The View from Sports Center

It Just Keeps Going...

Your knee hurts. You want a cure. You're tired of it and just want it to stop hurting. Every time you go for a run, there it is: a pain that is more persistent than the Energizer Bunny. Countless doctors, scans, and therapies have led you back to the same place: no cure. No better.

Injuries and illnesses are many times your body's way of seeking a new equilibrium and will either force you to change something in your life or will change your life for you. People change only when the pain is bad enough and even then, may choose to ignore sage advice (which means that it still is not yet bad enough). I have had countless conversations with people that generally follow this pattern:

"How can I help you?"

"My knee hurts when I run. I would like to get it fixed. I want to run. I love to run and I want to be able to run as I get older. So, I need to get my knee fixed."

"Are you running now?"

"Oh yeah. Absolutely. I mean - I am gonna run. No matter what - I am running."

"I see. Then, why are you here?"

"Uhhh....good question. I don't know. I guess...I guess I was looking for some stretches or exercises or something. You know, that I could do on my own that would..uhhh...I guess fix whatever is wrong so I could keep running."

Sound familiar? This is a search for a cure when what the body is asking for is healing. Here's the difference. A cure is a fix. It changes your body: tissues mend, joints move better, or muscles grow stronger. Most of modern, western medicine is organized around this concept of a cure. "Steel heals" - cut it out and move on. We all want something quick and easy that will get rid of the wrong.  But, a cure, no matter how fast or slow, is many times incomplete. 

Your injured tissue may heal, but you may not. Healing changes your soul. The type of thinking and choices you possessed that led you to your problem are rarely the same type of thinking and choices you need to solve the problem. Recognizing how you think and make choices and then deliberately changing them is what creates healing. Healing comes from accepting where you are and creating a new balance. It doesn't mean you must give up the quest to run again. It doesn't mean that you cannot ever run again. It does mean you must evaluate why you run even though you hurt. Why are you hurting yourself? The answer to that question is where you will find healing.

I help people heal. Some find cures and are happy enough. Some find healing without a cure and are ecstatic. Of course, I love helping people find both a cure and healing but if I have to choose, I choose healing.

My advice is to always pursue a path that leads you to healing no matter how hard it may be. On this  path, you will find the real "cure".

Doug Kelsey
Author. Speaker. Therapist.

P.S. Thank you so much to the first graduates from Sports Center's professional training series, "The Latest Advancements in Sports Rehab". They enjoyed an amazing 2 days in Austin learning our secrets to healing clients with spine disease. I will share with you next week their wonderful comments and the course agenda for our next talk, The Shoulder: Rehab for Rotator Cuff Tendonitis, Tendonosis, and Repair, on August 4-5th. We accept only 12 clinicians for this seminar and I have a feeling many of this week's graduates will take many of those spots. Call Angie at 512-206-0433 to reserve your seat today.

The Six Things You Need To Live

There are six things you need to live. Do you know what they are?

The first five are fairly obvious:

1. Air
2. Food
3. Water
4. Sleep
5. Shelter

No air - no life. You can live several weeks without food depending on how much body fat you have. You can live a few days, perhaps up to ten depending on conditions, without water. Total sleep deprivation in rats causes death in two weeks (granted, rats are not humans, but amazingly are very similar. After all, there's a reason we use the phrase "you dirty rat"). Living without any shelter in the sub-zero weather of Montana or the blistering Texas summer heat leads to a slew of problems including death if you stay in those conditions long enough.

So, what's the sixth?

Some may argue that without joy, our soul shrivels soon followed by the body. Or maybe without a purpose in life we find ourselves slowly fading into oblivion. And, without movement and exercise, our muscles shrink, heart grows weak, bones soften and lungs begin to fail. All of these are true. They are all examples of the sixth thing you need to live: stress.

While many of you may want to remove stress from your life, should you try, you will create more problems than you can imagine. If you remove all physical stress from your life, you will die. Physical or mechanical stress is critical for optimal bodily functions. Your heart needs physical stress, your lungs need physical stress and your bones, muscles, nerves, and brain require physical stress.

While physical stress is critical, so are mental and emotional stress. We are social beings. We need to be needed and our emotional muscle grows from our interactions with those around us even if those interactions are difficult or uncomfortable. Consider this: social isolation is as detrimental to your health as cigarette smoking. The "how" and "why" behind this finding have yet to be fully explained but the power of social interaction has been well documented over many decades.

The secret to a happy and healthful life is balanced stress. Many of us have too much of one type of stress or another. Too much thinking and not enough moving; too much moving and not enough loving; too much loving and not enough thinking; and on and on.

Too much stress will always find an outlet; an overflow valve like a hot water heater. Sometimes our troubles in life are expressions of this stress overflow.  Maybe your back ache is really the heartache of losing something or someone you love. Or maybe your weight gain is really a way to keep people away; to keep them from knowing the real you. And, perhaps your insistence on exercising, even though you hurt, is one way to feel in control of something in a life that is out of control.

I cannot tell you how to balance your life. What is balanced for me may be very unbalanced for you. But, if you examine your life (your relationships, your health, and your happiness for starters), I think you will soon discover your own sense of balance. You will find, should you choose to accept them, the areas of your life that need balancing.

My advice - find ways to work less; laugh more. Spend time doing the things you really love to do; activities that make your heart soar. Even if it is just a few minutes a day. Find the time. The stress will do you good.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Speaker. Therapist.

Why Hope Matters

The orthopedist sat at his desk facing a wall. He was jotting instructions on a pre-operative form. I was sitting in a chair up against the other wall staring at his back.

"Well, you know, you'll never run again," said the orthopedic surgeon without looking up.

At the time, in 1994, I understood he may be right.  The words, sharp and pointed, plunged like a knife through my heart. I felt a bit short of breath.

"Uh...yeah. But what about unloaded running? " I replied.

"What? Well, yes. Unloaded would be OK, maybe. But, not full body weight. You know that though. I don't need to explain it to you. Do you need anything else? These instructions will outline everything you need before Tuesday," and he handed me the sheet of paper.

The surgeon assumed that, because I know a fair amount about joints, cartilage and what makes them better and worse, and that some people with a joint surface and meniscal injury cannot run again, I would share his opinion. I did not. I have learned that the more I learn, the more I have to learn. I am not even close to understanding all there is to know about joints, cartilage, pain, and loss of function. But, I do know this. You never take away a person's hope.

What is hope?

Hope is not wishful thinking. It is not, "I wish I could run...I wish I never had hurt my knee....I wish I could..." No. Hope rises out of truth. Reality serves as hope's foundation upon which you build your future. Hope requires something of you. You have to act. You cannot sit on the sidelines muttering under your breath that you wish your life was different. You make it different. You accept your current situation but never let go of your dreams regardless of how grandiose they may seem.

But, perhaps you are wondering, isn't that false hope? Is there such a thing? Is it OK to hold onto a dream no matter how absurd it may seem? Must we dash a person's dreams because we see no possibility of winning?

This time of the year is a favorite of mine: March Madness. College basketball at its very best for nearly a whole month. Every game produces a winner and a loser. I look for the winners on the losing team; the guys who, even though their team is down by 20 points with 30 seconds left in the game, play like it's a 2 point margin. Some people might argue, "Why bother? You won't win." True. But, it doesn't matter. The next time the score may be 2 points and guess what? You've been there. You know how to never quit. And, this time, you come out on top.

