"Who's the Boss?" 10 ways to start taking control (time management, goal setting, record tracking)

At first glance, it would seem that positive thinking and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) have nothing to do with one another. But many of us with ADD develop negative thinking patterns because we become frustrated by our challenges and frequent feelings of being overwhelmed. This negative outlook then makes it even harder for us to manage those challenges and move forward.
Practicing positive thinking allows people with ADD to focus on our strengths and accomplishments, which increases happiness and motivation. This, in turn, allows us to spend more time making progress, and less time feeling down and stuck. The following tips provide practical suggestions that you can use to help you shift into more positive thinking patterns:
1. Take Good Care of Yourself
It's much easier to be positive when you are eating well, exercising, and getting enough rest.
2. Remind Yourself of the Things You Are Grateful For
Stresses and challenges don't seem quite as bad when you are constantly reminding yourself of the things that are right in life. Taking just 60 seconds a day to stop and appreciate the good things will make a huge difference.
3. Look for the Proof Instead of Making Assumptions
A fear of not being liked or accepted sometimes leads us to assume that we know what others are thinking, but our fears are usually not reality. If you have a fear that a friend or family member's bad mood is due to something you did, or that your co-workers are secretly gossiping about you when you turn your back, speak up and ask them. Don't waste time worrying that you did something wrong unless you have proof that there is something to worry about.
4. Refrain from Using Absolutes
Have you ever told a partner "You're ALWAYS late!" or complained to a friend "You NEVER call me!"? Thinking and speaking in absolutes like 'always' and 'never' makes the situation seem worse than it is, and programs your brain into believing that certain people are incapable of delivering.
5. Detach From Negative Thoughts
Your thoughts can't hold any power over you if you don't judge them. If you notice yourself having a negative thought, detach from it, witness it, and don't follow it.
6. Squash the "ANTs"
In his book "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life," Dr. Daniel Amen talks about "ANTs" - Automatic Negative Thoughts. These are the bad thoughts that are usually reactionary, like "Those people are laughing, they must be talking about me," or "The boss wants to see me? It must be bad!" When you notice these thoughts, realize that they are nothing more than ANTs and squash them!
7. Practice Lovin', Touchin' & Squeezin' (Your Friends and Family)
You don't have to be an expert to know the benefits of a good hug. Positive physical contact with friends, loved ones, and even pets, is an instant pick-me-up. One research study on this subject had a waitress touch some of her customers on the arm as she handed them their checks. She received higher tips from these customers than from the ones she didn't touch!
8. Increase Your Social Activity
By increasing social activity, you decrease loneliness. Surround yourself with healthy, happy people, and their positive energy will affect you in a positive way!
9. Volunteer for an Organization, or Help another Person
Everyone feels good after helping. You can volunteer your time, your money, or your resources. The more positive energy you put out into the world, the more you will receive in return.
10. Use Pattern Interrupts to Combat Rumination
If you find yourself ruminating, a great way to stop it is to interrupt the pattern and force yourself to do something completely different. Rumination is like hyper-focus on something negative. It's never productive, because it's not rational or solution-oriented, it's just excessive worry. Try changing your physical environment - go for a walk or sit outside. You could also call a friend, pick up a book, or turn on some music.
When it comes to the corporate world, protocol is pretty much the religion. To know the things needed to do are the basics of productivity, but interaction and having a steady mind makes up the entire thing to true productivity. There are those who seem to work well even under pressure, but they're uncommon ones and we are human and imperfect. To get these little things like stress under our skins won't solve our problems. Sometimes it takes a bit of courage to admit that we're turning to be workaholics than tell ourselves that we're not doing our best.

