It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? Another month in the books. February is upon us. They say time flies and I reckon it does feel like that. Yet, for so many people it just passes they by one day into the next and before you know it another month gone.
This is why we always want to encourage patients to move forward today, right now, on their pathway to health. It’s very simple: if not now – when?
Furthermore, there is no good reason to wait. You literally have nothing to lose but time and that’s just the thing, time is all we have.
I have talked throughout January all about working hard to make your time more valuable and paying attention to what and who you let waste your time. I do hope you’ve focused in on it and done something with it.
The theme is simple… what’s the point of delaying anything? Not much, not if it’s something you want, not if it’s something you deserve, not if it’s something that will make your life better.
Because the faster you make something better the more time you have to enjoy the benefits of it.
That’s a powerful sentence and it may be the easiest sentence there is to use with your patients whenever they want to delay. Simply remind them that there is no time like the present and the faster they get healthy the longer they get to enjoy their health. By the way, they also avoid the consequences of delay, which is the other big point to make and use whenever necessary.
And, of course, as it always is what applies to your patients applies equally to you. So, what are you delaying that you shouldn’t be? What is something you should have acted on already this year? What will you do to get better?
Here’s the secret phrase (are you ready for it?) …
You are either getting by or getting better!
I just love that one. Imagine saying to someone, “Look, Mrs. Jones, it’s really simple at this point, you’re just getting by with your health and you deserve to be getting better. I know what I want for you, what do you want for yourself?”
Now that’s nice, polite, and very poignant and you aren’t letting the patient off the hook. You are challenging them to take responsibility for their health (which they are supposed to do) and you are taking responsibility to help them on their pathway to health as you’ve laid out.
Go to work on this easy phrasing by practicing with one another and then incorporating it into your conversations.
Now, how about you? What are you just getting by with…
At home, your health, your routine, your confidence, your goals? Is there anything that you’d like to challenge yourself to change, improve, and be better?
And what else can be better in the practice?
Phone calls?
Screening?
Scheduling?
Engaging Patients?
Complete Health Diagnosis?
Comprehensive Treatment Presentation?
Pre-Payment?
Team Communication?
I know, it was a trick question. Everything can always be better.
And that’s why this is not just a saying, it’s a culture, it’s an attitude, it’s the constant challenge of champions – either getting by or getting better!
