By William N. Willis, D.C.
One day I was talking to a fellow chiropractor and our conversation turned to
the topic of seminars. It seems that he had attended several seminars over the
years. Each one promised the secret to success in whatever the subject happened
to be—making more money, getting along better with your spouse, relating
to your kids or any of a host of other highly desired but difficult to obtain
goals.
“None of them work,” he declared. “They’re all a waste of
money. Sure, it’s great for the first few days after you get back. You’re
all pumped up and ready to go. Then, as time passes, you slip back into the
old habits.”
I had to admit that, today, we see a vast array of books, seminars and programs
that claim to be the latest, ultimate, you-don’t-need-anything-else answer
to what ails you, your practice, your bank account, your family and your spirit.
Having attended several programs over the years, I can tell you that most of
them—the good ones at any rate—all pretty much say and teach the same
thing. Universal principles, after all, never change.
The issue that my friend was facing was not a shortage of good answers to his
problems, but, like so many people, a lack of perseverance. His problem was
that he didn’t know how to stay in the battle. It’s one thing to know
what to do, but it’s quite another to do it consistently amidst all the
trials of daily life.
The secret that I’ve found that keeps you in the fight—for a good
practice, a good marriage or just being a good honorable person—is faith.
Many people equate faith with religion and a belief in some higher power. It’s
certainly that, but it’s also more.
Faith is an action word, and it is vital to your being a “survivor”
in life. Faith is the quality that keeps you strong when the world seems to
be working against you. The strength that keeps you going must be based on trust
and faith in yourself, your beliefs, your husband or wife and your profession.
Quite simply, the school of life has no recess. The truth is that many people
don’t have the mental toughness to stick to their goals and ideals when
daily events aren’t unfolding the way we want. What is it that gives us
that strength to go on and to stay in the battle?
There is a famous Biblical passage that says “Know the truth and the truth
will set you free.” The key word here is “know” not “know
about.” We know about so many things—we have opinions, beliefs and
knowledge—but we “know” very little. A knowing is strong and
absolute and solidly grounded in faith. It persists even in the fact of contradiction
or hardship.
Phase One: Focus
There are several phases to developing this strength through faith. The first
is to learn how to become quiet and centered right where we are. When we develop
this inner silence, we have a place to focus on what is truly going on around
us. We can consider the best course of action without making snap decisions.
It is in these times of silence and quiet that we are able to build our own
inner strength and character so that we are prepared for the battle to come.
A key action step we can take in conjunction with this silence is to learn to
hold our tongue. There are many situations with our employees, family or friends
in which we may be tempted to speak immediately. Our words may arise out of
anger or frustration and become a razor-edged weapon that we use to slash our
perceived opponent. The damage may give us momentary satisfaction, but the hurt
inflicted may be long lasting—both for us and the person who was our target.
In many of our day-to-day encounters, an immediate response is seldom required.
Better to consider the situation and then choose a course of action. Quite often,
a considered decision will be quite different than an action taken under pressure.
It is also vital to be very clear about what you believe and what constitutes
your values. Doing so will help you to maintain consistency in your life and
actions.
This first phase is about learning, but once you have acquired knowledge and
beliefs, life will begin to test you. The one fact you can be certain of is
that things won’t always go the way you want them. That is a hard reality
of life for everyone.
The rain, after all, falls on the wicked as well as the good. There can be no
escape from crisis, turmoil and trial. It’s not a question of if, only
a question of when you’ll be tested.
This period of testing is critical to developing character and refining the
skills you’ve acquired. In fact, this period is one of the most vital.
Just as a mother eagle will start to stir things up in the nest to encourage
her babies to leave and be on their own, so life stirs things up for you.
Just as the athlete’s muscles are developed through stress and strain,
so your character and determination are developed through trial. We also can’t
expect to handle every trial perfectly. After all, a runner doesn’t get
up one morning and begin running the distance of a marathon. Day by day, he
runs a little further and a little faster. After a period of time, he reaches
his goal of crossing the finish line through concerted, disciplined effort.
He constantly holds his ideal of himself in his mind and strives always toward
obtaining it.
It is never easy. Comfort, after all, is the great enemy of character. Unless,
you’re tested you’ll never have the opportunity to develop your own
inner strength and toughness. In truth, testing is not something we should dread,
but it should be welcomed, as it creates a path to a higher level of existence
for us.
Phase Two: Perseverance
The next phase is one of invention. Here, we begin to make choices about the
kind of person we are becoming. Will we become hard and begin to curse life
because of the hardship and apparent evil we see? We can follow that course—and
many do. On the other hand, we can accept the trials and still see the beauty
that surrounds us.
Throughout this process, we must make up our minds that we will master the art
of perseverance. Like so many things in life, what we can accomplish and what
we can be are based for the most part on our level of determination.
Do we say that we will try to do something? The end result of trying will result
in giving up when we don’t achieve immediate results. Instead, we have
to view life as a great arena for which we must train just as an athlete trains.
An attitude of training means we’re in it for the long haul. We still go
out to the track and run our laps even when we’d rather be doing something
else. We keep our goals firmly before us, and we realize that we’ll never
win the race unless we discipline our minds and bodies to keep at it day after
day.
In our own lives that means we keep doing the right thing even when we don’t
seem to be getting the results we want and even when the desire to take the
easy road seems tempting.
It is in this arresting phase that we often experience our darkest and bleakest
times. Perhaps we’ve struggled with our practice and just can’t seem
to reach the level we desire. We’re worried that we may never get there.
We’re concerned that we’ll end up failing.
It’s in these times that the faith we have in our ideals can sustain us
and make us stronger. It’s in these times that we can reach a truly high
level of faith.
Phase Three: Wisdom
If we keep to our path, we will eventually reach the cresting phase of our journey.
Here, we know we’ve done the right things and we see the evidence of our
works. After the toughest periods of our life, we often reach the greatest victories.
It’s also during these times that we have the opportunity to develop true
wisdom. We have the experience and now we can apply it to future situations.
The great mistake so many people make is in failing to make this connection.
I have often seen many of my colleagues make the same mistake over and over
again, but each time they believed the results would be different. For the movie
to change, we have to start playing a new set of tapes.
It may seem like a daunting challenge, and in many respects it is like a call
to arms. A great philosopher once said that life is an unending series of problems.
What gives them meaning is how we choose to respond to those problems. We can
forge a life that is truly ours, or we can allow it to beat us down and break
us so that we crawl away in defeat. Or we can choose to continue fighting the
right way. The rewards only come to those who stay in the battle.
About the author: William N. Willis, D.C., manages a private practice and is
a professor at Life University, where he formerly served as division chair of
the chiropractic sciences department. Inquiries may be addressed to him at Willis
Chiropractic Clinic, 2829 Dallas St., Kennesaw, GA 30144; call (770) 429-0707;
or fax (770) 425-9020.
© Copyright 2002 Today's Chiropractic