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Consulting Partner Spotlight
Is Fear Holding You Back in Your Life and Practice
Traveling around the country, meeting and consulting with doctors has left me with a lasting impression of so many in our profession. The driving emotion of the struggling Doctors of Chiropractic is fear.
Unless you are able to acknowledge its paralyzing presence in your life and find ways to manage and overcome it, fear will suck the joy out of your life and your practice. So let's first understand it.
Fear can be an asset in our life, protecting us from dangerous situations and help keep us safe. But fear also limits our life, significantly. While it may not be conscious, fear may make us think they we are unworthy or we lack value. Fear makes us feel inadequate and holds us back from truly experiencing life's pleasures. Often we do everything we can to avoid feeling fear. By limiting our lives drastically therefore creating tiny little boxes in which we live in. Living this way will often create illusions of safety, thus leaving us with an unfulfilling life that is void of passion. If we do decide to venture beyond our box and fear surfaces, a common reaction is to withdraw and contract both emotionally and physically therefore creating a state of paralysis. This is a result of our past experiences, creates a visceral response igniting the emotions of fear.
When we shine a light on many of our fears we see that very few are based in reality. Many of our fears are only concerned with protecting us from humiliation and failure. While these fears are doing there job incredibly well, they are doing so with faulty and outdated programming of our minds. Many fears we have as adults are trying to protect us from past experiences as children. Indeed many of our current automatic reactions to fear were actually formed when we were children. We were programmed by our culture, environment, parents and mentors. In many cases, fear is now simply a sign to us that we are about to enter a new, unknown territory. This territory may in fact offer us more opportunities for creativity and personal growth.
All that is occurring is that we are simply doing something different that we haven't done before and we are not sure what the results will be. It is very important not to judge ourselves for the feelings of fear. If we judge ourselves, we will bury ourselves with our fears and disguise them. However, by denying our fears we also deny our energy, creativity and passion.
So the question that needs to be asked: What do we do with the obsolete fears that doesn't service any longer?
First we need to realize and recognize the fear for what it is: a feeling. A feeling we have experienced many times in the past and the feeling we will experience many more times in the future. It is also important and beneficial for each of us to become aware of the particular behavior patterns we have adopted when we feel fear. This way we can evaluate our fear to determine whether these feelings are real or imaged. Then if we wish we can choose a different response. This is where change and growth occur.
Where is fear controlling your life and practice today? Here are a few questions that may help shine some light on your fears.
- What fears reoccur frequently in your practice?
- How is the fear holding you back in your life and practice right now?
(be as specific as you can) - If you don't let this fear stop you this time, how will it benefit you?
(how will you grow and how will your life change) - Will you create your life and practice today or will fear?
(hint: you get to choose)
Remember, embrace the fear, acknowledge its presence, stand up to it, overcome it and watch your life and practice magically transform itself.
- Dr. Jay Laguardia
- Arizona Association of Chiropractic
Phoenix, AZ - March 5 - Florida Chiropractic Society
Dania Beach, FL - March 21 - Chiropractic Educational Extravaganza
Oconomowoc, WI - April 17 - Dade County Chiropractic Society
Key Biscayne, FL - July 14 - Florida Chiropractic Association
Kissimmee, FL - August 27-30