I must first acknowledge my inspiration for this blog: Josh Pyke, the awesome singer-songwriter.
Hi, I’m Dr. Andrew Arnold (Chiropractor), The Million Dollar Wellness Mentor.
In Josh’s album, ‘Chimney’s Afire’ one of Josh’s lyrics describes love as trying to hold a handful of the ocean. You can only a little at a time!
This got me thinking about managing a wellness practice and our clients and practitioners.
This week we seemed to have quite a few last minute reschedules and ring and cancels.
Normally I can let this go, safe in the knowledge this is the normal and usual attrition. Dr. John Hinwood, Chiropractor and coach once told me, “Andrew, if 40? % of our patients stick around, you’re doing well”.
Anyway, this week, the leaky bucket got to me.
This is when I noticed something interesting.
As I went into anxiety, control and frustration (i.e. started calling, sms’ing patients, pre-calling them to make sure they would turn up, reviewing our existing procedures around managing this etc.) more started to re-schedule and cancel. In fact, the tighter I tried to control this the worse the situation became.
A bit like holding sand or water. The tighter the grip the less you can hold, the more slips thru the fingers.
Interestingly, if you hold your hands open and relaxed, the less falls thru the cracks.
The leaky bucket is what it is, nothing more.
The key to let go energetically. This doesn’t mean complacency, far from it. You may still review certain patient’s behaviors or your patient management procedures however, you then resist adding emotional meaning.
So, next time you feel your practice is slipping, take a breath, meditate and let it go.
About the Author:
Dr. Andrew Arnold (Chiropractor) is the ‘Practice Leverage Expert’; Principal Chiropractor and owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre; Business Consultant; Founder, Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew is married to Dr. Linda Wilson, the Stress Specialist and has two children, Isaac and Bella. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.