37 Years… and a Few Things I Wish I’d Known Earlier
In a few weeks, I will have been a chiropractor for 37 years. That’s crazy!! Imagine being that old! 😊
Thirty-seven years isn’t exactly a milestone you celebrate with balloons and champagne, but it has made me stop and reflect on some of the things I’ve learnt along the way. Interestingly, many of the most important lessons haven’t come from textbooks, courses or research papers. They’ve come from experience; from practice members, colleagues, mistakes, successes, conversations, challenges and simply living life.
So, if I could sit down with the much younger chiropractor I was 37 years ago, here are a few things I’d tell her:
1. Less is more.
You don’t need to do everything. Learn to recognise what matters, do it well, and resist the temptation to continually add more.
Life changes, skills improve and new technologies emerge. Keep learning and growing, and add the things that genuinely make your life and practice better, more effective or easier. But remember that adding something new may also mean letting go of something old. Just don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!
This is particularly important when caring for children. Little nervous systems can only process so much input. More isn’t necessarily better. Sometimes the greatest skill is knowing how much is enough.
2. Never stop learning — but put what you learn into practice.
Keep learning, growing and expanding your thinking. But remember: seminar handouts don’t help your people flourish.
Choose the things that can genuinely make a difference to your care and your life. Practise them. Become confident with them. Integrate them into what you do.
You don’t have to implement everything you learn on Monday morning. Pick one or two things that matter and actually use them. That’s when learning becomes valuable.
3. Find your tribe — and don’t be afraid to reach out.
Connect with colleagues who challenge you, inspire you and support you. Meet with them at seminars, in your local community and online. These are the people who can expand your thinking, hold you accountable, celebrate your successes and understand your challenges.
And be brave enough to approach the teachers and lecturers who inspire you. Ask questions. Dig deeper. Start a conversation. The people you admire are usually far more approachable than you imagine — and often very happy to help.
4. Know what matters to you.
Take the time to understand, and continually refine, your purpose.
Let it guide what you say yes to, what you let go of and where you choose to spend your precious time and energy.
And listen to your gut, your heart and your body. Underneath all the thinking, analysing and second-guessing, you often already know what is right for you.
5. Don’t forget to appreciate NOW.
Children grow up. Practices change. Careers evolve. People come and go. The things that feel completely ordinary today can suddenly become the things we look back on and miss the most.
It is so easy to keep looking ahead - to the next goal, the next seminar, the next stage of practice or life - and forget to appreciate what is right in front of us.
Take the time to notice the people around you. Enjoy what you have created. Celebrate the small wins. Appreciate this particular chapter of your life.
Be present for NOW. It can all change in a heartbeat.
Maybe that’s why The Kids Summit means so much to me.
It brings together so many of these lessons.
It’s an opportunity to keep learning. To question and expand our thinking. To connect with people who share our passion for caring for children and families. To chat with the speakers, ask the questions and have the conversations that simply don’t happen when we learn alone.
And then, of course, to take what we learn home and put it into practice, because seminar notes don’t help children thrive!
