At Nexus Chiropractic one of the things we are most proud of – and our most fun challenge – is that many of the people we work with have already been to a number of other health care practitioners, without the success they are looking for. In many ways we are a last resort after a series of perceived failures.

It is for this reason that most of the patients we meet at an introductory presentation or one-on-one consultation are excited by the prospect that we have a different focus and therefore do things a bit different from both other chiropractors and other types of health care offices.

Once in a while we encounter someone surprised by our approach and wonder why we don’t run our office and make recommendations the same way their last office did. The simple answer is that we focus on and expect DIFFERENT results…and DIFFERENT results require a DIFFERENT approach.

This is an important concept to consider not only in choosing a chiropractor or health care provider, but in life in general. If you are not happy with your current results in any aspect of your life, you MUST employ a different approach in order to get what you want. More of the same will get you more of the same.

The New Year is a great time to examine this. If your weight is not where you want it, how can you change your approach this year? If your finances are below your expectations, how can you do things differently starting in 2017? How about your relationships? How about your career?

When it comes to most people who seek our care, the approach they have taken to their secondary conditions (pain and symptoms) is to focus solely on treating that. While this can be effective in the short term, it is akin to chopping the heads off of the dandelions on your lawn. If you are prepared for the problem to be back in a few days, this approach is fantastic. If you really want a green lawn that will stay that way you will have a little more work to do.

At Nexus, instead of focusing on pain and other secondary conditions, we want to know what is underlying those problems. This is why we conduct an objective neurospinal evaluation on all of our patients and follow it up with a reevaluation after the Initial Phase of Care.

The value of addressing the primary condition underlying the symptoms goes beyond just achieving a more sustainable result. When there is abnormal function and structure of the spine and nervous system and you get that handled, a variety of other secondary conditions often resolve as a result.

Often when we ask people in our office what they are happiest about with their care, it is an unexpected result that they did not even come to us for.

Again, I invite you to employ this concept to your life this New Year. How can you take a different approach that will not only solve the surface problem, but the deeper ones as well.

Do this, and 2017 can truly be the best year of your life!

Also, to help you get the most out of 2017, we have put together a series of complimentary workshops throughout the year. Keep an eye out for the full schedule which will be posted here.

In January, we will be both a Head to Toe, Neurospinal Show, and 12 Stages of Healing presentations. Phone 613-932-8111 to reserve a seat.

I am writing this article sitting in my home having missed my second day of work in a row due to being sick. This is a big deal because since opening my practice in 2000 (that is 16 years ago) I had only missed one half of a day sick prior to this week.

Save for a couple of serious illnesses as a child this is the ‘sickest’ I can ever remember being. Up until a few hours ago there would have been no way I could have written this article because I could neither drag myself off of the couch nor think straight. The strange thing about this experience is that while I am annoyed about missing work and disappointed that I allowed myself to become vulnerable to the illness, I am actually grateful and know it will have a lasting positive impact on my life and health.

Why would anybody feel gratitude towards being so sick they thought they were going to die (not really, but it sure felt like it)?

The first reason is that this sickness has me completely motivated to make some positive changes in my lifestyle. This requires the individual to not see themselves as the victim for being sick. This is rare in our society and that is too bad. I recently wrote an article about how to stay healthy over the holidays and while I generally followed my own advice (continued doing the good, healthy stuff) I went a bit too far with late nights and unhealthy food and drink. I tempted fate and I got burned.

The positive spin on this was that I was planning on changing some things regarding my health in the New Year. After the experience of the last few days there is now no way I will not make it happen. On the other hand, had I perceived this illness as bad luck caused by germ A or virus B there would be less impetus to change. Pain is a wonderful motivator and if you are going to experience it you might as well use it.

The second thing I am grateful for is that it gave me the opportunity to do absolutely NOTHING. In fact it forced me to do nothing as I could barely read, let alone move.

I live a lifestyle that moves pretty fast – work, seminars, coaching, and two kids in multiple sports. We take vacations but even then we are either doing activities or I am plowing through books I don’t have time to read the rest of the year.

The last couple of days I spent most of my time doing nothing. Just lying in my bed or on the couch. While it isn’t fun to feel like crap you learn a lot when you literally cannot do anything. Without actively pursuing that line of thinking I became much clearer on what I wanted my life to look and feel like and I am much more motivated to get going on that life.

It was also kind of nice to sit on the couch with my family watching a crappy movie without thinking about all the stuff I have to do – and that NEVER happens in my normal life.

Being sick is not fun but it can provide you with value when it occurs. If you don’t see yourself as a victim you can take the experience and turn it into something great. This idea of taking the experience of pain and turning it into progress can be the greatest concept to embrace in making 2016 the best year of your life. I will be expanding on that idea in the next article.

Happy New Year!

BE PROACTIVE!

In the last article, I introduced some of the principles underlying Stephen R. Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which we are repurposing here to apply to your health. Please keep these principles in the background of your mind as we begin the journey through the 7 Habits that can help make 2014 the Best Year of Your Life.

