How to Master Your Mindset: Getting in Flow

Even the most successful chiropractor will tell you there are good days and bad days. There are times when you're in the groove, magnetizing incredible opportunities; and other times when you're discouraged and exhausted, feeling as if all your efforts are being wasted.

We call the former state flow. Being "in flow" is a wonderful experience. We love the feeling of achieving great things effortlessly and joyfully. We love the delightful little surprises, the unexpected opportunities, the patients who laud us with praise, the sudden opening of the referral floodgates, the harmony with our staff, and the sheer artistry of our adjustments.

On the other hand, we hate being stuck; out of flow. We despise the feeling of hopelessness and despair. We resent the times when our efforts aren't rewarded, when we can't muster the enthusiasm to give our best; when for some strange and mystical reason, more patients seem to cancel and no show, and those who do show up complain that we're not helping them, and we find ourselves wishing they too had stayed home.

Unfortunately, we judge ourselves and our choices horribly at those times. What's wrong with me? Where did I go wrong? Why did I even become a chiropractor?

Recognizing When You're Not in Flow

The real problem isn't that we may not be in flow, but that we're seldom aware when we're not in flow.

Sure, we may figure it out eventually, but usually our level of awareness is a few steps behind reality.

In other words, we struggle with our outer circumstances for quite some time before we awaken to the fact it's our very struggle-filled mindset creating the turmoil we're feeling.

What we need to do is become aware more quickly when we're not in flow, and respond accordingly. In that way, we can shift our attention to the remedies that will work rather than spinning our wheels and burning ourselves out on fruitless efforts.

Mindfulness as a Daily Practice Habit

The stance that's necessary for developing the level of consciousness which gets us back to flow most quickly is called mindfulness. It's a clear state of mind: open, aware and accepting. It's a state most easily accessed by practicing it, whether through meditation, focus exercises, scheduled quiet time, or deliberate attention to some aspect of the present moment.

8 Easy Ways to Maximize Your Flow

Whether or not you make time to practice mindfulness, there are specific things you can do moment by moment to turn your consciousness toward flow and away from struggle. Here are some of the most effective tools at your disposal:

1. Take your mental and emotional temperature every morning. Are you happy and free or joyless and intense?
2. Acknowledge that if you're in a negative mindset, you're not going to be particularly effective.
3. Stop trying to overcome that mindset by working harder. It will only spin you deeper into frustration, despair and exhaustion.
4. Shift your goals away from your business objectives and toward emotional ones.
5. Take actions specifically designed to elevate your mood, even if they have nothing to do with practice objectives.
6. Always treat yourself with love and respect. Never beat yourself up for feeling low. It will only prolong the state.
7. Call a friend or loved one who can help you recall all the things that make you great.
8. Create a culture of authenticity in your practice so you can share your emotional state, for better or worse, with your colleagues and staff. Just being witnessed without judgment or the need to try to fix the problem will go a long way toward releasing your emotional burden.

Start Each Day by Getting in Flow

Your first goal each day should be getting in flow. Everything else will result from that. By following this formula, you'll find you can quickly return to a resourceful state – one in which your efforts are once again bearing fruit and you're having more fun!