Getting better at anything requires an increase in awareness. The faster and more completely our awareness increases, the faster we will improve at whatever it is we wish to get better at.

     What does an increase in awareness mean? First, it requires that the SENSITIVITY of our perception is enhanced. We pick up greater subtleties with our senses.

     I was recently watching a Netflix series on some of the greatest BBQ pit masters in the world. Instead of using thermometers to know if the grill is the correct temperature, they simply place their hand on the grill and instantly know if and how many more coals must be added to the fire. This is subtle awareness.

     The second part of increasing awareness is being able to hold multiple perspectives. This means that we can be aware of more and more variables at the same time. This is essential in learning how to drive a car. At first we place all of our awareness on each piece of driving (gear, then clutch, then mirrors, then steering, etc) but after a bit of practice we can hold awareness of all of these perspectives at the same time (and be much safer and more effective at the same time). A NASCAR driver must be able to hold many MORE perspectives at once in order to succeed in a race.

     One of the key features that is distinct about the Neurospinal Optimization care we provide at Nexus Chiropractic is that we know that increasing awareness is absolutely required for long term success. In my opinion, awareness is a too often ignored piece in many forms of health care. In fact, many health care interventions actually look to DECREASE awareness, which over time, can be quite detrimental.

     When we intervene without increasing awareness – or worse, deadening awareness – we leave ourselves vulnerable to repeating the same problems over and over again.

     When we increase awareness, not only are we less likely to end up in the same predicaments, we will be more adaptable and have greater resourcefulness when problems do arise in the future.

     For those of you who have had care at Nexus, you know that we ask you lots of questions. All of these are designed to enhance awareness  What did you notice happening during the visit? What changed after? Did you feel what just happened? Are you aware of how your spinal structure just shifted? What do you think that pain/tension means? Is there a larger pattern involved in your condition? Did you feel how your breath got deeper and moved through your entire spine?

     We also give periodic questionnaires so that we can more specifically know if your awareness is matching up with clinical observations and if more or different coaching and cuing is required.

     The SomatoRespiratory Integration (SRI) exercises we teach are also designed to increase body awareness. First they improve our ability to notice more subtlety of breath, movement and energy. Next, they expand our awareness of multiple perspectives as we can pay attention to all of these factors (and more) at once.

     How can we start to increase the awareness of our bodies and health at home? I use this exercise with many of my patients and you can do it too.

     Use the moments of transition between pain and less/no pain, or feeling crappy and feeling good as an opportunity to develop more awareness.

     When you find yourself feeling bad, whatever that means for you in the moment (physically, mentally, emotionally), catch yourself and STOP.  Now notice as many things as you can about yourself in that moment of feeling bad.

     What is your posture like? Are you breathing shallow or deep? Is the breath in the nose, out the nose, or something else? How are you moving (slow or fast, smooth or rigid)? What have you been doing recently? What have you been eating and drinking? What is your emotional state? What have you been thinking about? What was your last thought before you noticed you felt ‘bad?’

     You get the idea. The point of this exercise is to notice as many subtleties as you can (be creative). Create the clearest and most detailed picture of what you feeling ‘bad’ looks like. I have found this exercise works best when you write it down.

     Now comes the fun part. When you notice that you feel better, good or even great, do the same exercise. Go through the exact same questions as above. Write them down.

     Once you have those two descriptions of you ‘good’ and ‘bad,’ you can use this new awareness to your advantage.

     If you find yourself feeling ‘bad’ and you want to feel ‘good,’ look at your contrasting lists. Change your posture to the one that is associated with ‘good.’ Shift your breath to the one that works best for you. Move your focus to something that energizes you instead of bringing you down. Perhaps you can exercise or move your body in a way that changes your entire experience.

     This is only the beginning of the process. As you apply this exercise more and more you will start to become UNCONSIOUSLY aware of when you start to move towards ‘bad’ and UNCONSIOUSLY start to shift back to ‘good’ automatically. This is when profound, long term results start to show up.

     Awareness is a powerful and necessary tool in creating long term health, and to achieve lasting results in any endeavour. Unfortunately it is rarely harnessed and often ignored.

     How and where can you seek out greater awareness in your life and health?

Thorin Gault, D.C.

Sept. 11, 2020

When it comes to health problems, we have 4 ways in which we can approach them. All four have their own benefits and are appropriate at different times. Which we choose for a given situation is not only important in having short term success, it is also paramount to achieving the health we want long term.