The Wellness Generation of Chiropractic

Chiropractic

'Wellness' is a regular term in the chiropractic lexicon. It's commonly used by today's chiropractor in naming clinics, advertising services and the theme of countless chiropractic websites, many of which are templates for chiropractors to plug-in their pedigree information.
So, what exactly is wellness?
Wikipedia defines wellness as being generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being, and has been used in the context of alternative medicine since Halbert L. Dunn, M.D. began using the phrase 'high level wellness' in the 1950s. The modern concept of wellness (becoming popular in the 1970s) is a view of health emphasizing the state of the entire being and its ongoing development, and the constant, conscious pursuit of living life to its fullest potential. Alternative approaches to wellness are often denoted by the use of two different phrases - health & wellness and wellness programs. Whether these techniques actually improve physical health is controversial and is an unsettled subject.
D.D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, believed that spinal misalignments ('vertebral subluxations') were the cause of most health problems, ailments and diseases that were corrected by adjusting misaligned spinal bones to alleviate disturbances of nerve supplies to tissues and organs to allow 'Innate Intelligence' (inborn within the body) to act by way of the nervous system to heal disease within the body. Early chiropractic included palpation, a heat-sensing device ('neurocalometer') and x-rays to help diagnose subluxations. Today, palpation and x-rays are still used. Many chiropractors, primarily in spinal screenings, also use computerized testing devices incorporating Thermography and surface EMG to generate reports that purportedly show the locations of subluxations. The allied health sciences, and many chiropractors, contend Palmer's vertebral subluxation theory is not supported by scientific and clinical evidence.
Whose wellness is it? Is it the patient's health or the chiropractor's wealth that is the goal of the treatment?
Many chiropractors turn to practice building consultants for assistance with practice development and growth. Doctors find consultants waiting in line, proclaiming to have the answers for practice success. These consultants include individuals who purport to be specialist in multi-disciplinary practices, marketing whizzes, rehab specialists, as well as those gurus promoting "wellness practices." One may simply Google the term "chiropractic wellness" to observe the pervasiveness of this phenomenon.
On 10/9/09, a Department of Justice, Northern District of Georgia, press release announced the health care fraud indictment of Chiropractors Andrew Sokol and Julie Weisberg (owner - operators of "WellnessOne" clinics in Marietta, Buckhead, Duluth, Vinings, and other Atlanta locations) for allegedly billing insurers over $11 million in fraudulent services.
Guess which wellness guru these doctors used
- Wellness Guru 1 (WG1) Reports that subluxations are not structural (spinal misalignments) but neurologically based. Coaches' chiropractors on using a subluxation based wellness practice model to arouse the innate and build high volume wellness based practices. Offers the 'Million Dollar Report-of-Findings' course, which instructs on; Scripting for shifting back pain patients to wellness patients; Getting yearly commitments for care; Motivating new patients to choose lifetime care. Declares the very best marketing tool on the planet - Community Lectures & Wellness Screenings with the Insight Subluxation Station that allegedly results in new patients making appointments to have a nervous system check for unhealthy neurological patterns.
- Midwest Clinic applying WG1 protocols claims 525-770 patient visits per week; and over 90% of new patients come for care of unhealthy neurological patterns.
- Wellness Guru 2 (WG2) Reports to have the tools to create a system of wellness from the inside out, a total revolution in mind and body wellness, combining the latest scientific technology with the most advanced measurement and motivational program ever developed. Offers a never before achieved multi-dimensional (physical, bio-chemical and psychological) assessment of the positive and negative stresses in daily life.
- Southeast & Midwest Clinics applying WG2 protocols purports to be a modern boutique offering spinal adjustments, personal wellness programs, surface EMG and thermal scans to monitor the nervous system, computer postural assessments of spinal stress, custom orthotics, and pillows. On-line certificates for $175.00 off price of a health screening (consultation, x-rays and surface EMG/thermal scan) and aqua massage, reportedly valued at $250.00.
- Wellness Guru 3 (WG3) Reports the easiest, most cost effective solution to transform a chiropractor's identity from a (back) specialist to a wellness doctor, and a practice's identity from one patients go to for relief into a wellness center they go to for life.
- Southeast Clinic applying WG3 protocols alleges better health by teaching and practicing the true principles of chiropractic wellness care; the finest quality of care through modern chiropractic equipment and technology, including bio-impedence analysis, neuro and orthopedic exam and total health scan.
- Wellness Guru 4 (WG4) Reports to have a team of 12 coaches with a mission to maximize the lives of millions of people by helping them achieve god-given potential through health centers, chiropractic coaching, wellness programs, wellness products and foundation.
- Midwest Clinics applying WG4 protocols use a whole person approach to wellness looking for underlying causes of neurological disturbances. Internet users get initial consult, exam & x-rays for $20 - standard fee is $250 to $300. Claim better exam than a traditional medical doctor through use of latest technology, best scientific research and proven methods to help restore body to a state of vitality and wellness. Remove obstacles to wellness rather than treat symptoms. Free comprehensive wellness inventory (valued at over $200) that includes a biostructural evaluation, thermography neuro assessment, cellular nutrition consult, and radiological screen.
- Wellness Guru 5 (WG5) Reports to have an all-inclusive, upscale program to provide tools, expertise and coaching for building a chain of million-dollar offices. Claims superiority over traditional medical community by offering Real Healthcare and not Sicknesscare. Provides patients points to reward them for visits to and purchases from member clinics, which can be redeemed for merchandise, services and more, even travel.
- Clinics throughout the U.S. applying WG5 protocols claim: Free Consult / Exam / X-rays and spinal & posture screenings. Treat ADHD, allergies, asthma, auto accidents, back/neck pain, bedwetting, carpal tunnel, colic, ear infections, Fibromyalgia, headaches, pinched nerve, PMS, pregnancy, sciatica, scoliosis, slipped disc, stress, whiplash, wellness. Provide DRX9000, chiropractic, physiotherapy, massage.
One might conclude, from researching chiropractic wellness offerings that some chiropractors, in their quest to build the million dollar practice, participate in the chiropractic wellness generation by following a blueprint:
1. Combine chiropractic with wellness services & products into business plan for accessing healthcare dollars from healthcare consumers;
2. Repackage chiropractor from a 'back doctor' to a 'wellness doctor';
3. Redefine subluxations from spinal misalignments to unhealthy neurological patterns to facilitate apparent care for every condition under-the-sun;
4. Use dubious marketing, spinal screenings and workshops to identify consumers with a ready payment-source (e.g., insurance or cash) for future chiropractic services;
5. Offer free exams and other free services (e.g., massage) to get consumers in clinic for patient conversion;
6. Incorporate putative diagnostic devices intended to persuade consumers to participate as by providing printouts depicting the elusive chiropractic subluxation;
7. Emphasize that "wellness" chiropractors enhance quality of life, eliminate pain, lower stress, make one feel good, make one more active, enables the brain to communicate with the body to fight sickness and disease...;
8. Attack non-participating peers and other healthcare disciplines by alleging that they don't provide real healthcare or use latest technological advances; and
9. Increase patient retention by offering incentives (e.g., redeemable rewards) for continuing care, and by having patients sign-on for year-long care plans, and commit to lifetime chiropractic care.
So, what say you?
Daniel J. Osborne, M.S., is a renowned expert on health care fraud issues and recognized authority on health care compliance. He can be contacted at Provider Fraud Consultants, Inc. dba Chiropractic Compliance Consultants, Inc., 18065 238th Street,Tonganoxie, Kansas 66086, 913-669-6987, http://www.cccpfc.com