When you pursue something that is out of your reach, you stretch yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. The very act of pursuit changes you. And, everyone you meet is affected by your actions. Maybe the benefit of hope is not the end result. Maybe the benefit of hope is what is does to you.

No matter the score, how dire the situation, how badly you feel, never give up on hope. Hope is all you have. Hope fuels your dreams, changes you and ultimately determines who you will become.

Always have hope.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Speaker. Therapist.
 

 

Are You Playing Hurt?

If you play Major League Baseball and get hurt badly enough that you can't play, you can be placed on the "Disabled List" (DL) while you tend to your injury. This may be for 15 days or 60 days or both. Not a bad deal really. You get paid, focus on overcoming your injury and don't have to work. Before you go back to the big leagues, you can spend time on a "rehabilitation assignment" in the minor leagues, fine tuning your game and making sure you are good to go back to "the show". Similarly in the National Football League, you could be placed on a "Physically Unable to Perform" (PUP) list or may be placed on Injured Reserve (IR). In either case, you do not work while you rehabilitate yourself back from your injury.

Most of us though, who work to support ourselves and our family, do not have the luxury of a DL, PUP or IR. You might have an injury but you still have to go to work, tend to young children, fulfill duties and responsibilities that simply cannot be ignored. You play hurt which is a very difficult thing to do.

If you have to "play hurt", here are three things you need to consider:

1. Give yourself a break. Adjust your expectations. Recovery from an injury is slower when you continue to play. It's not impossible but it is much more difficult. As a general rule, the longer you have had the problem, the longer it will take to recover and rebuild yourself.

2. Be responsible; not foolish. Playing hurt is sometimes what you have to do. But, let's not confuse being responsible with being foolish. Larry Bird, one of the all time greats in professional basketball, played hurt in the 1991 playoffs against the Indiana Pacers. He was struggling with a lower back injury. He had a great game; 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists. A triple double. He led the Boston Celtics to victory and then spent the night in traction at a local Boston hospital. A year later, he was forced into retirement due to his back.  Was Larry being responsible or foolish? Hmmm...

3. Watch out for the "shoulds". When you play hurt, you can also develop a bad case of the "shoulds": I should be better by now. I should be stronger. I should heal faster. I should......fill in the blank. While you're thinking about what you should be able to do, you're missing the opportunity to actually do what you're able to do. The shoulds keep you shackled in the jail of wishful thinking.

Are you frustrated by the consistent variability of your problem? Does pain visit you more often than you would like? Have a case of the shoulds? Maybe you're "playing hurt".

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Speaker. Therapist.

P.S. We are proud to announce the release our first audio CD designed specifically for the clinician: The 411 On Pain - Are You Hurt or Just Hurting? Order this CD today and discover:

• The difference between hurting and being injured.
• How injury heals your body.
• The three elements of pain.
• How to identify inflammation and what to do.
• The problem of analgesic arthropathy.
• Why feeling better does not equate to being better.
• And much, much more!

Order your copy today online for only $9.99!

Update from a Winner

I received an email recently from a former client, Omar Zia, who overcame a difficult knee problem. In fact, his situation is one shared by tens of thousands of people worldwide many of whom all share the misguided notion that there is nothing they can do. The problem? Injury to the articular cartilage of the knee sometimes referred to as chondromalacia, degenerative joint disease or patellofemoral syndrome.

I was very pleased to hear from him and asked him if I could share his comments with the rest of the world. He graciously agreed. We can learn a lot from Omar. Pay attention to his shift in attitude from a "treatment" perspective to one of a lifestyle. Notice also, his focus on the principles of loading and unloading, training and recovery, goal setting and paying close attention to the language of his body.

Below is his email to me and following that, my response. I hope you learn as much as I did.

Make today count.
Doug Kelsey
*******************

Hi  Doug-

It's Omar Zia here. I have been doing remarkably well since I  completed physical therapy with you last year.

Actually, my thinking has changed and I  really don't consider that my physical therapy is over, but rather it is in life-long  maintenance mode.  I have been using principles of controlled loading  and unloaded joint circulation to continue to increase my load capacity.  I can now carry a 35 lb backpack with no issue and I am targeting 55lbs  by July. My trip to Alaska is a go....plane tickets bought! . I now  pay  attention to what my body tells me. Not just during the activity, but in  the next 2 days following. I regularly work in a recovery week every 4  weeks of training.

I recently made  an observation which you may enjoy. Last week, through a combination of work, exercise and attending SXSW music shows, I was not getting much  sleep. I noticed that I was losing my voice. By Saturday afternoon, I  finally got to take a nap. When I woke up from my nap, (actually my wife  woke me up), I could feel that my body was quite hot and my patella  tendons felt swollen. These seem to be symptoms of the body fighting something or trying to recover. I jumped to the conclusion that lack of  sleep shuts down the body's ability to heal and sleep kicks those  mechanisms into high gear when needed.

Do you think  there is any truth to this conclusion?

Finally, my  training always involves rest days between weight loading workouts, yet when I go on my backpacking, we will have sustained hiking for 6 days  in a row. Should this be a concern for me? Is there a device or knee  brace which would be beneficial for me to use during the  trip?

Thanks,

Omar
****************
Omar -
It's great to hear from you and how well  you're doing.

As far as your observation on lack of sleep and healing,  there is actually a good argument for your conclusion. Lack of sleep tends to  alter levels of certain hormones (stress related) which then can interfere  with various healing and anti-inflammatory activities of the body as well as  lowering one's pain threshold. Generally, the sleep deprivation is a bit  longer than what you described but perhaps in your case, a week is all that it  takes.

For your training, the main question is: does your training  intensity exceed your anticipated performance intensity? For example, some of  the best training for a marathon does not require running multiple marathons.  It does require a certain amount of high intensity (higher speed intervals)  blended with occasional longer duration runs. So, for your 6 day marathon, I  would look at it terms of the intensity of the day (is it several hours  non-stop or is it shorter periods of time with intervening rests) and how well  does your exercise routine prepare you for the either the constant level of  hiking or the intervals? My advice is to take frequent short breaks during  your hikes and, if you have access to a stationary cycle or a pool, to spend  15 minutes either lightly cycling or walking in the water after your day of  hiking.

Keep it  going. You're a star pupil.

Best Regards,

Doug  Kelsey
Author. Speaker.  Therapist.

Fixing My Golf Swing

"What can I do for you?"

"I'm not happy with my scoring. My drives are off, I'm in the woods a lot. I feel like my swing is off but I've been practicing. I'm just not getting much better."

"Show me what you are doing."

The hopeful golfer takes his stance and swings forcefully at the ball. The club strikes the small white ball with a violent force sending it rocketing well off to the right of the driving range.

"See. I just cannot hit the thing straight."

"Where are you aiming?"

"I'm aiming straight ahead. But, something is off in my swing. The ball is not going straight and I'm very frustrated."

"Perhaps you are aiming where your ball is going."

"Ok. So, you're saying that my ball may not be going to the right? It may actually be going straight?"

"Yes. That is precisely what I am saying."

"Hmmm...I guess I don't know what I am aiming at then."

"Your swing is fine but you are aimed to the right. We do not need to work on your swing. We need to work on your aim."

This was a conversation I had a few years ago with my golf teacher, Barbara Puett. I learned a lot that day on the driving range about my golf game but was also reminded of a more basic principle in life: where you end up depends on where you aim.

Katie Thompson, 11 years of age, of Metarie, LA,  wrote to me and asked, "Are goals good?"  Yes, Katie, goals are good. Without a goal, we often flounder, feel dissatisfied and are frustrated in life.

