Hard-headed: Mental toughness and how it can help chiropractors in practice

There has been a buzzword floating around for a while that I am sure many people are familiar with but may not know what it means: mental toughness.

When someone hears the phrase, an image of a highly trained soldier or marine with nerves of steel on the battlefield may come to mind. Perhaps elite athletes come to mind. Those atheltes can control their emotions in the heat of competition and power through to the win. But, how about an image of a chiropractor working towards retirement, or the one building their practice in a competitive market? Not the most common thing to come to mind, but the concepts of mental toughness can be a massive part of their success as well.

Mental toughness is the ability to perform as focused, confident, determined and resilient, especially under pressure. These principles have been taught in the athlete world for many years. They can also translate perfectly into business and everyday life. Let’s have a look at how the principles of mental toughness can fit into your chiropractic practice.

For those that may not have read any of my previous articles, you must know that I like math. When a concept is in the form of an equation, it becomes a lot easier to comprehend. The following simple equation is the foundation of the mental toughness program I teach to athletes and business people:

Potential – Interference = Performance
Performance is pretty straight-forward to understand. It is how you end up performing, playing or succeeding in what you do.

Potential is your skills, talents, abilities. It is what you are capable of doing based on everything you have learned, practiced and acquired that relates to your capability to perform. We spend years taking our schooling, doing mentorships, continuing education, and business classes. Building our experience through years in practice and all of the other things we do to “improve ourselves.” The part of the equation that we work on the most is to perform better.

Interference is mostly the thought processes that we have that hold us back from being able to perform to our true potential – this is the area that people tend to struggle with the most yet spend the least amount of time addressing. It is no different when it comes to a chiropractor – the most common areas of interference center around how we think.

One of the best places to start decreasing interference is with the first concept of mental toughness. (Being focused.) We can all relate to how much better things go when we are dialled in and focused on the task at hand. How can we become more focused in our practice? The first step to becoming more focused in practice is to set goals. Goal setting is like taking a road trip to an unfamiliar destination, a place we may have never been to before. Think of goal setting as your roadmap, or GPS, and your plan for how to get from where you are to where you want to get to, and what you want to accomplish along the way. Let’s use my drive from Regina to Denver as an example. Without the roadmap and plan, I would not know where I was going, what roads to take, and could have missed out on interesting tourist destinations, places or landmarks along the way. Had I not planned out the hotels, I may have had no place to stay the night. Worst of all, ended up in the middle of nowhere with no gas or cell service and not made my destination. You should have a main longer term goal, your destination, as well as several shorter term goals with the steps needed for how to achieve that short- term goal.

You probably have some goals of what you want to accomplish, but it’s important to take the time to clearly define them, write them down, and use them like a roadmap to get you to your destination. Do you have a plan for what steps need to be done to accomplish the goal? For most people the answer is no.

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First off, for goals to be effective, a “SMART” or even more effective “SMARTER” format is the best way to lay out your roadmap for success.

S – Specific. We need to be very specific about our goal. I often see a goal of “I want to be the best hockey player, business person, chiropractor that I can be.” And although commendable, it is not specific. Now a goal of “I want to see X number of patients per week” is a specific goal. By being specific, we give ourselves a focused target.

M – Measurable. The goal needs to be measurable. Without the ability to measure it, you have no way to know if you have achieved it. The goal of “I want to increase the number of patients I see in a week” compared to “I want to see X number of patients per week”.

A – Achievable. Your goal needs to be something that you can achieve. To have a goal of seeing 50 patients a week in you first month of practice is probably a goal that is not achievable. If you set a goal that is too far out of reach, you can lose your desire to follow it through. Goals that are not achievable actually become demotivating.

R – Reach. For those of you who have learned goal setting before, you may be familiar with the R being realistic. I much prefer the word Reach. Goals that are worth striving for should be motivating and require extra effort for you to achieve them.

T – Timed. This is the step that most people leave out. Without having a time constraint, there is no focus and motivation to push forward. “I want to be seeing an average of 50 patients per week by the end of September, 2020”. This is a Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Reach, & Timed goal.

E – Evaluate. Evaluate your progress along the way. This is very helpful with short term goals that help build the segments towards your main goal.

R – Re-Adjust. If needed, readjust your goals as you progress toward your long term goal. You may find that, for whatever reason, you see your goal is not attainable. Rather than scrap you goal, or “fail”, adjust your goal to something that is achievable but will still require you to reach for it. Adjust the time frame or number of your main goal to 40 patients a week by the end of September 2020 and 50 by the end of December 2020.

In order for goals to be effective, they need to be written down. When we see them regularly, it helps us focus on the destination, stay motivated and it reminds us of what steps we need to take to get the success that we desire. Without focus, our brain has a way of saying “Yeah, I know I need to do that, I’ll get to it”. When we get groceries, we write down what we need to pick up so we do not forget anything. Same goes for our goals and most importantly, the steps needed to achieve them. After all, getting bread and milk should not be more important than your success.

SAMPLE:
Long term goal: See 50 patients per week by the end of September 2020.

Short term goal 1 – Build up to 25 patients a week average by the end of May 2020. Steps needed to achieve this:

• Starting immediately, be in charge of all patient treatment plans by rebooking patients appropriately for their condition so they achieve the desired treatment outcomes.
• Send emails to the email list once a week every Wednesday

Short term goal 2 – Increase from 25 to 40 patients a week average by end of August 2020.

• Increase social media presence by posting to Facebook 2x per week
• Increase emails to 2x per week
• Continue doing everything in goal one
• Increase referrals through cross referrals with other health care providers.

Here is something to keep in mind that is a key yet often overlooked component to effective goal setting. Do not focus solely on the goal, but instead on the steps needed to achieve the goal. For it is the actions that we do, or do not do, which we are in control of. Achieving the goal is the outcome of the planning steps we implement. If we can stay focused on what we need to do, we will more often achieve and surpass our goals. On top of that, we will build our level of mental toughness, reduce our interference and perform to our true potential.

Watch for Part 2 in an upcoming issue, where we will continue building your mental toughness for business success.

KEN ANSELL, RMT, D.Ac., has been a massage therapist in Regina for over 24 years, obtaining his educaton from the Western College of Remedial Massage Therapies. He is a member of MTAS, the Provincial Medical Acupuncture Association, and the Canadian Contemporary Acupuncture Association.