3 things I suck at

Who wants to play?

Since this month is about clarity, let me "clear the air" as to what I suck at and why this is a benefit to you
Ego aside, here are the three things I suck at:

I SUCK AT DIAGNOSING. I can give you an impression but I am pretty sure I cheated on my diagnostic tests or copied off of my roommate. Naming conditions couldn't be more of a yawner for me. The question of "what's wrong with me," puts a flash in my head of "here we go Stevie! Time to rock someones world!"  I would much prefer to have you self inquire and use that little resource called a brain, so you can actually discover and connect with what you are disconnected from. I will be the questions guy and hold the space for you to discover how you are judging and disconnecting from yourself, so you can actually FEEL MORE EMPOWERED TO TAKE YOUR HEALTH IN YOUR OWN HANDS as opposed to me naming something for you. If you want a label to identify with, my sincere apologies. My most common diagnosis and treatment plan;
"You are a crazy "nut bar", now let's create transformation!"  (At least that is the diagnosis I circled on my board exams)

I SUCK AT FIXING THINGS. Ask my wife, I don't do it well around the house, nor do I do it well in my office. Fixing things to me, which I had done for a few years after graduating, is for inanimate objects. Cars, walls, toys, shovels, etc. You are a human being with many fields of influence affecting your well-being and life. You are a constant changing and adapting species. Honouring this principle and knowing this, leaves me no other option to challenge the idea that a human being can be fixed. And if you feel as though you were fixed by someone, it really is only a temporary state of feeling certain, when you were feeling uncertain(temporarily pacified). And since there is so much healing beyond this, you will not see me jump for joy when someone says, "you fixed me doc!". Those words to me, mean, we got a lot of work still ahead!  You are not a car, and plus there is life beyond a fix it mentality. So much more! Ask a caterpillar to fix himself back to a caterpillar while he is transforming into a butterfly...Goofy thought isn't it. Take what you think you want fixed, AND USE THAT FRUSTRATION AND ANGER TO TRANSFORM YOUR HEALTH AND LIFE AND TO SET NEW STANDARDS FOR YOURSELF

I SUCK AT KEEPING PEOPLE THE SAME. My path in life has been to expand my awareness for continued growth and transformation. This, I pass on to you. One of the 6 needs of a human being is for growth and this is where my service comes in best. If you ready to MOVE BEYOND WHERE YOU ARE, then I'm your guy. If you want me to just be agreeable, go with what your story is, pacify you with an "I understand, let me help get rid of your problem so you can go back to life as usual", then you will be disappointed. People hire me consciously, or unconsciously, for CHANGE ON ALL PLANES OF EXISTENCE. I know that people don't enter into my life so they can be comfy and stay the same. Not my gig. But my gig is to NUDGE YOU TOWARD A MORE VITAL, HEALTHY, CLARITY AND A FULFILLED LIFE.

In summary

 What I suck at                                     
1) diagnosing                                          
2) fixing things                                         
3) keeping people the same                                                                         

What I am good at:
1) assessing/asking key questions/reframing perspectives
2) creating strategies in your body/brain for a better life
3) facilitating transformation

Hope this blog adds clarity to what I do, what I don't do well, and how I may be of service.

Anyone want to play?

With love,

Dr. Steve
P.S. I gladly accept the prize of worst marketing blog of all time.
P.S.S Pass this along please to those who ask you "what does he do there?"

Big or small vision?

Creating a large, flexible vision...not a small, rigid one.

The mind loves rules. That's its job. To set the boundaries for your life. And oh, how limited it can be.
Let me explain.
Since I am a practising chiropractor I see many types of people, with all sorts of 'conditions'. But having a conversation yesterday sparked my desire to share the idea of tapping into a new potential for yourself.
I was called to ask this woman why she was coming in for her visits. She hadn't been under care for long, maybe around 12 visits or so, but I wanted to see what she was valuing, what her intentions were, and what her motive for laying on my table was. Through her eyes, I was curious as to what was she hiring me to do? So she said that she would like to have her low back pain go away, and then keep it away, but there was definitely a lack of clarity as to what she was really doing there.

I was intrigued that she was going to limit herself to what she could accomplish for herself, so I asked a few questions as to what she had noticed to this point. She said she had noticed that her breathing was improving and that she was connecting to areas that were painful.

So I then asked if she was breathing more fully on a regular basis does she think she would manage stress better? She of course said yes. I said, if you are more connected to your body, learning how to move and breath with it, could you manage stress more effectively, and release more tension? Yes. If you could breath better, release more tension, you will be more flexible. If you were more flexible could you perform better at sports and heal faster and recover from injuries better? She said yes. I said, if you were to continue to master just those two, do you think you would manage work stress better? Yes. If you could breathe more fully and stay connected to you, do you think you could manage your stresses when your kids are crazy and their is chaos in the house? Yes. And so on.

So here is the craziness of healing. If she was to come in to my office right off the bat, and say, "I want to be a better mom, I want to maximize my athletic performance, I want to be a master at managing my stress, and I want to feel great and be excited about life."With this intention, she would start to have things align for that to happen. Her focus would be different, what she watched for would be different, her energy would move differently, and her experience of care in my office would be different. Even if we did exactly the same thing...how she received care would be different. If she set a bar low, she will eventually hit that bar. If she set the bar high, she will eventually hit that as well. Either way, she will eventually hit the bar. One approach will have her stay the same, minus her pain (which we call Restorative Therapeutics), and the other way is that she uses low back pain as a way to transform herself, her health and her life (Reorganizational Healing). The choice is ultimately hers. But first is to recognize that pain is not there to inconvenience her life. It is there to wake her up so she can make a change!
Now the timing will be unique for each individual, based on their history, their life, their utilization of their energy and mind, and their stage of healing they are in. But my job, in part, is to hold you to a bigger picture and larger vision for what is possible for you; to help you see what you currently cannot.
And then take action steps to begin the process of movement toward an upgraded version of you.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Where have standards for you been way too low?
Where have you minimized your efforts just to squeek by?
Where are you settling?
Where are you continuing to make excuses?
What would life look like in 3 years if I stayed this course and kept playing small?
How much pain would I feel by not stepping up to another level?

These are some questions in Stage 4 of the healing process...associating our past pain with inaction.
If you want to learn more about healing...I invite you to our next workshop called:
The Power to Heal.
Check our website for details
www.veressentlife.com

Happy Healing!
Dr. Steve