Most of us spend a lot time trying to get someplace specific in life: a better job, more money, a new car, a bigger house, finer clothes. We work hard, long hours. We sacrifice our free time and our health thinking the hard work will someday deliver us to our dreams only to discover the dreams keep inching away. We think the acquisition of some tangible good represents success. Somehow a new home or car will quiet the storm in our souls. But, it never does. We have aimed at the wrong target.

Just like my golf swing, effort is not the problem. It's your aim. Where you aim is a very personal decision that only you can decide. How do you know if you are aimed at the right target ? If you are happy and content, love what you do, enjoy your days and generally feel good about how you spent your time, you probably are on the right path. If you spend much of your day worrying about the future, wondering if you will ever arrive, feel tired and worn out then maybe it's time to reassess your targets.

Check your aim first. You may find you can work less and have more if you are aimed at the right thing.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

P.S. Space is filling up for our professional course "The Spine: Diagnosis and Treatment of Lumbar Degenerative Disc and Joint Disease". Don't miss out on the great opportunity to work 2 days directly with Dr. Kelsey and the Sports Center team at our training facility in Austin, Texas. Call Angie Francis at 512-206-0433 to sign up today.

WFTP (Wishing for Things Past) - Your Station?

Have you  ever caught yourself turning down the radio in your car when you're trying to figure out where you need to go?  It's as if the volume of the radio is somehow connected to your ability to navigate and drive a car.  Odd.  The same thing happens when you're talking on the phone with one person and someone else walks up to you and starts asking you questions.  Who do you listen to?  You cannot listen to both at the same time.  Why is that?

The reason you can listen to only one person at a time and have to turn down the radio to find your way is because of the way sound is processed in your brain.  It is entirely different than a picture.  You can easily watch a large bank of televisions as long as the sound is turned down.  But when you have to read and listen, your brain is jammed or as a friend and former student of mine Tony LaSorsa says, " T-boned", by the interference.  When you read, your brain must convert words into an auditory representation.  In fact, do you remember studying in school and reading entire pages of material only to suddenly realize you have no clue what you just read?  Your eyes were reading but your brain wasn't listening.

Sometimes this is what happens to us as we go through trials and troubles in life. In the midst of our difficulty, we begin wishing for something else. But, we cannot focus on two things at the same time. We cannot look backward wishing for things that are long gone and also  look forward hoping for a brighter future. Just like driving and listening to the radio. When you dial into WFTP (Wishing For Things Past), if you're not careful, you'll crash.

The past is good for two things: reflecting upon fond memories and learning from your mistakes. Spending time wishing things were different is futile. Wishing steals your dreams. When you wish, you take no action. You talk about how you wish your knee didn't hurt, or you could lose weight, or you made more money, but nothing happens. Nothing changes. People whose dreams come true, make them come true. They learn from the past and shape their future.

When you find yourself dialed into WFTP, change the channel. Tune into what you really want. Focus on what you need to do today and do it even if it is just one, small thing. Only action yields results.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Why Problems Are Good

I opened the dishwasher in the midst of a washing cycle, interrupting the gushing, clunking sound. As I peered in, steam rushed out and enveloped my face leaving me functionally blind as the lenses of my glasses completely fogged over. Frustrated, I groped through the fog searching for the buried treasure. I could have taken my glasses off, but I knew I would be equally blind without them.

I finally managed to find my treasure, the blender, without stabbing myself. I pulled it out, shut the dishwasher door and placed the blender on the counter. My glasses were still fogged. They stayed that way for quite a while.

It was during this foggy expedition around the kitchen that something occurred to me. How do you find your way, anywhere, when what you look through is foggy? How much of our trouble in life stems from foggy lenses? How many poor choices, mistakes and goofs come from ambling through the fog?

Just as early morning fog clears from the heat of the sun, fog in your life clears from the heat of problems. Problems clarify. Of course, it rarely feels that way at the time. The secret to using your problems to help reduce the fog in your life is to first disengage the emotional jet engine. You must become aware of your rising frustration and interrupt it with a couple of questions:

    * What can I learn?
    * How is this helping me?
    * What if the problems I am currently having are actually preparing me for something else?
    * What if the skills I develop in solving these problems turn out to be critical later in my life?

I know. In the midst of anger and frustration or in the depth of the blues, it is hard to imagine that you can learn anything much less use it. And, sometimes the feelings you have are therapeutic as long as they do not take up residence and live with you day after day.

John Lennon once said, "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans." While you are busy being ticked off or frustrated, you miss opportunities and that's what life is: opportunity.

The next time you find the fog of frustration or anger settling over you, ask yourself, "What will I miss while I am in this fog?" As soon as you ask that simple question, the fog will begin to clear and you will be in your life again instead of it silently slipping you by.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Are You Giving Your Best?

"Just do your best. If we lose, then we can say we lost to a better team. Just do your best."

I heard that phrase or some variation of it all through my high school and college years. When my team won or when I came out on top, it was easy to feel I had done my best but when I lost, I always felt as if I could have done something better. If I had only...

How do you know when you have done your best if you lose? What does it mean to do your best? At work? At home? With your children? For yourself?

Doing your best is an act of the heart without expectation of reward. Many people work for money, which is understandable as money pays our bills, sends our children off to college, and secures our retirement. But, if your work effort is determined by your pay, your pay will always be less than you desire. You think to yourself, "Why should I try any harder? I never get a raise. No one notices anyway. Who cares?" That type of thinking will keep you in the bowels of any organization and perhaps one day get you fired. When your best effort is independent of what salary you make, you will find yourself making more money. Employers generally reward people who do more than what is expected, do the job correctly, and do it on time without being reminded. But, even if your employer is one who does not reward you, you must still do your best. Why? Because someday you will be in a job where an employer will notice that you routinely do your best. You developed the habit from years of applying yourself and the habit is now a part of you.

Doing your best frees you from the guilt of knowing you did less than your best and guilt is a heavy yoke to carry day to day. We do all sorts of things to get out from under its weight: drink, gamble, eat, exercise too much or stare at the television flipping channels. And by the way, if you routinely do your best and your employer never notices, never says thank you, never rewards you in anyway, go someplace else. Go where you're celebrated not where you're tolerated. Doing your best does not mean you must be an under appreciated slave. But, before you jump to this conclusion, have you really done your best?

Doing your best means acting your best when no one is watching. When we are young (and not necessarily chronologically), we need frequent praise to build our esteem. We learn that when we do our best, we get something. But, when the praise fades our interest in doing our best often fades as well. We cut corners. We hurry. We're late. These are all behaviors which later surface to ruin a career or relationship. Do your best when no one is looking and you will really shine when someone is looking.

Doing your best means doing what needs to be done when you do not want to do it. Your children need help with their homework but you had a 10-hour work day. You help your children anyway. Your wife or husband needs to talk about a pressing matter, so you stop what you are doing and give your complete attention. You're over budget this month, would really like to go out to dinner instead of cooking something at home, but make the choice to create something special for the family or yourself.

All successful athletes know that training is one of the keys to improving performance. Training the mind and the body day after day when it would be easier to sleep in, watch television or just skip the workout. But, great athletes show up, practice, persist and demonstrate patience. They do their best over and over.

Knowing you have done your best is not measured by a set of duties, a series of actions or items on a list you can check off. Knowing you have done your best is a feeling and feelings do not come from your head. They come from your heart. Belief lives in the heart. If you feel you have done your best, if you believe you have done your best, you will know. Doing your best means having no guilt, no second thoughts, no misgivings about your efforts. You are clear. Whether first place or last place, you know.

