I recently bought my first lottery ticket, ever. You got to be in it, to win it, and all that. Several friends had convinced me that the lottery supported a good cause and "who knows ...?" While their chiropractic practices are doing well, I would repeatedly hear them comment, "When we win the lottery ..." Most of these sentences ended with an utterance of financial security and wealth.
Back to the financial security issue. The economic stability of the chiropractic practice (as with many businesses) can be scary, except to those in the upper brackets of faith and income. Shortly after graduation security becomes a goal, searching for that sense of SAFETY. On my wall, I have an embroidered and framed reminder of this safety issue. It is a colorful but simple depiction of Abraham Maslow's continuum line:
SAFETY < ------------------------------------> GROWTH
On any particular day of our lives, we can put a big dot on the line representing our position (for that day, previous days or future goals). The continuum suggests the forsaking of one behavior for the blessings of the other. You may have a big, yellow happy-face dot near the safety zone, giving up some growth by doing so. Or, you can go for the gusto on the growth end. As my husband says, supposedly quoting Pancho Villa, "No shoot, no loot." Well, I have lived with and accepted Maslow's line ever since PSY-101, but I started to wonder about it. Maybe I should turn the line vertically instead of horizontally. Put Growth on the top and Safety on the bottom. Oh wait, maybe it should go the other way. Then I realized, this is not fair. (Yes, I know, who ever told me life is fair?) Why must we give up one stage for another?
You face these questions in your office very day, in regard to both patients and the business. Do you stay with the usual adjustments or try a new technique? Do you go with managed care or remain cash-based, or vice-versa? Do you invest in some new and expensive technical diagnostic machine, or count your pennies? It's saving versus spending; growth versus safety. In my mind, I was beginning to sound like a four-year-old more and more often. "It's not fair ... but why not ... I want both flavors!"
Safety and security had always seemed to me like the ultimate answer to happiness. Once again, I begin to wonder. Then I think of a quotation by J. Paul Getty: "The meek shall inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights." So, who gets the mineral rights? Those who choose a path of growth only, or those who are cautious and choose safety? Okay, here is the catch you expected. The answer is neither, or both.
I did not, of course, figure this out for myself. Basically I'm from the Soupy Sales school of learning, where you need a pie in the face before you get it. The truth has been known for years. It is written as various precepts in most religious doctrines and philosophies. There is abundance in the universe, enough for all, but "the search for security is an illusion." "Those who seek security chase it for a lifetime without ever finding it." This is a quotation from Deepak Chopra's book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, a practical guide to the fulfillment of your dreams. Seem depressing? Sound as if we will never get what we want. On the contrary, it is an uplifting and rejuvenating notion. It sets the stage not for pie in the face, but to have your cake and eat it too.
"Uncertainty is the path to freedom," the ancients teach. Richard Bach exclaims a similar sentiment in his book, Running from Safety, when he says "... we must dimly know that saying good-bye to safety brings the only security we'll ever know." Growth is not superior to safety per se, just easier to plan. By striving for growth one can learn to accept change, and feel secure. It is the security of being able to accept, deal with, and even appreciate what life throws our way. Only by feeling comfortable with change do we ever feel secure, dovetailing with the concept of the only constant is change. So, we emphasize growth, learn to accept change and inadvertently obtain security. We get the whole kit and caboodle. (Is anyone sure they want a caboodle?)
Most chiropractors have very specific goals for their practices, some even faithfully written. These goals are not in conflict with the "law of detachment," the sixth law of an Indian philosophy, as explained by Deepak Chopra. We can write our goals and we can even visualize the outcome if we wish. However, if we cling to every minute detail we visualize (as some motivational speakers advise), we may limit our potential. The idea is that there is a world of possibilities around us that our rigid thoughts may shroud from our view. We can still set our goals and visualize our dreams, but if we force all the details we minimize our opportunities. Exciting lives can emerge from the chaos and confusion around us if we are watchful of the opportunities. Raise your hand if you have not heard that the Chinese word for opportunity is the same word symbol as that for crisis. It is an equivalent concept.
A child may love carnival rides and always visualize a turn on the local roller coaster. Concentrating only on that the child may never experience the thrills and grandeur of Space Mountain, the ultimate roller coaster ride resulting from the imaginations of many children, I mean developers. Some of the twists and turns in a roller coaster type of life may be far more exciting and imaginative than our original plans.
In Biblical terms it is a practical application of "Thy will be done." Whatever the "will" of the universe may be, if we can accept its changes, we can then make the best of it. That is a fairly secure feeling. But if we set out to feel secure, we will resist change and never accomplish the goal. It is similar to those stars that seem so bright from the corner of our eyes, but when we search for them directly it is as if they disappear. "Shop for security over happiness and we buy it at that price," says Richard Bach.
If you have been good enough to read up to this point and still find it utterly confusing, let me summarize. We can set our goals, visualize a general result, go for the gusto, accept what comes and look for the silver lining, as well as pack as many cliches into one sentence as is possible. Our financial security is the same. Set goals and plan, but do not force solutions so precisely that opportunities are overlooked. I still save investment money, but pray that God will let me demonstrate that if I win the lottery, I will still pump my own gas and stay as sweet as I am.
Just a thought!
Barbara Klein BS, MPS, DC
3232 N. Main St.
Waterbury, Connecticut 06704