The first habit is one that is particularly important (and commonly deficient) to the area of health. That is the habit of BEing Proactive. Being Proactive is one of the amazing gifts possessed by humans. When something happens to us, or we are in a particular situation, we always have a CHOICE in how we will respond.

When we are faced with a health challenge, we have a choice in what we will do about it. We can choose interventions that may temporarily make us feel better but ultimately hurt our overall health, or we can choose to take action that will get to the underlying problem and thus improve our long-term outcomes. We can choose to cover up the surface, or work on the source.

If you listen to the languaging most people use regarding their health you will notice that they are REACTIVE, as opposed to PROACTIVE. They say things such as, “I had to have that surgery…my kid made me sick…my back is out…my doctor won’t let me play golf anymore.” These are examples of reactive language.

PROACTIVE language sounds like this, “I have been having a health challenge and therefore I am looking for ways to live a healthier life…I have allowed my immunity slip and am sick, time for a change…what is underlying this pain I am experiencing and how can I address it?”

Reactive language focuses on what you have or don’t have that is separate from the person living the life. Proactive language focuses on the person with the problem and the choices they can make. Reactive people’s health essentially comes down to luck. Proactive people influence their own outcomes.

Covey says in his book, “Any time we think that the problem is ‘out there,’ that thought is the problem.”

Central to being proactive is focusing on what is called your Circle of Influence, NOT your Circle of Concern. Your COI is what you have control over and what choices you can consciously make in regards to it. COC contains many things that we have no involvement in and cannot do anything about.

In regards to health, people have MANY concerns – just eavesdrop in any coffee shop and you will hear people talking about them (as they eat donuts)! Unfortunately, many people are not even aware that they have a Circle of Influence and do nothing until they feel like they have to go into pure reactive mode. These people go from crisis to crisis, their overall health typically gets worse as they age, and they feel like they are victims of circumstance waiting for the next problem.

Proactive people don’t wait for crisis to take action. They understand that their choices and lifestyle (while not bulletproof) have a massive influence on their present and future health. Most of their time, energy, focus and money go to PROACTIVELY improving their health, not reacting to crisis. If and when a crisis arises, they are typically well equipped to handle it, and their level of health typically gets better with age.

People utilizing Neurospinal Optimization care in my office use it both for Proactive and Reactive reasons. Most enter the office in pure reaction; in order to undergo care must come to an agreement to at least look to correct the underlying problem. We simply DO NOT patch up surface problems – there are others who are real good at that.

Neurospinal Optimization is designed to be Proactive and many of the folks we have been working with for some time are walking examples of a proactive mindset and lifestyle.

So, for the next week notice where you are proactive and reactive in your health and life. Pay attention to the words you use when speaking about your health. Where can you start focusing more on your Circle of Influence and less on your Circle of Concern?

Next week we move onto Habit II and don’t forget that we are having a workshop on Tuesday, January 28 at my office to go even deeper to Make 2014 the Best Year of Your Life. Phone Adele at the office to reserve a seat. This workshop is open to both patients and non-patients so will fill fast.

We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

            -Aristotle

We kind of live in a Wal-Mart world. One stop shopping rules the day. Nothing is great and it is sort of smelly, but there are LOTS of products to buy, all in one place! This phenomenon is not only prevalent in low-end retail – it is popping up in all kinds of different industries.

I’m not judging whether or not a Wal-Mart world is a good or bad thing because if done correctly you can have convenience and quality at the same time. This can occur when a group of like minded specialists in different fields are brought together to create something unique.

What I do know is that trying to be all things to all people is a recipe for frustration and poor outcomes. I also know – from experience – that working with people who are trying to be all things to you and others rarely ends well. In my opinion, committing to be REALLY good at a few things that are of value to people is the best way to have a fulfilling and successful life. Likewise, seeking the products and services of those who do the same can leverage you into even greater success.

For example, let’s say you are about to build your dream home (or life J). If you share my handyman skills you will need someone else to take care of the electrical, plumbing, foundation, drywall, alarm system, etc. Would you feel more comfortable having a jack-of-all-trades doing all of these jobs for you? Or, would you prefer different people who each specialize in that one thing that they spend all of their time on, week after week, attend seminars to constantly get better at, and literally dream about the job that they are so passionate about? Who would you trust your legacy with?

This is easy to see in the example of a brick and mortar house. It is just as applicable to every single part of your life.

When I graduated from Chiropractic school in 2000, my class-mates set up practices all over the world with styles and focuses as different as their location. To be honest, we were told so many different things by so many doctors and teachers in school that it could be a bit confusing and overwhelming.

My commitment to myself and my future patients was to become world class and to never stop getting better at whatever I was doing. That meant to decide on the best system I could find to help people the way I wanted to help them and then tirelessly strive to get great at it. Over time that system has been changed, tweaked and refined to best serve our objective, but the commitment remains the same.

That commitment means travelling to seminars to work with the best in the world, many times each year – even after 13 years in practice. It means meeting with my most trusted colleagues and peers in person and on the phone to practice and discuss refinements. And yes, it also means that sometimes the pursuit keeps me up at night and frequently visits my dreams!

