***Communication Congruency - Lessons From an Old Dog

Aussie is my 17 year-old golden retriever. She is one of my best friends and one of my greatest teachers. The cool thing about hanging out with Aussie is you never have to guess where you stand with her. She lets you know with her body language (usually her tail wagging furiously in a sign of unconditional love) long before you hear her voice. I got thinking the other day about how we as human beings (particularly as chiropractors) communicate. The folks who know a whole lot more about communication then I do, tell me that more then 90% of our communication comes from our non-verbal behaviour. It comes from our voice tone, our inflections, our body language and our pauses. In other words it comes from within us, from our Innate. One of the most common frustrations I hear from my coaching clients and chiropractors in general is "that people just don't get it." They are frustrated that despite their best attempts to communicate the life saving/enhancing benefits of chiropractic care to their practice members, "they just don't get it!" After watching Aussie, I contend that the reason these practice members don't get it is because we are not communicating congruently with them. We think that by "telling" them what we know (who are we kidding, usually EVERYTHING we know) about chiropractic verbally they will "hear" us and get under lifetime care with their families. The obvious flaw in our logic is that since more then 90% of what we communicate comes from within us, we need to be clear that WHAT IS WITHIN US is congruent with the message we are speaking verbally. SADLY THIS IS RARELY THE CASE! Chiropractic is a lifestyle and a philosophy of living. It is NOT just a treatment modality in a badly failing “sick care” system. If you understand chiropractic philosophy and want people to look after their health in a proactive, preventative fashion and not wait until they are sick or hurt to come in for care then you MUST be willing to live this lifestyle yourself. You should look throughout the hologram of your life (physical, mental, spiritual, social, career, financial and family) and apply this philosophy. Some examples might include; * Not waiting until the neighbours put up a 10' high privacy fence and buy two Rottweiler's (Aussie doesn't like them anyway) before you start working on your social relationships!! * Not waiting until your spouse is serving you with separation papers before you start working on your family relationships! * Not waiting until your banker is calling you telling you that another check has bounced before you get your finances in order. * Not waiting until your 2-year-old has a better vocabulary then you have to work on the mental aspect of your life. You will do these things for yourself, for your family, for your practice members and for the world. You see the world DESPERATLEY needs what you have to tell them as a chiropractor. You see by all of us working on optimizing our own lives and TRULY LIVING THE CHIROPRACTIC LIFESTYLE, people (our practice members) will FINALLY be able to hear us when we tell them about the wonderful possibilities for them and their families lives when they are under regular chiropractic care. Believe me when I say folks that people are looking for answers about another WAY TO LIVE THEIR LIVES. They are tired of bouncing from CRISIS TO CRISIS feeling like they have no control or influence on their life and their health. They want answers …. And we have them ……. We just have to get our own lives in order and be walking/talking examples of how great life can be when you live the chiropractic lifestyle.