Let us take a look at each of Patch, Fix, Protect and Optimize.

     Patching is what we do when we know there is a larger problem, but we need to buy ourselves some time in the short term. Your old springs a leak and you know it will need to be replaced, but you need to finish watering the garden. So, you wrap some duct tape around the hole, so the flowers don’t die today.

The Patch strategy is a great one when we are in crisis and if something is not done immediately, disability and even death may result. If someone were shot with a bullet inside them, yes, the bullet will eventually need to come out. However, in the short term, compressing the wound with a bandage will keep them alive long enough to be properly fixed.

Antibiotics can be a great patch when faced with an infection that may kill you. They buy you the time (save your life) so that you can make changes that will strengthen your health and immune system in the future.

Patches can become a problem when they are used as fixes. Antibiotics used unnecessarily will harm your long-term health. Pain medication used simply to cover up a secondary condition(symptom) actually allow people to continue to damage their bodies without knowing it – leading to more serious problems down the road.

Most people truly only need patches (hopefully) a few times during their lives when in serious crisis. When we need them, they are wonderful. When we over use them, we suffer needlessly.

The Fix strategy is one that looks to get to the cause of the problem. It looks to correct the primary condition leading to the secondary effects. If faulty electrical was leading to burned out light bulbs and malfunctioning appliances the patch solution would be to replace them. The Fix solution would be to hire an electrician to correct the wiring.

When we Fix something we typically gain parallel benefits as well. Corrected wiring improves the function of EVERYTHING requiring electricity. Perhaps the electrical bill goes down as efficiency increases. Safety also improves as the chance of a devastating electrical fire decreases.

The Fix approach works the same way with our health. Taking a pain pill may make us feel better for awhile but correcting abnormal spine structure and nervous system function is not only more sustainable but leads to a myriad of health benefits besides.

The Protect strategy begins to move beyond being focused on problems or symptoms. Once we have corrected what was abnormal we have a choice to do some regular work to keep it that way. Protect recognizes that maintaining proper function is better than waiting for the next crisis. Once we get the old piano in tune, it is much less work more enjoyable to have it retuned on a regular schedule than to let it get back to it’s previous state and start over again.

A health crisis can be a time, energy and resource draining thing to face. They are certainly not convenient. Some attention to Protection is a great way to stay healthy long term and avoid future problems.

Finally, we come to the Optimization strategy. This is where exceptionally healthy people spend most of their energy and attention. Instead of focusing on patching, fixing and preventing problems, they look to optimize and improve their health, function and performance regardless of problems.

They know that the best way to be healthy is to continually improve their adaptability and efficiency. Does it mean they will never have a crisis or problems? Of course not, but they will sure be better equipped to handle them when they occur.

Unfortunately, most people spend most of their lives in Patch, and Fix modes when what they truly want are the benefits of Protect and Optimize. Fortunately, changing that only requires a few simple decisions.

At Nexus Chiropractic we are not interested in patching people up. Very few people entering our office truly need patching and if they do, a trip to the ER is probably in order.

We begin seeing most people from a Fix perspective, which is what we do during the Initial Phase of Care (IPC). By addressing abnormalities in the spine and nervous system (Neurospinal Shift) and objectively measuring those changes we know our patients are going back into life healthier.

Once the system is normalized, people may now choose to enter either a Protection or Optimization program. This is where we see people really create long term health strategies that spill over into not only physical benefits, but mental/emotional well-being, greater energy and vitality and an over all greater quality of life.

After reading this article, take some time to look at where you are perhaps frustrated with your health, or not getting the results you would like. Maybe a small shift in your approach is all you need to get what you want?

Thorin Gault, D.C.

April 17, 2018

This weekend I attended a technique workshop related to Neurospinal Optimization. When I introduced myself to the group, I included that I had been to, “a thousand thousands of these workshops.”

While ‘a thousand’ is a bit of an exaggeration, I DO go to several of these seminars a year and plan on continuing to do so throughout the rest of my career.

Why do I do this? Is it because I am slow and have to repeat the same material over and over (I think some of the less experienced doctors there may have thought so)?

I attend the same seminars and workshops over and over again because technical mastery of the skills I use every day working with patients is very important to me. When something is important it not only makes sense to expand your knowledge around that topic but to also consistently practice and refine the fundamentals.

