Let’s say you wake up one morning, stagger into the bathroom, look in the mirror, and are shocked by what you see. You wonder how you got so fat (whatever that means to you), tired, old and unhealthy looking! This is completely unacceptable to you and you make a decision in that very moment that you are going to do something about it.

Now, what happened on that particular morning? Was there some event that occurred that suddenly made you fat and unhealthy? Of course not – there was a process of behaviours, perceptions and structures over a period of time that led to the current situation. THAT morning a threshold was reached that brought it to your conscious mind. The same thing could be said for a crisis in your finances, relationship or really, any other area of your life.

So, if it was a process that created your undesirable reality, what is the solution? Is there a magic pill that you can take or a magic procedure you can have that will make it all better? Obviously that is ridiculous – you must reverse the process!

When it comes to many health problems people have learned to see them as events instead of processes and therefore search for events to fix their problems.

Take back pain for example. Most people search so hard for the event that ‘caused’ their pain. “I must have slept wrong last night.” “I bent over to tie my shoe and that caused my back to go out.””I gardened yesterday, that’s my problem.” You get the idea. The fact of the matter is that in most cases of injury (with the exception of something like being hit by a truck), there has been a process going on for some time that ultimately led to the straw that broke the camel’s back and led to the end secondary condition of pain or some other symptom.

The ultimate solution, therefore is not some event (and adjustment, pill, massage, surgery) to get rid of the secondary condition (misalignment, inflammation, muscle spasm, scar tissue) but to actually address and remedy the underlying process.

Granted, there are many effective ways of treating muscle spasm, pain and inflammation yet those treatments are not designed to correct the underlying process and thus do not truly correct the problem. The unhealthy and overweight individual in the first paragraph could put on some make-up and wear body enhancing underclothes – but to truly take care of the problem they will have to undergo a process of changing their lifestyle.

At Nexus Chiropractic, we focus on addressing Neural Resistance which is like your car revving it’s engine at 25,000 rpm even when driving casually. Eventually, this will lead to a poor fuel efficiency, parts wearing out quickly, and ultimately – breakdown.

Neural Resistance may lead to a variety of secondary conditions down the line such as back pain, neck pain, headaches, poor posture and because the nervous system coordinates our organ systems even digestive troubles, a weak immune system, and anxiety.

Because we know that the development of NR is a process, addressing it is a process as well which is why we recommend an initial intensive period of care. While nobody is perfect, once the NR is significantly reduced some people choose a reduced plan of protection to make sure that their investment is well taken care of into the future.

Start seeing your current circumstances as the end result of processes in your life. If you see something you would like to change, come up with a process to get it handled.

They say that the joy is in the journey. I agree – and the journey IS the process.

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.