Just do your best.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

P.S. The response to Sports Center's upcoming seminar for clinicians in 2005 has been tremendous. Thank you to each of you that wrote in to ask be part of our inaugural class. Stay tuned over the coming weeks for the topic and the date. You won't want to miss it.

Climbing Silos

When I was a youngster, I was very adventurous (just ask my mother - she'll confirm it). At the age of 7 or so, we lived on a farm that was filled with all sorts of great things to explore some of which could potentially cause you to lose an arm or a leg. I was forever getting a very stern talk or an occasional spanking to no avail (no, I wasn't abused as a kid and that is not why I occasionally talk to myself). I would jump off the top of the barn into a moving hay wagon, pump gasoline into the air and light a match to watch the cascade of color across the sky or hop on a horse or a cow for a wild ride through the pasture. No fear. Until, one day I made a mistake.

The farm had two concrete silos each about 50 - 60 feet high. Steel cabling wrapped them from top to bottom about three to four feet apart. It was a climbers dream. The top was arched and finished with a nice flat spot just begging me to climb up. I just knew if I stood atop the silo, I could see the curve of the earth. All you had to do was grasp one rung at a time. How hard could that be?

Climbing up was not difficult even though at the time the distance between the rungs was well over half my height. I just grabbed, pulled and up I went. As I neared the top, I glanced down. Big mistake. I looked where I did not want to go and I froze. I was now a good 40 feet off the ground, alone, and could not get down. I was holding on to the metal rungs as tightly as I could. My arms ached. My feet slipped. I dangled for what seemed like forever.

I managed to get my feet back onto the rungs but I felt my grip fading. I started yelling, "Hey! Somebody! Hey! I'm up here! Somebody come get me!" After a short time, I felt this huge hand grab my back. It was our neighbor from down the road. I always thought he was a giant. Today, he was.

He grabbed my back with one hand and guided me back down the silo. I went down the way I came up - one rung at a time with the steady hand of our neighbor. And I made it back down. I'm sure I got another lecture that evening.

If you find yourself talking about what you cannot do, wishing for something you used to do, or fearing what might be in the future, you often will do what I did on the silo. Nothing. You freeze. Words like, "What if I never...but what if I can't” are immobilizing and defeating. They keep your attention on what you do not want instead of what you do want. Sometimes you need help, as I did on the silo, to guide you and keep you on the right path. But the focus and the effort must come from you. You decide to focus on the rungs. You decide to move one hand then one foot. You decide to look where you want to go.

Changing your situation in life takes effort. Sometimes, it's hard, very hard. But, if you hope to win, you must focus and the harder it seems, the more focus you need.

Rung by rung, my friends. Rung by rung.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Walk This Way

We have a lot of active people in our neighborhood. On any given day you will see joggers and walkers, a mom or dad pushing a stroller or a happy dog with his owner. People are walking briskly or even jogging. Some days though, I see a few people who are just ambling slowly down the sidewalk. They seem to lack a certain intensity or sense of purpose. Maybe they feel weak that day, maybe they just have a low-keyed personality or maybe they just cannot walk much faster for very long.

I have considered stopping them and saying, "Pardon me, but I noticed you walk slowly. Do you do this on purpose? Can you walk any faster or is this your top speed? Did you know that how fast you walk is a good predictor of your state of health? Do you feel ok?" But I'm sure they would respond not only with shock and surprise but may even pull out a cell phone and dial 911.

It's true. Walking velocity or speed (the distance you cover in a period of time) is a good indicator of your health and likely what's in store for you in the future much like blood pressure, cholesterol and body fat levels. Walking speed predicts dependency, mortality and institutionalization in people over the age of 70*. People over the age of 65 who walk more slowly than normal have a much higher incidence of falling (and by the way, the timing at stoplights to cross the street is based on normal walking speeds!). This fact is important because falls are the sixth leading cause of death for people over the age of 65. Walking research consistently reports decreasing walking velocity with advancing age. And, we have as a society accepted walking slowly as normal for older adults. But, is it a normal consequence of aging or does it happen for other reasons and can you prevent or delay the onset?

How fast you walk is partly determined by your cadence or the number of steps you take per minute. Cadence does not vary much as you get older and is fairly consistent among adults at 117 steps / minute. What changes is your step length. As you age, if you aren't careful, your velocity will decrease because your step length decreases. This begins in your 30s and 40s. You move slowly taking frequent, small steps and this is when the risk of falling goes up dramatically.

But, to be fair we all walk at different speeds or what is termed our free speed. I may choose to walk slowly because I want to enjoy the breeze and sound of the ocean on a sparsely populated beach at sundown. But, I still have a top speed or a higher gear I can use and sustain for an extended period of time. Top speed is walking briskly but not as fast as you can (which is maximum speed). It's kind of like a first gear/second gear relationship.

Your body is exceptionally good at using only what it needs in terms of energy, muscles and joints. It adapts in either a positive or negative way. As you age, if you do not maintain your top speed by consciously stressing your body, then your top speed gradually declines toward your free speed. Soon, top speed equals free speed.

Once top speed equals free speed, you will only get gradually slower and more feeble until one day you fall. One of the keys to keeping yourself healthy is to maintain a gap between your top speed and your free speed. Here's how to do it:

Walk about 100 meters at your normal free speed. Pick a number on a scale of 0 -10 (where 0 is super easy and 10 is super hard) that represents the degree of difficulty of the walk. Let's assume you choose 2/10 or quite easy. Now, walk 100 meters at your top speed. Pick a number again. Let's assume the number is 8 or fairly hard. The degree of difficulty difference is 6 (top speed - free speed). The larger that number gets, the worse for you. You want your top speed effort to feel almost as easy as your free speed effort. This will occur only when your body is used to moving at top speeds and it gets that way only from walking at top speeds.

Top speed walking is best done by focusing on taking a little longer step than you are used to taking. The easiest way to do this is to walk uphill or on an incline on a treadmill for a few minutes a day (just starting out) building up to 15- 20 minutes per day. Remember, you need a longer step length, not more steps per unit of time.

Walking speed is a critical marker for your future youth, but one very few people know about. Because our society is so sedentary, this physical ability erodes slowly over time, usually beginning in your 30s and 40s, eventually leaving you at risk for serious injury and even death. And, it is very simple to fix.

No matter your age, get up and get walking.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

* Reference: Woo J, Ho S C, Yu L M "Walking speed and stride length predicts 36 months dependency, mortality, and institutionalization in Chinese 70 and older" JAGS, 1999 Oct; 47, 1257-1260

The Zen Master

How many people do you know who are unhappy with their position in life? Or maybe it is you. Frustrated. Worried. Fearful. These are the thoughts that limit positive change, yet often occupy space in your mind. What do you do? How do you change your situation?

Phil Jackson, former coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, said in his book Sacred Hoops, "In Zen it is said that the gap between accepting things the way they are and wishing for them to be otherwise is the tenth of an inch between heaven and hell." Your frustrations, unhappiness and worry are not just from what you think, but also from how tightly you hold onto those thoughts. You are unwilling to let go and accept your situation. To change, you must accept or “receive with consent”. It is only from this action, from a conscious choice to yield, that you will have a clear perspective on the path that is best for you and those around you.

