September 2007

Achieving your peak performance

by Dr. CJ Mertz

Part I

Improving your ability to perform is at the heart of all your growth in practice. It's not about attending seminars, listening to CDs or even reading this column. These only have value if you've have already decided to increase your personal ability to produce bigger and better results.

I want to begin by giving thanks and credit to my clients, who have convinced me to share this three‑part peak performance training with you. They are unselfish ‑‑ they wish nothing more than to see you achieving the levels of success they now experience in practice.

If you use golf as an example of achieving peak performance, there are three distinct, yet integrated disciplines. It's virtually impossible to train on them simultaneously, and if you did, it would produce undesirable results. Why? Because it's too much to chew off all at the same time. These three disciplines are your mental game (swing thoughts), your preparation and set‑up, and your swing dynamics. Most golfers love to go to the range and pound balls, hoping this will somehow turn them into a scratch player ‑‑ nothing could be further from the truth.

Ironically, the lower volume chiropractor who desires high performance must follow a very similar route to that of the high‑handicap golfer who wants to become a low‑handicap player. Most chiropractors show up committed every day to work and "pound balls," hoping for better results.

There are three distinct performance grids that all DCs are required to master in order to reach their full potential. The first will be presented in this training, and the other two will be revealed in the next two successive columns. Chiropractors and CAs tend to follow the "all or none" rule, meaning that, like golfers, we are committed to changing everything or we're not changing anything. Somewhere in between is where all your future success lives.

The four keys to the first performance grid are focus, attitude, energy and commitment. A chiropractor needs all of them to perform at his or her best, but it's difficult (if not impossible) to try to access them simultaneously. I know it sounds contradictory, but here's the secret: If you fully engage the right one, the others follow automatically.

For a golfer to concentrate on keeping his or her left wrist flat, left arm straight, a full shoulder turn, weight transfer back and through and keeping the head still simultaneously is a train wreck waiting to happen! A great golf instructor, however, can pick out the one piece for that golfer, who then concentrates on that one piece while performing "the whole" swing. Magically, the golfer begins swinging and scoring better than ever before.

The five hash marks on the grid refer to degrees of performance levels: 5 ‑‑ below average; 4 ‑‑ average; 3 ‑‑ above average; 2 ‑‑ excellent; 1 ‑‑ world class.

If you score yourself now and with the most honest and accurate responses, you will already be halfway there. One of these four keys is screaming off the page at you, just waiting for you to embrace your full potential. Nothing happens until you consciously and deliberately choose the right key ‑‑ then everything starts happening.

Above average is not good enough. Excellent is better than most, but still may not work. Set your eyes on one of these four performance keys to reaching world class status. When just one key is developed into world class function, the other three will naturally rise to above average or higher.

If focus is your strength, but you have allowed yourself to become distracted in your life and practice, your attitude, energy and/or commitment simply follow. If attitude is your strength, but certain people and/or situations have stolen your thunder, then focus, energy and/or commitment tend to follow. If your strength is energy, but you have allowed yourself to get run down or let "busy‑ness" wreck your workout and eating disciplines, all else follows. If your word is your bond and commitment is an extraordinarily high value, but you have found yourself waffling or procrastinating or half‑hearted in your effort, then nothing good can come of focus, attitude or energy.

In this first of three performance grids, you have already come to a certain undeniable truth about yourself. You don't have to get overwhelmed by attempting to take all four keys to world class levels. That action itself is failure. Chiropractors who wisely choose their key "driver" and put their whole heart and soul into making it function at world class ability are the ones whose practices will soar this year.

This is also contagious. Tell your CAs about the grid and have them choose their key driver. Tell your chiropractic buddies and hold each accountable to reaching world class status, and see the change you will have helped make in others. If you need more help, don't hesitate to call.

(Dr. CJ Mertz is the founder and head coach of the prestigious Waiting List Practice chiropractic training organization. See the WLP 300 patient per week opportunity on the back page of this issue. For seminar tickets and information on WLP coaching services, please call The Waiting List Practice at 877 TEAM WLP).