Dr. Janel HitsonChanging the Face of the Chiropractic Profession

We all have our secret fears, fear of public speaking, of heights, small places, spiders…blogging.

I have seen many who have legitimate, paralyzing fears and then I have seen those who use their “phobias” as an inappropriate ploy for attention. Either way, these fears create barriers that hold us back from success.

Obviously, certain fears are more detrimental to developing a chiropractic practice- fear of public speaking, fear of confrontation, fear of rejection, fear of success (poverty complexes) are among the top on the list.

We all have these fears to a certain extent; just how much you let them control you is the real question. Does your fear of public speaking keep you from educating others on the healing benefits of chiropractic? Does your fear of confrontation keep you from addressing key issues with patients or asking for payment for services? Fear of rejection can keep you from asking for that referral or stopping you from setting up that desperately needed spinal screening. If you have a fear of success, you will find yourself in a cycle of self defeating behaviors and your Practice chronically operating in the red.

What I wish I knew was how much these fears could hold me back, especially as an entrepreneur! When you run your own business, every decision made is amplified by the multitude of consequences. When you operate in fear based decision making, your once innocent “quirky” fears are now costing you time, money, relationships, and staff.

Many fears can be overcome by a healthy dose of reality and confronting the issue directly. Forcing yourself to fight through the discomfort and address the hard issues is the best place to start. I started by acknowledging every time I felt that pit in my stomach and acting on it immediately (if I gave myself the chance, I could easily procrastinate until the opportunity was gone).

It will do you well to overcome these issues before your paycheck is dependant upon it! If the thought of doing a spinal screening terrifies you, sign up for every screening you can. Go to a local doctor and ask to do screenings for their office. If you can’t get up in front of a crowd, join Toastmasters as soon as possible, if you have issues with money, listen and learn from those who have it, hang out with them instead of your fellow poverty ridden friends.

The worst thing you can do is to do nothing. There are multitudes of those out there playing the victim to their own insecurities. Don’t be the victim, be the conqueror!