Have you ever considered that to wish for something else, to want something you do not have, could be a form of envy? I don't mean you cannot have dreams, but I mean when your longing for something other than what you have occupies or dominates your thoughts day to day. "If I just made more money" or "I just wish I could run again. When I can run then I will lose this weight and be happy”. These thoughts hold you back from the very things you desire. These are the thoughts of an attitude in need of a dose of gratitude.

Not too long ago, I had trouble sleeping. I was awakened in the early morning hours with intense pain in my entire spine. I slept 3 or 4 hours a night. I feared the night. I knew what was ahead. Another night of agonizing pain followed by hours of silent loneliness. Night after night for many, many months. Even after I solved the spine pain (which I will share with you in a future View), I feared the night and still was awakened at 2 or 3 AM only to toss and turn and greet the day with a heavy, over powering level of fatigue. Will this ever change? How will I ever sleep again? I was caught in the web of worry and doubt. I spent too much time wishing for something I did not have and not enough time pursuing those things that would change my situation.

A good friend of mine, Lynn, was speaking with my wife Ellen one day about my sleep problem. She said, "When I wake up in the night and can't go back to sleep, I start praying for other people. I find that it gets my mind off my problems and I can then go back to sleep." It's true. Praying for others shoos away the worry monster (whether you believe in prayer or not isn't important, it is the act that matters). You cannot have more than one thought or one emotion at one time in your mind. And, what good does worrying in the middle of the night do? Nothing.

I took Lynn's advice. Every night before I go to sleep I do two things. I silently say a prayer of thanks for the things I have in my life. They are too numerous to list entirely here but just try it sometime for yourself. Here are just a few examples from me.

I'm thankful for:

Ellen
My family
Three wonderful, happy dogs
A cozy, inviting home
My car (and it's paid for)
The internet
My own business
Understanding pain
The ability to change people's movement
Opportunities to meet new people and change their lives nearly everyday
Friends
My time teaching at a major university
The ability to dribble a basketball and do a crossover
Knowing more now than I knew yesterday

Sure, I know it might sound silly or trite, but when you really stop and think about all of things you have, it changes your perspective. This does not mean you should give up on achieving a goal or overcoming a problem. Oddly, the very act of being grateful frees your mind to focus. This is what creates change. Accept reality and loosen your grip on envious thoughts. Be grateful for where you are, what you can learn and how you can get better. The more time and energy you spend being angry, resentful or envious, the slower your improvements will be. Your mind can only hold one thought at a time. You might as well make it a positive one.

And the second thing I do is pray for others to have strength and wisdom. The strength to endure, to hold up, to manage and the wisdom to know when to let go. I just make a list of people I met that day and go through the list. It is a great way to end your day and drift off to a peaceful nights sleep.

I now sleep routinely 7-8 hours a night. I still have some nights when I might hurt or may have too many thoughts running through my head but, thanks to my friend Lynn, I have a plan and more often than not it works for me. Maybe it will work for you too.

Here's to being thankful and to getting better.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

What Are You Expecting?

Michael Jordan, whom many experts consider the greatest basketball player ever (I respectfully disagree as you may know if you have read Lessons from Larry Legend) once said, "You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

Think about this for a moment. What do you expect? The word “expect” means "to look forward to". What in your life are you looking forward to?

Try paraphrasing Michael Jordan's statement as, "You have to look forward to doing something first before you can do it." You must look first. You must see yourself as capable and your goal as reasonable.

I will never play golf professionally. The goal is unreasonable. Is it achievable? Maybe. But I know what it would take to develop a professional game. I would have to quit everything else and do nothing but play golf. I am unwilling to do so. I like golf but not enough to quit everything else. When I play, I have to keep my goals and expectations reasonable. I can expect to enjoy myself and be competitive, but not play like a pro. Frustration often occurs from the gap between your expectations (what you see yourself doing) and reality. When the gap is small, frustration will be low. You can keep going; keep plugging, plodding away. But when the gap is large, you fall into it and find yourself wasting your precious energy trying to climb out of the hole. For example, you may see yourself as being able to run, jump, cut, or lift weights yet you are on crutches with a swollen knee struggling to regain basic movements. Without some good coaching, you are apt to fall into the expectation abyss.

Great athletes have very unique traits and one of them is the uncanny ability to focus on the task at hand especially when they are injured. They let go of the long term goal or objective and put all their energy into technique, form and knowledge. The want to know, "How can I be better? What can I work on right now?" They execute the drills, push themselves, test themselves and start again. They do not wallow in the deep end of the pity pool. Their attitude is, "Okay, it is what it is. What can I do?"

We have had a number of such athletes in our house (our term for Sports Center). All ages and abilities. But one man stands out in my mind. His name was Joe, he was in his 70's and he had a very rare disease that left his hands essentially useless. He was unable to button his shirt, turn a doorknob or hold a piece of chalk. And to add to his misery, he was a university chemistry teacher who loved to teach. He loved using a blackboard. Do you think Joe has any reason to see himself ever teaching and writing a complex formula on a blackboard when he cannot even tie his shoes?

Well, Joe won. He overcame an amazingly grim situation. But it is how he won that is important. He focused on his immediate tasks, the one behavior of all great athletes. I gave him very specific drills with very specific goals. He executed those drills no matter how mundane or simple they appeared to be and he did them correctly. He applied all of himself. As Alex Chalfant, a graduate of our program, says, "He left it all on the field" (By the way, watch for Alex pitching next year at UNLV. He'll be very good). He went home and recruited his wife to help him. He met the objectives week after week and, as a result of his diligence, he went back to teaching.

It is important to dream; to see yourself as you want to be, doing the things you want to do and looking forward. But, first focus on the things that are important today and you will win tomorrow.

What are you looking forward to now?

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Grunt of Weakness

"Say, I've been meaning to ask you. Why is it that as we get older we seem to grunt more? You know, like when you just do something simple. Get something off the floor or bend over to tie your shoes? What is that? It seems like I grunt a lot these days," asked Dr. Garrison.

Dave Garrison is a distinguished professor of physical therapy at the University of Oklahoma College of Allied Health. With nearly thirty years of scientific research under his belt, he has honed an uncanny ability to ask simple, penetrating questions.

At the time in 1997, I did not have an answer for Dr. Garrison. In fact, I could not answer most of his questions. But this one curled up in a remote corner of my mind and settled in for a snooze. Periodically it would stretch its legs and take a walk through my cranium begging for an answer.

I had some time the other day and the answer Dr. Garrison asked for suddenly came to me. The reason we grunt when we do something physical is because the act of grunting braces the trunk or stiffens it making a firm base for the legs and arms. This occurs from something called a Valsalva Maneuver named after the Italian anatomist Antonio Valsalva who was the first to describe it in the 18th century. When you exert yourself at or above your physical limit, as in lifting something heavy, you will reflexively close the vocal folds of the larynx in an attempt to seal off the respiratory tract. By doing so, you give yourself a slightly enhanced degree of trunk stability and therefore slightly increased leg and arm strength.

You often hear loud grunts in competitions like the Strongman. No wonder. I would be grunting too flipping 400 pound tires, towing a 6,700 pound truck or carrying an 800 pound car. But what about when find your self involuntarily grunting when rising from a chair? Why are you grunting? It's because your body thinks you are flipping a 400 pound tire. The task is challenging you near the upper end of your physical limit. In most cases, grunting during routine daily tasks means you are too weak for the task; barely able to get out of the chair or car.