Of course, it also means that I say ‘NO’ to lots of ‘cool’ stuff. There is a lot of ‘cool’ stuff out there in ‘health care.’ However, if that ‘cool’ stuff takes me away from my focus and objective, I leave it for someone else. ‘Cool’ counts when it comes to a t-shirt, the care I provide…not so much.

Many people I meet are unhappy because they are distracted by trying to do too many things, for too many reasons. Ask yourself what you really want to create for you and others and bust your butt getting great at it. You will instantly start feeling happier and more focused and soon you will start to recognize others who do the same. Now you will start to get the results that had always been elusive.

Due to the threat of bad weather on Tuesday night, we were forced to postpone our Best Year of Your Life workshop. It will now be held on Feb. 19th at 7pm. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this change.

Keep an eye out for our new Nexus Chiropractic mugs, bottles and gear. We will be officially changing the Practice name at the end of April and slowly rolling out new cards, letterhead, goodies, and signage in the meantime. There has been some confusion as to why we are changing our name that I wanted to clarify. We have NOT been bought out or become partners with a large corporation. I think I can say that that will never happen!  As many of you know, I have been passively considering hiring an associate doctor for some time and having the practice named after me is a deterrent to making that happen. Also, over the years our practice has become something bigger than just the doctor and we wanted a name to reflect that.  Anyhow, we are very excited about all of the improvements underway!

Last week we reviewed and celebrated all of the incredible accomplishments, events and milestones at Gault Family Chiropractic in 2012. In this article I will give you a peek at what will be new and exciting in 2013.

The first and most exciting announcement I have to make is that effective April 2^9th, Gault Family Chiropractic is changing its name to Nexus Chiropractic! We made this decision for several reasons, including that we are looking to add another doctor to the practice and it would not be fair for them to practice in an office with my name. We are very excited about this change and will be unveiling our new logo, letterhead, cards and signs between now and April.

At GFC our focus is Neurospinal Restructuring Technique with the goal of reducing and correcting Neural Resistance which is essentially like having your nervous system out of tune like a guitar or piano string. When the nervous system is out of tune it can lead to a variety of secondary conditions such as back pain, headaches, poor posture and even a change in mood.

In addition to providing world class clinical care in the office to address that Neural Resistance, I am always on the look-out for ways to complement our care to make it more sustainable for our patients. Early in 2013 we will be adding 2 new programs to provide you with that support.

First, Tyler Touchette, owner and head trainer of Caveman Strong has offered to give movement workshops in the office to small groups each month. Tyler has been studying with some of the world leaders in movement and has put together a ground-breaking program in his gym that produces profound results for all ages. Poor and restricted movement patterns affect almost all aspects of our lives and without proper movement, correction of Neural Resistance is more difficult.

Next, I have recently discovered an excellent posture exercise program that we will be teaching patients to further support their Neural Resistance correction. Stay tuned for both workshops. Registration and dates will be posted shortly.

I am also in the process of revising our Discover Workshop with a more efficient format and updated information. Even if you have attended one in the past, now would be a great time to do a refresher. The next discover workshops are Jan. 14^th and Feb. 5^th.

I am very excited to announce the addition of a brand new advanced program to our twice a year Clear Day schedule. On Friday, January 25^th we will be holding our first ever Breakthrough Evening Program. This will be an intensive evening done in a small group (10-12) and will consist of 2 advanced entrainments with me, integrated SRI and all workshops conducted by me. This is the most advanced program we have ever offered that will not only boost your care, but be applicable to real life transformation. The January event is already full so stay tuned for future evenings.

I will be speaking to 3 outside groups in the New Year. In February I will presenting to personal trainer extraordinaire, Tom Irvine’s fitness class at Saint Lawrence College. Later in the month I will speak as a part of the Encore Senior’s program on the meaning of pain. In March I will be keynote speaker at the Arbor House’s Interesting People series in Vankleek Hill (which means I only have two months to become an interesting person)!

This article is a part of the weekly articles I have been writing for over 8 years and we have decided to change things up a bit. Starting soon I will instead be producing a longer, multi-article monthly update. In addition I will continue to blog shorter posts more frequently. Together the blog and update will provide even better support to your health and care in our office.

Finally, I am excited to announce that in conjunction with the Association for Reorganizational Healing Practices (ARHP), of which our office is a Quantum Member we will be setting up a community project to assist and provide care to those less fortunate and in need. We may require some volunteer help from within the practice so please keep us in mind. I will update you on detail as soon as they are set.

This is what we all have to look forward to and more. Thank you so much for your trust and support which allows Adele, Cindy, and I to continue to search and implement new and better ways to serve you. We love our jobs and plan on 2013 being the best year yet.

Don’t forget that our Best Year of Your Life Workshop is Jan.29^th at 7pm, which is also open to guests. Sign up at the front desk.

On Thursday, Jan. 17^th I will be in Denver attending the advanced technique seminar. Dr. Tony Sandorfi of Ottawa will be entraining in my place. Dr. Tony is an excellent practitioner who entrains at our Clear Days.

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.