What made Michael Jordan great? He practiced more than anyone. The same can be said of the best in any sport or discipline.

So, one of the costs of Mastery is spending the time, energy and money to consistently pay attention to the fundamentals. I wanna be Michael Jordan, not the guy sitting on the bench.

There is another cost to Mastery and that is focus. I get flyers and emails offering the newest machine, fad and technique that will supposedly revolutionize health care on a daily basis. I’ve been in practice long enough to see these fads come and go, only to be replaced by the next one.

While it is important to be open to new ideas, a master can be running from one shiny new thing to the next. A master knows what their focus is and stays with it. When I am offered a course or fancy machine I ask myself if this is the best way to further my focus. If the answer is ‘No’ I move on. Do I miss out on some interesting and cool stuff at times? You bet. BUT it is worth it because I have furthered myself on the road to mastery.

I see the personal Neurospinal Optimization care I receive in the same way. Our nervous system is what senses our surroundings and then responds to those stimuli. Our muscles, organs and immune system. Knowing that, having an optimally functioning nervous system is VERY IMPORTANT to me. Because it is VERY IMPORTANT I am willing to put consistent attention on it.

You see, I know that to be healthy and to function well in life I must have a nervous system that is keenly aware, efficient and responsive. If I have a condition called a Neural Shift, not only am I more likely to develop pain and other unpleasant secondary conditions, but I just won’t be able to function at my best.

So, I spend hours in my car every week to drive to the closest doctor who can provide this care (can’t look after myself unfortunately), pay cash (no insurance) for my visits and have happily done so for 12 years. Why? Because it is important and I want the nervous system function of Michael Jordan, not the bench player.

Like anything of value, there is a cost to Mastery. There are also benefits that will literally transform your life and health. Decide what is important to you and pay attention to it. Master the fundamentals, focus and don’t be distracted by the shiny new thing.

The path of mastery is just that – a path. You can start anywhere and you can start today.

While I had planned to move on to a different topic, I had an interesting conversation last week that prompted this article. I think that looking at this example of weight-loss may aid in helping many people shift their focus when it comes to their health and therefore avoid being doomed in that area.

I was speaking to a friend (who is extremely fit) at the gym who was telling me about their sister. The sister has been over-weight and unhealthy her whole life and had really struggled with weight-loss. My friend was very happy to report that her sister had begun a group program (which I am not criticizing here) focused on weight loss and had made more progress than she had in a long time. The program included exercise and coaching on diet – both great things for your health.

After acknowledging her success and asking a few more questions, I said to my friend, “The thing is that if a person is solely focused on weight-loss…they are completely doomed (only I used a harsher word than doomed).” My friend’s jaw dropped and I could tell that she thought I was a bit crazy!

Here is the thing. If the sole focus is weight-loss (and I am not saying that it is in this program), what is the best possible outcome for this person? That’s right, to lose the targeted amount of weight. Total success would be reaching the target weight. Most people won’t get there but the ultra-successful and most dedicated likely will.

What now? What happens after all of that weight that had been a cause of suffering in her life is gone? Now she has to focus her efforts in keeping it off! The elephant is still in the room and now she won’t even have the motivation of the pain of being fat to keep her in line. Even though she is now thin, she will still be controlled by the weight that she does not want to put back on. This is suffering and this is a lifetime of doom – unless she can learn to shift her focus.

I completely acknowledge the power and value of starting the journey using weight-loss as a motivator to get you started. However, if this focus does not change quickly, it results in the yo-yo doom we see so many people struggle with.

What if the focus instead shifted to having amazing and sustainable energy and vitality? That focus could certainly include weight-loss, but would provide so much more. How about to age gracefully so I can lift weights with my grandchildren? Do you see how weight-loss creates a prison, where a shift in focus creates freedom?

I see the same dilemma in health care. People focus on being pain or symptom free. First of all, some pain is a necessary part of life and being completely pain free for any length of time is impossible so you are failure before you even start!

Also, pain and symptoms are always SECONDARY to something else (like being overweight is secondary to something else) and focusing on what is secondary won’t help you address what is PRIMARY. Fighting pain leads you to a lifetime of fighting pain. It will never end. DOOM.

Instead, why not focus on creating great health, performing and functioning well and expressing life to the fullest. Will you have less pain if you do that? Very likely and when symptoms do inevitably show up, you won’t care so much.

