Were you born to be healthy? Being successful in health requires a mix of attributes that are both innate and learned. There are a few attributes however, that many chiropractors seem to have in common, and we may gain some useful insight, if we study and learn from these.
The chiropractic approach to health involves restoring your body’s ability to self-heal. This is the definition of chiropractic that I most like to use. How many of these characteristics do you have – and how many would you like to acquire?
1. Morning exercisers
Many successful chiropractors that I know (and I know a lot of them) exercise on waking. It really doesn’t matter when you ultimately decide to exercise. In fact our body’s temperature is lowest in the morning, which means this may be our most vulnerable time, in terms of injury. What matters most is that you exercise and that you aim to exercise daily.
My advice: I personally have been a morning Posturecise enthusiast for years and it isn’t because I’ve always been a natural morning person (I haven’t). If I didn’t exercise in the mornings, procrastination would creep in and convince me to put it off until the end of the day. It isn’t the time of day that matters most but the habit and routine. Make a commitment to a lifelong habit of exercise and one that you can learn to love.
Related: The 5 Things You Should Quit Doing With Your Body if You Want to be Successful
2. They don’t medicate
Many chiropractors avoid medication for day-to-day aches and pains. Their approach is to remove the nerve system interference (what we call a sub-lux-a-tion) that can restore your body’s ability to heal. Most successful healthy chiropractors will choose a spinal adjustment over pain medication. In the US (2010) there were four times more deaths among women from prescription painkiller overdoses than for cocaine and heroin combined.
Related: Three Workouts to Increase Pain Tolerance
3. They gain strength in numbers
The one thing that drew me to the chiropractic profession in my mid twenties (other than for treatment of my chronic headaches) was that I kept meeting so healthy chiropractors and their equally healthy children. They weren’t just healthy, they were vital, thriving and generally happy people to be around.
Their enthusiasm for well-being was infectious and I wanted to be around them. In the US, chiropractic is the third largest primary healthcare profession surpassed only by medicine and dentistry. People (like me) want to spend time with successful, happy, healthy people. Success breeds success.
My Advice: Professional speaker Jim Rohn famously said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. A chiropractor I once worked for as a young associate once said to me: Paula, weed your garden. It’s sounded harsh at the time but I knew what he meant. If there are people in your life who consistently drag you down, perhaps it is time to let them go.
4. They have good posture
There is something about today’s desk-based lifestyle that makes it difficult to have good posture and those of you with bad posture, worry about looking unattractive.
People with poor posture often develop early arthritis and premature aging and as a result, feel much older than their years. Chiropractors know this. We see it everyday in practice. It’s never too late to start improving your posture but you mustn’t wait for even one more day. Start today!
Related: Posturecise (Level 1) – How to create a healthy posture habit for life
5. They’re not afraid to be unpopular
The chiropractic profession began in the late 1800s. Our chiropractic pioneers lead the way and many went to jail fighting for their beliefs: That what they were doing was separate and distinct from medicine. Fighting the orthodoxy is something chiropractors have always had to do. Most of the chiropractors I know are quite used to defending the science and art to which they have devoted their lives. I think Tony Robins said it best:
To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.
