During this Chinese New Year break, I was able to take some time off to do some casual reading of my own. I picked up the book Take The Stairs – 7 Steps to Achieving True Success by Rory Vaden, that came to me by recommendation.
A common theme of a “successful habit” that rung throughout, was the notion of judging what you are doing at the moment in a longer-term perspective. The author suggests that a common mind-set in today’s society is of a narrow scope: focusing on the here and now – “Are we happy right now? Are we comfortable right now? Are things going our way right this minute? If not, let’s quit what we’re doing and find something that feels better”. As opposed to focusing on a broader scope of considering the bigger picture of whether what we are doing today is contributing to achieving a life we want for the future.
As I was reading the book, it struck me how the theme relates to that in aspects of my own life, and also in patients that come through my door at our chiropractic clinic. There are always going to be the patients who have the short-term symptomatic mindset, who come and disappear along with their pain. Hopefully they keep up with the homework that has been given to them! Then, there are those who clearly have a longer-term preventative mind-set to their health. They may have initially arrived with a problem, they would attend enthusiastically, doing their homework, and routinely returning for a check up to make sure that their spine and nervous system is working well. In the long run, the patients with the latter mentality are going to benefit more and live healthier with a better quality of life!
All in all, for those interested in books about self-discipline, focus and increasing productivity, I would recommend picking up the book – it really is an easy read! If that book is going into your to-read list, you’re most likely a motivated individual already, so just a light disclaimer… You would probably find ideas that you have already been implementing in your lives, but hey… be happy about that!
Happy Chinese New Year all!
Best Regards,
Dr. Alex Pak
