May 2005

Don't put chiropractic's value on your shoulders

by Dr. Ben Lerner

Recently, I was on a coaching call with a young chiropractor. After her Doctor's Report, a patient asked her, "Why should I believe you?" At that moment she proceeded to back herself out of a corner and defend herself. Would you feel the need to defend yourself from this attack?

Your first response would be to defend and shoot or maybe shoot first and defend afterward. Any time a person is throwing out an accusation of that nature, your first response by nature is to defend yourself. You enter into a defensive mode because you have somehow attached yourself to the statement, as if you were the one who founded chiropractic.

I am going to ask you as of today to stop defending your integrity. The person who approaches a conversation of this nature is normally not questioning your integrity or honesty. They are questioning the information.

Learn to disassociate from the questioning. Step out of the conversation as a third party. Do not answer the question from the position of "me." Answer the question from the perspective of the facts about the information. You should almost act as if you are surprised that they do not already know the facts about what has been happening in the past 108 years.

Imagine if you could gather all the chiropractors and their patients and move everyone to a small country. What would that look like? It would be an amazing country, wouldn't it? Everyone outside of that country would be missing something magnificent. Looking at it from that perspective allows you to educate in a proactive manner ‑‑ not in a reactive and defensive manner.

One of the greatest mistakes a chiropractor can make in the education process is to come across as if he or she is trying to convince the patient of the information. As a chiropractor, you are reporting the facts.

The facts are the facts, you do not need to defend them or convince anyone about them. The defensive reaction patients have to the information is due to their lack of understanding. Save patients' lives by getting them to understand.

(Dr. Ben Lerner and Dr. Greg Loman created Teach the World About Chiropractic ‑‑ a coaching, seminar, and product company ‑‑ and Body by God Intl in an effort to change our culture and move the world toward the power of chiropractic thinking. Dr. Lerner is author of the New York Times best‑selling book, "Body by God: The Owner's Manual For Maximized Living." Drs. Loman and Lerner, maintaining two of the highest‑volume clinics in chiropractic, both have a new book coming out in August from Thomas Nelson Publishing.)