Gym Class Blues

Do you know that not taking a shower in gym class has lifetime consequences?

We’ve all had to go through that awkward phase.  Perhaps you spent a large amount of time in front of the mirror, popping pimples or standing on your tippy toes wondering when puberty would kick in to make you taller.  Or maybe it was the opposite, and you were that lanky kid whose bones never seemed to stop growing.  Did you ever admire those fully developed girls and wondered why you were still in training bras?  And yet, despite your physical dilemmas, you were still forced to attend gym.  Sure, you may have written a few notes to get yourself out of running the mile or dodge ball, but you couldn’t skip every class.  And when you worked up a sweat, you had the dreaded moment of changing or showering afterwards.  All you could think of was that you were going to be judged.  Would your classmates notice your lack of body hair?  Or maybe you were self-conscious about how wide your hips were.  Whatever it was, it made you want to crawl into a hole and never come out.

Many people dreaded going to gym class…and it shows! 

Today, obesity is on the rise for both children and adults.  Blood pressure, heart problems, cholesterol challenges, and joint problems are all consequences of being overweight.  It started for most people when they were younger.  Gym class today is actually not required in many states.  The painful memories of today’s policy makers are so acute, they wiped out gym class to spare children the pain of going through what they had to endure.

Sometimes avoiding unpleasant things actually causes more harm than facing up to them! 

So many figured out the anecdote to the whole showering scene.  Don’t work up a sweat.  Walk, when you’re supposed to run.  Don’t put your full commitment into gym class and you won’t become a sweaty mess.  No sweat…no shower.  Many thought the key to gym class was getting a passing grade.  There was so much more to gym class than a passing grade…but you didn’t realize it at the time.  Lack of fitness can lop off 10 or more years on your life.

How about the kids who loved gym class?

If you loved gym class, participated in it fully and didn’t care if your sweat was bleeding through your clothes, there’s a good chance you are in shape today.  You learned the life lesson, not just passed the course.  You are naturally inclined to give your all in life, from being a DC to caring for your family.  If you hated gym, didn’t take a shower because you didn’t fully commit to the process…chances are fitness is not easy for you today.  You also may be inclined to hold back from giving your all to anything.  You are skeptical, cautious and settled for being good, when you’re actually great.

The real life lesson of gym class was lifetime fitness…what lesson are your patients getting?

When your patients start giving excuses like how they can’t afford care, need to ask their spouse, of whether or not insurance covers it, they probably didn’t like gym class.  Just like back then, they avoid commitment and are looking for non-commitment ways of getting what they want (passing the course).  Are you caving in to the demands of people who just want to have their needs met and be done with you, or do your want to share lifetime Chiropractic care?

Now that you’re a fully licensed DC…are you still thinking up ways to avoid taking a shower in gym class?

Let’s get a group of DCs who are not doing well and pool our resources.  We’ll share office space and rent and hope for the best.  Talk about settling and lowering your standards!   Ask yourself this question…the practices that have the most fun, the largest, the most successful…why don’t they share space?  They are fully committed to the process.  They aren’t afraid of sweating and being fully alive.  There is no plan B.  It’s amazing how powerful DCs are when they become fully engaged in their practices and lives!