In our office, we focus on Neurospinal Optimization. As the spine and nervous system are optimized a whole host of secondary conditions improve or disappear – often some conditions that the patient did not even tell me about.

I encourage you to implement this way of thinking and living to any and every important part of your life. Parenting, relationships, finances, career, etc. Life is too short to live in our own self imposed prisons and it is a lot more fun to be free.

If you would like to learn more about how we help people in a fun and comfortable setting, you are welcome to attend one of our Introductory Presentations on select Monday and Tuesday evenings. Phone the office for details.

While we are on the topic of weight loss, check out this interesting article and pictures comparing the average man’s body in different countries around the world by clicking HERE.

In the first article in this series we introduced the idea of going deeper to get better – meaning that when faced with a problem or challenge, successful people look beyond what is on the surface and address the deeper underlying cause.

As a health practitioner I have certainly recognized this pattern in people over the past 12+ years in my office. This model of success is also evident when looking at finances, career, sports and hobby performance, relationships and literally every other important part of our lives.

The benefit to going deeper is that we actually get to the bottom of what is causing our problem, leading to a more sustainable and long-term solution. The ADDED benefit is that addressing underlying causes will often have an impact on other secondary problems we did not necessarily know were related, resulting in an overall increase in our quality of life.

Please understand that I am not making it wrong to patch up a surface problem – crisis do arise from time to time that must be handled. I think we can all agree though that crisis management is hardly a great way to go about our health, finances and relationships.

So, in this article, I wanted to give some examples of going deeper in order to make it more applicable for all of us.

Let’s say someone finds themselves in a financial crisis. They are in debt and are having trouble making ends meet. What would be a superficial patch to this problem? They could buy a lottery ticket hoping to win enough to pay their debt. They could file for bankruptcy, effectively wiping out that debt, or perhaps they have a wealthy parent or relative who could pay it for them.

All of these options would take care of the surface problem (that they owe money) and depending on the circumstance may be a good short-term option. I think we can all see that none of these would really address the underlying cause though and would not be enough to create a long-term solution.

Going deeper would require looking at what caused this unmanageable debt. Was it poor spending habits that need to be corrected? Perhaps poor investing advice? Perhaps business or employment conditions that led to a loss of income? There are many possibilities that may be addressed to truly correct the problem and if we don’t look past just paying the debt it will never happen.

Another secondary condition I hear about frequently is back pain. Because chiropractors have such a great reputation (lol!) usually by the time people consult with me they have tried many other products and services for their pain. Most or all of these potential solutions focused on the secondary issue (the pain). Some worked for a while and some didn’t but the reality is that it kept coming back.

My job is to look deeper. What is underlying the secondary condition? Why does it keep coming back? What must shift in order to get a sustainable change? This is why people undergoing a program of Neurospinal Optimization in our office not only get great changes with back pain, but also notice results with other secondary conditions. In fact, as their spine and nervous system become more optimized they actually find it easier to go deeper themselves and become less reliant on our care.

Hope these real life examples helped. Next article we will look at what it means to be…..DOOMED!

Unlike many of today’s health ‘experts,’ I believe that people truly WANT to be healthy. It is for this reason that ‘health’ products fly off the shelves, many people are members in health clubs, and we are willing – as a society – to pay high taxes in order to fund public ‘health care.’ Eavesdrop on conversations in any coffee shop and it won’t take long to hear people talking about their health.

So, how is it that something we spend a tremendous amount of money, time, energy and worry on be such a source of challenge, pain and suffering for people? Shouldn’t we be a population brimming with energy and vitality?

The truth is that most people are NOT healthy and this lack of health is a major frustration.

I certainly don’t pretend to have all of the answers to this problem, however having observed thousands of people over the years I have noticed a pattern that is central to whether or not a person is successful in creating health in their life. This pattern also seems to be present when a person is successful in other areas of their lives such as their career, personal finances, relationships and hobbies.

The pattern healthy people follow is that when faced with a challenge….They Go Deeper.

     What does this mean? It means that when problems arise (and they always do, btw) healthy people don’t just look to patch up the surface. They recognize that there is likely something underlying the surface problem that needs to be addressed and their primary focus will be on correcting the underlying cause.

