Dear Doctor:
This weekend, we spirited over a hundred Winners Circle members off to Howey-in-the-Hills, FL, for a special event designed to build character, teamwork and leadership, as well as provide a great environment for masterminding, relationship building, and fun.
The agenda included a high ropes course – a series of physical, mental and emotional exercises that tested the participants’ strength, endurance, lateral thinking, and reactions to adversity. We climbed poles, walked high wires, whizzed down zip lines, scaled sixty foot walls, and supported each other through these extreme challenges.
The anxieties and discomforts that surface in a program like this, whether fear of heights, of injury, of failure, or of embarrassment, helped us to observe our typical patterns of behavior under stress, and gave us opportunities to break through the barriers that hold us back. In most cases, it wasn’t the difficulty of the activities, it was the ability to stay centered, think clearly and efficiently, and make the distinctions necessary for good state management, decision making and leadership. The actions that then followed became a satisfying outgrowth of the process of self-discovery.
Needless to say, it was exhilarating to play these games, yet the real value is in seeing how the metaphors relate to our practices and our lives – that we need to show up big, to learn to trust others, to delegate effectively, and in a pinch, we need to pull together.
Obviously, some of our members were in better physical condition than others, and some had more experience with adventures like these. That made it all the more important to work together, as the personal accomplishments became less significant than the growth that occurred through helping others succeed.
We can take a lesson from this for our practices – our CA’s and associate doctors need to feel like they’re part of something bigger, contributing in a way that makes a difference in the community and in the world. And our patients need to be fully engaged in their care, and nurtured by us from wherever they are in their current understanding of health and wellness, toward the objectives you decide upon – and then, give them the guidance and love that is required to get the job done.
In the final analysis, we really only have three choices – lead, follow, or get out of the way. There’s a right time for each, so raise your standards and push yourself to meet and exceed them – you'll develop the excellence that will make your dreams come true.
Dennis Perman DC, for The Masters Circle PS Have you registered for The SuperConference? It will be like nothing you’ve ever seen in chiropractic – please call 800-451-4514, or visit themasterscircle.com.
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