New Man
By John A. Hofmann, D.C.
This month’s guest columnist Dr. John Hofmann offers a well-intentioned
wake-up call for anyone feeling the slightest bit downtrodden. By the end of
this article we hope you’ll be chanting, “New Man! New Man! New
Man!”
“Make the choice adventurous stranger,
strike the bell and bide the danger
or wonder ‘til it drives you mad
what would have happened if you had.”
—C.S. Lewis
He lay in a crumpled heap on the side of the hill under a bright summer sky.
Limbs askew, his weapon lay some distance from his outstretched, seemingly lifeless
hand. All around were the shouts of battle. Frantic screaming comrades were
trying to rally their side to move forward toward the enemy. All seemed lost.
Then, the miracle happened, a loud shout was heard, “New Man!” “New
Man!” The fallen warrior leapt up, scooped up his weapon and continued
the charge, unhurt, unaffected by the deadly injury. He was literally a new
man, a new cowboy able to take up the fight again.
And the children’s game of cowboys and Indians continued.
You can make this story Good Guys vs. Bad Guys or Darkness vs. Light—whatever
works for you. It’s about re-creating yourself whenever you have made
a mistake. Forgiving your mistakes, learning from them and moving on, without
carrying the burden of the past mistakes around with you like a 100-pound box
of headrest paper.
During my life I have made many errors, some knowingly, some honestly and some
stupidly. We all have. I have found the difference between success and failure,
happiness and remorse is in a person’s ability to put away past mistakes
and move forward, to continue their life as if the errors of the past did not
exist. Learn from them, yes. Carry them with you, NO!
Belief
As children we seem to have no trouble at all becoming “New Men.”
believing that we can overcome all obstacles or leap tall buildings. It is only
after growing a little bit older that the slings and arrows of unsuccessful
attempts, errors or thoughtless comments stop us from trying again, or the belief
that people look at us and remember our mistakes. “Oh, how embarrassing!”
“How can I go on?” “I’ll never try anything new again.”
“I’ll take refuge in my comfort zone.”
Yeah, that’s it. Why be ridiculed? Why give them another chance to criticize
you? Better to hide in your self-made prison than to be made fun of once more.
How can you stop this self-limiting routine? New Man! Nothing could be easier
than starting over again. Wipe the slate clean and begin again. New Man!
When I had an idea that worked, people hardly ever noticed. When it failed,
everyone noticed and told me about it. “Why did you try that?” they’d
say. “That was a stupid waste of money and time.” They told me that
often for I made many mistakes, had many failures. But always, always I kept
on trying. New Man!
Failure Quotient
The more successful the person is the higher the failure quotient. That is,
the more times he or she tries something without fear of failure, without letting
the “humiliation” of being wrong get in the way of attempting a
new idea, the higher the success. By not asking permission of other people
to try again you stop giving them power over your life. Not worrying about the
negative opinions of others gives you the courage to try again and take charge
of your life.
Break the Law.
“I’ve failed. No one will ever trust me again.” Or how about
“I’ve tried that and it never works.” Sound familiar? We’ve
all said things like these either out loud or in our hearts. This is fear of
failure. Usually something in your past has created this misguided fear
and you adopted it by mistake. No one likes to be made fun of or ridiculed.
Go back and try to remember what instilled that fear in you. Then say, “New
Man!” See yourself as being free of that particular fear. Give yourself power
over that fear. Empower yourself to make it a lesson to learn from and not a
law to stop you from achieving your goals. Break the law!
Refuse to be influenced by any residue carried over from negative past experiences.
Break the law!
Conformity
One of the obstacles to becoming a New Man is conformity. It seems easier to
look and sound like everyone else in your circle of friends than to stand out
and risk being wrong. Rita Mae Brown puts it like this, “The reward for
conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself.”
My favorite saying on the subject is, “The difference between courage
and cowardice is conformity.”
Be yourself and be willing to leave your comfort zone. Make friends with your
discomfort zone. Make more mistakes. Learn more about your abilities. You’ll
be amazed at what you can accomplish by leaving the “old you” behind
and just starting over again.
What Can I Do?
Start by forgiving yourself for all the mistakes you have made in the past.
You’ve already made them so why continue to carry them around with you?
Envision the person you really want to be or the thing you are enthusiastic
about and want to make come true. Then, do it! The only person standing in your
way is yourself.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself! No one did this to you but you. Mentally bend
over, take three whacks on the backside and cut to the chase. If you’re
lazy and have trouble getting going see yourself as energetic and dynamic, full
of life, buzzing with great ideas to help others. If approaching others and
talking about chiropractic scares you to death or has resulted in being rebuffed
in the past, try seeing all people as being interested in you and what you have
to say. Better yet, be interested in them.
“But what if that doesn’t work when I try it?” New Man! Try
again. Nothing lost, no harm done except, maybe, to your ego. The only way you
can ever fail is by not doing anything about it. By not getting off the mat,
by not fighting one more round, you’re guaranteed to lose.
The Secret
One of my favorite sayings is from L. Ron Hubbard “Someday, sooner
or later, you have to turn against the devils that pursue you. By what? By doing
something about it.”
Don’t just lie there and take it. Get up off the metaphorical floor and
begin again. Start over. New Man!
About the Author:
John Hofmann is no stranger to making mistakes. In fact he has put his “New
Man” philosophy to practice. He has many distinguished accomplishments
in chiropractic including being one the original founders of Life University,
managing a 1,200 patients per week practice and earning the title of Chiropractor
of the Year from the ICA and the state of Michigan.
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