If you grunt when you stand up or bend over, this is a warning light. It is time to get your self in better shape. Take the time to visit your physician and get a routine physical exam. If your physician gives you the green light, get your self to a physical therapist or personal trainer. Tell them you grunt and you want to only grunt when you are lifting more than your own weight. They may look at you quizzically at first (not many people arrive complaining of grunting) but as you explain your objectives, I think they will get the idea. If not, call me. I know all about grunting (I used to have a bad case of it myself but am now happily grunt free).

The body has a number of these odd warning signs: grunting, stiffness, aching, clicking to name a few. Unfortunately, many of us fail to respond to the first signals only to discover much later that the signs were there all along.

If you grunt, take heed. The time is now. Your body will thank you for it and so will the people who hear you. Grunt no more.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Kelsey's First Law of Human Dynamics

John pulls the stack of mail from the mailbox, and notices the all too familiar label and print from the Internal Revenue Service. Immediately, Dread arrives. How will you pay them John? You knew this was coming. What will you do? whispers Dread. He sits down at his desk in the family room and tears open the envelope. See, I was right. You owe them. Whoa! A lot too! Man, oh man are you in trouble now! Dread says from the corner of John's mind.

As John glances to the bottom of the page, he sees it. YOU OWE $10,000.00. He feels sick. He has $500 in the bank. He spent all of his savings on his daughter's wedding and now has nothing left to pay the overdue tax bill. What am I going to do? How am I ever going to pay this?

This is stress. And only one of many for John. Like all of us, he is faced with events that create stress. But what exactly is stress?

I think we all sort of know what stress is, but if we were pressed for a definition we would suddenly have a long, "uhhhhh" response.

Stress is:

deadlines approaching
deadlines encroaching
bills looming
dollar bills zooming
running behind
running out of time
when too many need you
when too few believe you
scurrying and hurrying
while worrying and worrying
more than you can muscle
despite all of your hustle
good
bad
too much
too little
what shackles me
what frees me

Stress is the ultimate paradox. It does not matter if the stress is physical, mental or emotional, the reaction and result is always the same. Without stress, we wither and die. With too much, we become overwhelmed, beaten down and cope in whatever way we know how.

Stress occurs when demands exceed resources. The question becomes how large of a gap exists between the demand level and the resource level. The greater the gap, the greater the stress. Your options are either to lower the demand level, increase the resources or both.

Of course, doing something about stress can be a stressor itself. If you spend more money than you make, the most obvious and simple answer to lowering your stress is to stop spending so much. So, if it is so easy to identify, why is it so hard to implement? For the same reason you continue doing yard work even though it hurts your back. The same reason you keep running even though your knee hurts. The same reason you don't eat enough to fuel your body. The pain of change is greater than the pain of not changing.

Bizarre in many ways but so universal we can label it as a law - Kelsey's First Law of Human Dynamics: Those in pain will choose to stay in pain until it rises to such a level it can no longer be ignored. Change will then emerge.

What pain is begging you for change?

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Laugh a Little

His face was a glowing red hue gradually contorting into a hideous mask. He couldn't breath. Tears formed in his eyes. He could do nothing but shake, hold his belly and wait for it to pass. He was not dying. He was laughing.

Laughing keeps you young. Babies and young children laugh nearly 400 times per day. Adults laugh about 17 times per day. Recently, Eric Clapton, one of the greatest blues guitarists ever, was asked how he keeps his music interesting to a younger generation. He said, "I am not concerned with them liking my music. I am concerned about me finding their music interesting. When you get older, you get stodgy. I don't want to get stodgy.” Eric's right. The old stodgy man on the corner who yells, "Hey kid! Get outta my yard!" was once a happy, laughing youngster.

A friend once gave me a magnet; the kind that sticks to your refrigerator. On it is a question. "How old would you be if you did not know how old you are?" I thought, at first, it was a goofy sort of question. Then, it started to slowly seep into my brain. Entertaining the idea implies I no longer feel...young?

When I was 10, I thought a person of 30 was old. I no longer classify someone as "older". You are the age you are but an odd thing occurs as you age. Time seems to compress between events. I catch myself saying things like, "Man, it is already the end of March! It seems like Christmas was just a few weeks ago." And, can you remember how long Christmas Eve was when you were 8 or 9? Forever!

Time does not compress because you are old. It is because you have too much occupying your mind. You no longer play and laugh. I do not mean playing with G.I. Joe or Barbie (although if you happen to enjoy it, my lips are sealed). I mean having a playful spirit and laughing. Really hard. So hard you cry.

You need some time to play and laugh to balance the seriousness of life. It can, at times, be overwhelmingly serious. Financial hardships, injury, disease, moving or losing a job are all seriously stressful events. But how do you laugh when you feel as if there is nothing to laugh about? When life has snuffed out the flame of fun?

Here is what I do. I make sure I get plenty of sleep. Trying to run your life on inadequate sleep is like trying to drive your car with three tires. It's a very rough ride. Lack of sleep drops a gray shroud over your eyes, zaps your brain of creativity and stalls your laugh engine. When you're tired, nothing is funny. Sleep restores you.

Next, I find people who make me laugh and I spend time with them. This will jump start the laugh engine. At first the engine kind of gurgles and rattles, but after a couple of jolting laughs, it runs in high gear. Nothing clears an over stressed mind like laughing with a friend. You need at least three to four good laughs a day. I have no scientific evidence for this but if you can give me a good reason not to laugh at least that much, I will gladly stop laughing.

Notice the environments and people who inspire, uplift and motivate you. Seek them out. Arrange your time, schedule and budget to be in the presence of such extraordinary people and places. We all want to be built up not torn down. Concerts, museums, art shows, movies, restaurants, a church or a friend's home can all be places which become mood altering. Go, stay and enjoy.

Finally, smile. I know it sounds a bit trite, but science tells us that when you smile your mood actually changes. It seems that the happy part of your brain is wired to your facial muscles. Try it. Just smile and notice what happens. But, the smile needs to use certain muscles which run from your cheek bone to the corners of your mouth and the muscles around your eyes. The muscles around your eyes and in your cheeks will contract in response to positive emotions. The muscles in the forehead and eyebrow region contract with negative emotions. If you smile, even if you do not feel like it, the impulses from your cheek muscles cause a chain reaction in your brain. A particular hormone will be released, serotonin, which elevates your mood. A politically correct smile will not work nor will a fake, "I'm smiling but I would rather cry" smile.

Life is peppered with many joy stealing events and challenges leaving you with a sense that you are losing. Laughter puts everything back into perspective and evens the score.

Start laughing.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Neuhoff CC, Schaefer C. Effects of laughing, smiling, and howling on mood.
Psychol Rep 2002 Dec 91:3 Pt 2 1079-80

Valley of Chainje

"Where are you going?" asked the Voice in the Distance.

"Well, I am going...to...I...I just want to get away from Payne. I don't like him,” said the Woman.

"But where are you going?" asked the Voice in the Distance.

"What do you mean? Why do you keep asking me this? I told you, I am going to get as far away from Payne as I can," said the Woman.

"And when he is gone, where will you go then?” asked the Voice in the Distance.

The Woman was silent. She had not thought about life without Payne. Payne had been with her for so long that the only thing she could think about was escaping. "I don't know. I'm not sure right now,” said the Woman.

"Where will you go when Payne returns?" asked the Voice in the Distance.

"Returns? You mean if I get away from him, he will follow me? He will come back?" asked the Woman.

"Where will you go then?" asked the Voice in the Distance.

"So, I can never escape? I can never get rid of Payne? What kind of life is that? What kind of future do I have if Payne is always in it? I don't like him!" exclaimed the Woman.