How does this look in real life? Let’s say someone is obese – this is now a medical diagnosis in the United States. So the surface problem is that the individual has a Body Mass Index(BMI) that is too high. If the focus is solely on reducing BMI then there are many different ways to address this problem. Liposuction would be one approach that would handle things quickly, as would bariatric surgery(stomach staple). While I don’t wish to judge either of these procedures – they are what they are – you can see where this will lead if they are the only actions taken. Will this person turn out healthier? Is it likely other – perhaps more serious – conditions will be inevitable in the future?

A healthy person on the other hand would look at the diagnosis of obesity and realize that it is likely secondary to something else. They will look for the deeper cause behind the problem. It may be as simple as a poor lifestyle that needs to be corrected. Perhaps there are some hormonal issues that need to be addressed.

What happens when we look deeper to correct our problems? Two things – first we are much more likely to achieve long-term and sustainable results on the surface problem. Second, we actually improve our overall level of health and, improve performance, correct other secondary conditions, and we may even prevent other secondary conditions from showing up in the future. THIS is where true health comes from!

While many health care practitioners primarily look to address secondary conditions like pain and muscle spasm, at Nexus Chiropractic we focus on addressing Neural Resistance, which can underlie a variety of those conditions.

I will continue this series of articles over the following weeks, looking more deeply at how we can apply GOING DEEPER in a way that can provide solutions to you health and life challenges.

Anyone who has visited our chiropractic office knows that we do things a bit differently than your ‘average,’ or ‘traditional’ chiropractor. We take pride in this and are dedicated to continually learning and refining the care we deliver. The next series of articles will highlight and explain what our office focuses on and hopefully answer some of the questions you may have.

Most chiropractors are of the traditional variety. Traditional chiropractors typically have the goals of decreasing muscle spasm, increasing range of motion, and reducing pain. These are worthy goals and most of the doctors I know do a great job of this.

At Nexus/Gault Family Chiropractic we focus on Neurospinal Optimization by utilizing gentle chiropractic entrainments, teaching you specific exercises and perhaps making some lifestyle recommendations in an effort to improve a condition called Neural Resistance.

We are all familiar with normal body temperature: 37 degrees Celsius. How do we know when someone has abnormal eyesight? How about an irregular heartbeat or high blood pressure? How do we know if the air pressure in our tires is too low? The only way to appreciate abnormal is to know normal.

When it comes to normal, we are not expecting anyone to be perfect. However, if your head displaced beyond what is acceptable and your muscles are locked with a significant amount of abnormal tension, this is an indication of Neural Resistance. This is no different than the strings of a guitar being too tight or the amount of electricity running through the wires of your home being even a bit too high. Because the amount of resistance in your nervous system is too high, extra stress is placed on the muscles which then pulls the spine out of its normal alignment thereby placing abnormal stress on the tendons, bones, ligaments and discs.

What would happen if there was too much electrical current running through the wires of your home? Would it be reasonable to suggest that you lights would burn out more quickly? Would you expect your appliances to not work as well? Do you think that over time you may actually have to replace faulty major appliances as a result of this abnormal electrical current?

As you probably guessed, the problem is abnormal resistance, but in this case in the wiring of your home. Traditional doctors, regardless of what area of healthcare they are in, typically look at managing Secondary Conditions rather than focusing on the underlying cause. The traditional doctor will replace the burnt out light bulbs and repair your refrigerator. Will any of that correct the problem?

What would you do first if this were your home? Of course, you would get out of that house for a short time and hire an electrician who focuses on wiring take care of the problem. After that, and a little work on the secondary effects from the abnormal resistance you’re good to go.

The next article will look at some of the secondary conditions, or symptoms that may result from the presence of Neural Resistance.

From time to time I will be working on someone and as usual, according to my analysis and technique system make contacts on the person’s pelvis, neck, or both and the patient immediately will point to a different area of their spine and say, “No, no doc, it hurts right here.” As if I needed to be reminded or didn’t know what I was doing!

In spite of the fact that we take plenty of time to explain why we do things the way we do them, and offer our patients complimentary workshops to help them get the most out of their care, this response is quite understandable given the traditional approach to health care in general and chiropractic specifically.

Most traditional chiropractors and health care providers focus on reducing the secondary condition, or symptom the patient is experiencing. Commonly these secondary conditions show up as muscle spasm, back pain, headaches, postural distortions, and a myriad of organic conditions. So, if your back hurts at L4, they treat you at that spot. Most doctors do a great job of this.

