Trends

Trends; sometimes they are obvious to see (e.g. fashion) and other times just a lot harder. Then there are the coincidences-things happening at the same time that just link together without rational explanation. Without being overly superstitious, it just seems that July is the month things radically happen in my life (its not the only month mind you, but just more seems to happen in July than any other month). My July is filled with many milestones and memories. My brother passed away on the first of July, we opened our current private practice on the 1st of July, I made the All-Africa Games squad in a July, and now as July looms large again I face a new venture on the horizon. I will explain more when I have signed on the dotted line, but it promises to be a new and exciting challenge, so watch this space for details.

There are other trends worth watching for. What time of day do you function best? What colour do you wear that people always say suits you? What tasks always come your way? What compliments do you receive the most? What age group of people do you connect best with? What activity gives you the most satisfaction? There are millions of other trends you could identify…each of which will enable you to achieve more and be better satisfied in what you do. Let me know what trends you have identified, or maybe you have extra questions to add to the list.

"Believe in me."

‘Tristan and Isolde’ is an inspiring, romantic movie- caters for both the bloodthirsty and had enough ‘chick flick’ elements to please the ladies. In one of the scenes when a young man is asked why he committed a particularly treasonous act, his reply was “I thought someone believed in me.” Those words hit me hard. How many people are just waiting for someone to have faith in their ability? People desire acceptance and they will take it from whichever source offers it. All it may take for some is a positive affirmation from someone they respect, for others it may take a bit more. Don’t know about you, but my natural instinct is to fault find and pull people down, I have to work to be encouraging and to build people up. People will work better at dealing with their faults if they know that you value them first.

Go rent the movie and tell me what you think.

Swallowing your pride

As much as I hate to admit it, I can’t do everything. Furthermore, in many cases, that which I do can often be done better by others. You could view me in some instances as a control freak. I like to have my finger on the pulse of everything, but mistake that for trying to do everything. This last week I had to swallow my pride and go get some advice from someone who knew better. The area concerned was my accounting and tax arrangement at work. I got some sound advice from an old friend and patient and have started to implement it. It will make a huge difference to my cash flow at work and in the long term save me money. The stupid thing is that I’ve put this meeting off for ages-pride just got in the way. I didn’t think that I knew better, I just made excuses to avoid going. I had no time, was too busy, the deadline was far away, all just to get out of admitting that I was wrong and did not have all the answers. Looking back, I can see how foolish that thinking was. I am now having to look and see other areas where I need help and what can be done to get it. Surrounding myself with more competent people is not a crime. It is only through stepping out of my comfort zone that I will be able to get further.

The Working Life

We are now over the winter solstice here in Zimbabwe, and are experiencing unusually warm weather. The sun is shining brightly outside and the temptation to go and tan is rather great. Unfortunately, work beckons for a little longer this afternoon. I have a brief break between patients before hitting the ‘grindstone’ again. The truth is, work is not a grind for me. I thoroughly enjoy what I do. I get to help others get the most out of their bodies and find the problem solving aspect very satisfying. Analysis has always been one of my strong points; I routinely scored the highest in the analysis part of my practical exams at university. I found maths ridiculously simple at school. Later when I did a personality profile under the DISC system, the broad tag attached to my profile result was “Analyst”. Realising this has helped me when making decisions regarding project involvement. Working to my strengths will enable me to do a job well and have greater satisfaction. I can only think that the worst thing for me would be to be stuck in a job that I hated and merely going through the motions everyday. What are your strengths? And how can you make them work better for you?

All the small things

Today is my mother’s birthday. Despite her having to spend most of today in hospital receiving a shot of chemotherapy, we were able to celebrate. We took her cake and a gift and the doctor’s and staff gathered round and sang to her. My dad is in town with her and both my sister’s will phone today, one of them rang just as I was leaving. It is little things like that that often make a difference in a creating a memorable celebration, but it is these little things that take a bit of extra effort (I had been thinking over the idea for over a week). The results are well worth it. So often in the past, I have taken birthdays and other memorable occasions for granted and never really made much of an effort. I just realise more and more that, despite the many spontaneous occasions that arise, great memories are created and spontaneity often comes on the foundation of planning.

A total change of topic, but other small things are the tweaks I am trying to give the site. I am experimenting with different colour schemes and have added a photo to the profile. Enjoy the changes and if something really doesn’t seem to be working then let me know.

Procratinati.....

I woke up this morning with the awful realisation that I am just plain lazy. However much I actually achieve, there is always the desire not to work or to put stuff off till ‘later’. Normally I do a couple of tasks before leaving the house in the morning, lately with the onset of winter in the southern hemisphere I have been staying in bed later and later. The tasks that were delayed became progressively shortened and then stopped. Now I have to face the consequences. There is a wonderful proverb that goes “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands and poverty will come upon you like a thief and want like an armed man.” Procrastination is easy and is a natural tendency. I am having to exert mind over matter and tell my body that it really doesn’t need the extra sleep. There is a school of though that says we should listen to what our body is telling us and obey-if that were the case with me I’d never get anything done and would eat sugar all my life.

So hopefully tomorrow will be a better morning (I’ll let you know if it’s not). I have made a list of things to do this morning and will stick to it. If you have any creative ideas on how you beat procrastination let me know.

Alternative reading

At the beginning of the year I set out to read one non-fiction book a month. Got a bit slack the last couple of months, but should have no trouble catching up. Have just read Kevin Treudeau’s ‘Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About’. Once you get past the author’s bashing of drug companies and federal government institutions, he has some interesting advice and recommendations about natural health. One thing that I find disconcerting is that there are very few direct references in the book to back up his claims. Admittedly he says that he is writing at a level to enable everyone to understand, and he does refer you to other books and websites, but I still feel that statements like ‘it’s been found that…’ need to be backed up with a reference. In a disclaimer he mentions that the book would be too long if all the references were ancluded, and that they are at his website www.naturalcures.com (which will cost you US$9.95 to join). I just feel that the ‘alternative’ health care domain is unlikely to ever gain serious credibility unless they begin to provide high-level evidence for their claims, and if the evidence is already there then lets acknowledge it. Physiotherapy as a profession has had a hard time providing the evidence for what it does, but the evidence is now there, surely others can do the same.