I first heard the term “silly-season” while in Australia. I was there during the start of the silly-season, which is Christmas and New Year’s. I must admit it did seem silly to me – walking by shops trimmed for Christmas in sweltering summer heat. I had invited my older son, Bryan, to come along to the Great Barrier Reef. Turns out that December is a great time for the Great Barrier Reef.
Get to the point, Lloyd! (My inner voice is a tougher critic than you are, but why don’t both of you indulge me for a moment.) We are now in the THICK of the silly-season and I’m in full sympathy with the “relax a little” sentiment. This year has been a big push on all fronts and by God’s grace and with a lot of hard work, we have hit record years for Five Star and Sound Chiropractic at Northgate. After you press hard for a goal – and attain it – you at least take the time to appreciate, celebrate and contemplate what just happened.
It’s also a chance to rest. And I don’t mean run away from every positive discipline you’ve worked on all year. This is a big point coming right here: We have an obligation to structure our practices in such a way that we look forward to work. And that means that I’m not just holding my nose and pushing through “the misery that is practice” (as one prospective client put it). I refuse to live that way.
But even if you learned to love it all, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t work – even when it’s our mission and our passion. Great example: My client, friend and hero is Phil Kriss. Phil is 50-plus years old and an iron man triathlete. Just recently he did his personal best time of under 4:53 and change. There’s a lot more “go” than “quit” in Phil Kriss. However, after the training and racing there’s a rest, if for no other reason than to let his body recover. That’s what I’m talking about – a little R & R.
At this time of year I want to spend a couple days setting up an electric train for my grandson, Sean. I want to have third cup of coffee sitting by the fire watching the sun come up late over Port Susan. I want to do nothing long enough to get bored with that and look forward to coming back to help you and others do what makes us chiropractors. Merry Christmas and a happy and very successful New Year!
