what is ultimately a trivial arena and applying them where they count.

Click Here to see a video of Alexandar Varbanov in action

“You can either be comfortable or successful.”

–       Dr. Donald Epstein

Be sure to sign up now for our January, Making 2012 The Best Year of Your Life, workshop. For the first time ever, learn to follow through on your new year resolutions!j