"Where are you going then?" asked the Voice in the Distance.

"I don't know. I need help. Where should I go? What should I do?" asked the Woman.

"Payne has come to help you yet you run from him. Payne can help you set your vision right. Let him guide you to your destination. You need not hate him. You need not run from him,” said the Voice in the Distance.

"How? How can I? I just have a hard time working with someone I do not like," explained the Woman.

"You do not need to like him. You need to learn from him. Payne can teach you many things and help you pass through the Valley of Chainje. What you seek is on the other side of Chainje. You will not pass through without Payne,” said the Voice in the Distance.

"This is so hard. I'm not sure I can do it. I do not like the way I feel when Payne is around and I do not understand him. I don't know what he means when he speaks to me," said the Woman.

"Payne teaches you the most when you listen to your feelings. Learn from your feelings not from what he is saying. The answers you seek are inside you; not Payne."

And the Woman suddenly understood. To pass through the Valley of Chainje, she would have to be very close to Payne. But once she emerged, Payne would leave. She stopped and turned to look behind her. Payne was only a few steps away. She reached out her hand and said "Payne, I am ready. Lead me through the Valley of Chainje."

Payne stepped forward, took hold of her hand and began walking. The closer they came to Chainje, the harder it was for the Woman to let Payne lead her. But, as Payne and the Woman walked through the Valley of Chainje, she felt the firm grip of his hand loosen. He was letting go of her. She had tried for many years to run away from Payne but now, as she reached Chainje, she no longer wanted to run. She turned to look behind her and Payne was gone. She was free.

Do you have a Payne in your life? Could it be that your Payne is trying to lead you to Chainje?

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Swing the Pendulum

The chattering of the large class gradually rose to a low murmur. It was the first day of the 1965 semester and the first day of basic physics for all of the 183 students in the room. They were all talking about the large bowling ball suspended from a universal joint attached to the ceiling nearly three stories high. The ball hovered a few inches above the stage.

The door to the auditorium suddenly opened and in walked a man. He looked as if he had slept in his clothes. He walked with purpose to the suspended bowling ball and took hold of it with both hands. He then walked backwards, while hanging onto the ball, to the far edge of the stage. The classroom was completely silent. The man stood still holding the ball a few inches in front of his nose. He stood and waited for what seemed to be a very long time. He then let go of the ball.

The ball flew through the air across the sixty foot stage in a large arc. It slowed as it reached the end of its arc and then began to swing back toward the man. As the ball approached the bottom of the arc it seemed to gain some speed. It was headed back toward the man with a fierce determination. He stood completely still seemingly unconcerned about the pendulous mass headed right for his face.

The bowling ball came closer and closer to the man yet he did not flinch. He was a statue. The ball was now less than a foot from his face. Then six inches. Then four. He remained still. At about an inch from his nose, the ball started to swing away from his face. As the bowling ball began its downward swing, Richard Feynman, the Nobel prize winning physicist, reached out and grabbed the ball. He then turned to the class and said, "I just wanted to show you, I believe in what I am going to teach you over the next two years."

Dr. Feynman could confidently stand still because he understood the basic principle of energy and a pendulum. The pendulum swings only from the energy imparted to it. Feynman did not push the ball. If he had given it even the slightest nudge, he would have needed facial reconstructive surgery. He simply let go of the ball. The pendulum swings one way then the other in balance. It seeks balance.

Life is a lot like Dr. Feynman's pendulum. It has a natural cycling or ebb and flow. It swings back and forth. Good and bad.

Ellen and I moved to Oklahoma City in 1997. I had been hired as associate professor and assistant dean in the College of Allied Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. I would call that a good swing. We left our practice, sold our house and moved out of state. I had a wonderful time teaching there and met a number of people who will be life long friends. In 1998, the University decided to not renew my contract. I would call that a bad swing. No job. No practice. Zip.

We moved back to Austin to live in a 900 square foot apartment with practically all of our stuff in a warehouse somewhere in San Antonio. At that point, I was looking for a good swing. When will the pendulum turn the other way? This does not seem like much fun. My problem was I expected life to be a pendulum as if, on its own, it would just magically swing the other way.

I was able to get the pendulum to swing back my way when I took some action and enrolled the help of other people who are better at certain things than I am. I decided to start doing things I like to do. I decided to do things I was good at and start spending my time around people that made me feel good, inspired me and made me better. Unlike Dr. Feynman's pendulum, sometimes to swing the pendulum of life, you need to push it just a little. You need to act. Do something. Anything, but sitting and waiting for something good to happen.

I think the thing to do first is to decide what it is you really want in and out of your life. Decide what you really want then ask yourself this, "What am I now doing that prevents me from getting there?"

To change your life, you must change what you do each day; not what you will do tomorrow. Stop mourning over yesterday and start building a new today. Swing the pendulum the other way.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

The Difference Maker

"Doug, if you want a spot on this team, you will need to run a sub 54 / 440. You got that?" yelled the basketball coach.

"Got it Coach. Sub 54. Yep. Got it," I replied.

It was a cool, early October morning at Hamilton College's outdoor running track. The entire basketball team was assembled on the inner grassy area. The coach was barking orders, yelling at players and generally looked like he was about to have a stroke.

A sub 54 / 440 meant running 440 yards in less than 54 seconds or about 16 miles per hour for less than a minute. It is essentially running as fast as I can all the way around the track.

All I could do was try. Make an attempt. I did not regularly run 440 yards at an all out effort. I had no training; no practice. Basketball is a game of start and stop. You rarely run all out for more than 50-60 feet. My body was about to be exposed to something it was completely unaccustomed to doing.

I felt fine the first 100 hundred yards but as I neared the 220 yard marker, my legs slowed. My upper body tightened making it difficult to move my arms. I felt as if I had been wrapped in a plastic sheet. My pace dropped. I was in trouble.

With about 100 yards to go, I wondered if I could make it. I felt so slow. I was breathing so hard I thought I would suck the grass off the field. As I crossed the finish line, the coach yelled, "55! Do it again! 54 is what we need Doug! Try harder! Now go do it son!" “Again? How am I going to run faster now?"

It was a long morning. I never broke 55. I ran 440 yards 6 times and each slower than the one prior. But I was not alone. The coach was yelling at a lot of players. It seems few people trained themselves to run 440 yards.

The difference between trying and succeeding is found in training. You must practice if you expect to be good at something. Whether it is playing a musical instrument, learning a language, running 440 yards or overcoming an injury, you must train.

Training yourself to become skilled requires the 5 Training Actions:

1. Decide what you really want.

2. Plan the end point. How will you know you have succeeded?

3. Start at a level of difficulty that you can meet and overcome.

4. Make the task more challenging purposely and regularly.

5. Measure your performance against your end point.

Most training regimens fail from starting out at a level of difficulty that is too high. You think you should be able to handle more, do it longer or faster than you really can. Frustration sets in quickly and with no measurable change, the newly formed habit falters. Soon, you slide back into a more comfortable routine. A routine that produces no change or improvement, but one you can count on.