In our office, instead of focusing on each secondary condition, we focus on correcting a condition called Neural Resistance which often underlies many secondary issues. While pain and muscle spasms are usually specific to a particular spot, Neural Resistance is condition of the entire nervous system and therefore requires a non-local, systemic approach.

Imagine an unprotected and uninsulated water pipe in your home (in Canada). Winter arrives and the water in the pipe freezes and expands, increasing the pressure within the entire pipe. The result or secondary condition will be that the pipe will split in a specific place, causing a leak in your home. Treating the split and leak (a simple, and necessary step) is great, however if this is all you do you would expect the problem to reoccur and the damage to your home to continue.

This is the reason that simply treating secondary health conditions usually leads to relapses and eventually an overall worsening of health. Clearly, in the frozen pipe example the logical course of action would be to first warm the ice to decrease the overall pressure, and then take whatever measures necessary to insulate and protect the pipe so it does not continue to freeze.

Neural Resistance is like a frozen pipe with enough pressure built up that cracks are about to occur. Different people crack in different ways depending on their history and predispositions, just like different pipes will crack in different spots. When the pressure builds, some people will develop back pain, some will develop numbness in their limbs, others will have headaches. Because the nervous system also coordinates our organs a variety autonomic secondary conditions may result as well.

It is for this reason that when we look after the Neural Resistance present in a person’s body that not only the secondary condition they wanted help with improves, conditions they did not even know were related change also. When you look after what is underlying, a ripple effect occurs downstream.

Future articles will more specifically explore the mechanics of Neural Resistance and how it can result in different secondary conditions and symptoms. For now, know that the reason I don’t necessarily contact where it hurts is not that I don’t know or care. The reason is that we are playing a bigger game with the potential for a much bigger and sustainable impact on your health and life.

I believe that spring is the time to learn, grow and get things done. For that reason, Nexus/Gault Family Chiropractic is hosting a series of special events that will get you off to a great start as the snow – slowly – recedes.

On Monday, March 18th at 7pm will be our Discover Workshop. While I have been giving this workshop for 13 years, it has been recently updated, improved (and actually made shorter). So, if you are either new or have not been to one in a while, join us to learn how to use your pain and health challenges as fuel to greater health and vitality.

On Tuesday, March 26th at 7pm will be our Fireside Chat. This is a relatively new workshop (we have given 2 previously) that has replaced our advanced workshop and been extremely well received by attendees. The format is that I speak for about 10-15 minutes on whatever is new and exciting about NeuroSpinal Restructuring, and then we open the floor for questions, discussions and live demonstrations. Currently we only offer this program quarterly. This workshop is perfect for anyone transitioning from initial basic care to protection/progression care.

I am VERY excited to be offering, for the first time, this next workshop. On Thursday, March 21, Tyler Touchette will be in our office teaching a MOVEMENT Seminar. Tyler has been studying with the world leaders in this field and is bringing that wisdom to us. Going beyond personal training he will be teaching our patients how to incorporate exercise that will allow you to MOVE better and more effectively, regardless of your age. The March 21 program is already full, so let Adele know if you would like to be put on the list for the next one.

One of the highlights of our year is our CLEAR DAY, which will be Saturday, April 20th at the Martintown Community Centre. This is a full day intensive that includes 3 high level entrainments, multimedia presentations and workshops, catered lunch and snacks, and a whole lot of fun. This day typically attracts out of town practice members and doctors as attendees and is a great way to literally skyrocket your care to the next level. Staff for the day will include Dr. Tony Sandorfi, Dr. Amanda Chan, Dr. Angela Smith, yours truly, Cindy and Tyler Touchette has also agreed to lead a movement workshop. This day is highly recommended for anyone who has made some progress with our care and is ready for more. See Adele, Cindy or myself to apply.

Finally, I will soon have the follow up conference call scheduled for those of you who participated in our Breakthrough Evening. I am trying to determine the most convenient time for everyone and am looking forward to hearing about all of your successes and helping you to take it even further. We will contact you directly with the details.

Please take advantage of these special programs. Extraordinary results require extraordinary actions and we strive to provide you with many opportunities to be extraordinary. Also, please share your success stories with us next week as it is I LOVE NETWORK WEEK in the office. We will provide you with everything you need and would like to give you a gift for participating.

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!