For example, let's assume you want to lose weight and you have not exercised in many years. To build the habit, do this: Start by walking each day. Walk for 10 minutes. Just ten minutes a day. Do this for two weeks then add five minutes to your walk. Walk again for two weeks and then add another five until you reach sixty minutes per day. This may seem slow to you or too easy. I assure you it is neither. Here's why:

First, to build the habit of walking, you must re-arrange your day. You are adding something else to your already busy schedule. And your body, much like mine when I tried running the 440, is not used to walking steadily for long at all. By walking just ten minutes, you will achieve success and your body will likely withstand the activity and respond well to it. After just two weeks, this new habit is already taking hold. By adding five minutes each two weeks, you gradually demand more from your body and strengthen the new habit. By the time you have reached sixty minutes, your body will be in much better physical condition and the habit will be firmly entrenched.

Many people quit training because they do not see results quickly enough. They expect, in a matter of a few weeks, to completely change a lifetime of habits; to rid themselves of chronic neck pain or back pain, dramatically increase their strength and flexibility and lose that extra 20-30 pounds of fat. Basically, they expect to be able to do whatever they want to do whenever they want to do it. The problem is their focus.

The only reason a person fails is fractured focus. The inability to focus comes from a goal that is too lofty; too big to truly see. Bring your goal to a level that you can see by creating markers. In the earlier example, one marker could be the duration of your walk. Another could be the distance you cover and the time it takes you to do it. These become your focus; not your body weight. Losing fat is the fruit of your labor and markers tell you if you are on the right road.

Training is the foundation for achieving anything in life. To enhance your training, narrow your focus and use the 5 Training Actions. Stop trying and start training. Today.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Conquering the Seven Summits

Imagine climbing at 21,000 feet where everything is harder. The wind pummels you at nearly 30 miles per hour and never lets up day or night. Lifting your leg just to walk forward feels like you're immersed in a pool of wet concrete. Your body craves water and if you deny it, you will have a headache that lasts for days. A misstep and you find yourself sliding viciously to a lonely, cold death. And by the way, you're blind.

At the age of 13, Erik Weihenmayer finally lost what was left of his vision. He was born with retinoschisis, a genetic condition of the retina leading to a gradual loss of sight. Erik loved sports, in particular basketball, but he quickly realized that basketball would no longer be his game. Instead he learned how to wrestle. Erik eagerly accepted the challenge and he soon dominated his weight class. He would later go on to represent his state, Connecticut, in the National Freestyle Wrestling Championships.

In addition to wrestling, Erik developed a passion for climbing. Mountain climbing. After he graduated from Boston College in 1991, he crossed the Batura Glacier in northern Pakistan and by 1995 he had scaled Mount McKinley, all 20,320 feet. But, he did not stop there. He went on to not only conquer Mount Everest, but became one of only 100 people to climb each of the seven highest peaks on seven continents known as the Seven Summits on September 5, 2002.

Erik Weihenmayer could see. He could see himself succeeding in ways that many of us could never see. He resisted the temptation of settling for less because he was blind. He refused to let others tell him what he should do because he was blind. It would have been easier. But, Erik wanted to experience all life had to offer. Eric Weihenmayer is the Helen Keller of our generation.

Erik training - Source: Time Magazine

I am thankful for people like Erik. They remind me of what is possible, help me look forward instead of backward and give me perspective on the magnitude of my own challenges. If Erik can scale the Seven Summits blind, I can conquer my own "mountains". The secret is in never giving up. Keep climbing.

What can you see for yourself? What mountains need climbing?

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

P.S. How long did Erik prepare to climb Mount Everest? Sixteen years. Today, Erik lectures to over 40,000 people each year helping them remove the limits they place on themselves and discover how powerful their dreams can be.

Shun the Shoulds

"So, I'll bet you're looking forward to your vacation, right? I mean, how long has it been since you actually have had a vacation?" asked my good friend Ryan.

"Right. It should be good. It has been a long time, I don't know, several years I guess since I have taken a vacation like this." I replied.

"Hmmm," said Ryan followed by a pregnant pause. There was suddenly some tension over the phone line. Weird tension.

"Did I say something odd here? What's the silence about?" I asked.

"Well, I was thinking about your word choice. I mean, using the word SHOULD. It sounds like you're not sure if you are looking forward to the vacation or not. That's all. I just hope you have a great, relaxing time and I was thinking that maybe in your mind you're not convinced you will. As we have said before, people use certain words for a reason," replied Ryan.

Ryan and I have had many conversations about the power of words and the subtle nature of word choice during conversation. He was right about me, which of course, I denied at once. "What?! No. No. Not at all. I think you're misinterpreting my choice and use of the word. I mean I expect that it will be a good vacation. You're just being picky," I said with some degree of force in my voice.

"Right. Well, I hope that is the case. Be sure and have a good time," replied Ryan.

"Thanks. I will," and I instantly felt the difference between SHOULD and WILL.

In the closet drawers of our minds, we store in neatly organized rows and rows, the herbal dregs of doubt and dissatisfaction. We sprinkle our words with a little doubt and little dissatisfaction only to find that what we speak eventually comes to pass.

I should:

be better
be faster
be stronger
be thinner
be richer
be happier
be smarter
not hurt
talk more
talk less
lose weight
gain weight
be able to.........

SHOULD in our daily language is used to express obligation tempered by uncertainty. When you say, "I should be better", you place yourself in a subtly negative mental state. You are telling yourself you have failed. The mind, in keeping with its elegantly efficient design, begins searching for evidence in your day to day life to support the idea that you "should be better". So, instead of focusing on what you need to do so you WILL be better, you focus on what you do not have or cannot do. And, although the cycle is painfully uncomfortable, it becomes increasingly difficult to break.

In contrast to SHOULD is the word WILL which is used to express probability or expectation; to look forward to something occurring. Try saying the list below using the word WILL and pay attention to how differently you feel.

I will:

be better
be faster
be stronger
be thinner
be richer
be happier
be smarter
not hurt
talk more
talk less
lose weight
gain weight
be able to.........

Do you have a case of the shoulds? Do you find yourself saying I should more than I will? Words create your reality. What we think is what we say, what we say is what we do and what do is what we get. To change what you get, start thinking differently. Think I WILL.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

It's Good To Be Sticky

Ted was a bright young man with a vivid imagination. He loved to draw, write, play and just have a good time. So much so that while attending Dartmouth College he was removed as the editor of the school's humor magazine for hosting one too many parties. School didn't interest him but his father insisted he not only graduate from Dartmouth but go on to Oxford University in England. Ted complied but his heart was elsewhere. School quickly bored him so Ted dropped out of Oxford. He decided touring Europe would be more interesting and useful.

Ted finally returned to the US and began writing. He loved words; especially the sound as they rolled through the mouth and off the tongue. He completed his first book and submitted it for publication. Rejected. So, off to another publisher. Rejected. Rejected another 25 times. But he persisted. Did it take a lot of money? No. Did he need an exceptional intellect? No. What he needed was emotional stickiness.

Emotional stickiness is a quality of all people who do great things. Think of the people you know, have met or heard about who have accomplished a lot with a little. People like Abraham Lincoln (free the slaves, are you serious?), Albert Einstein (couldn't make it through school but set the physics world on its ear with a simple equation E=mc2), Albert Schweitzer, MD (used a chicken coop to form the foundation of a full fledged hospital in the French Congo which led to the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952) and yes, Ted Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss). They all possessed emotional stickiness.

Problems are everywhere. Problems with our children, with our bodies, with our jobs and with each other. So, I think you can count on problems. Problems come with life. But, think of it this way. "The problem that infuriates you the most is the one God has assigned you to solve."* And you're probably thinking, "Huh? I thought God was supposed to solve all of these tough problems. How am I supposed to do it?"

Stickiness. Stickiness comes from passion. When you're passionate about someone or something, you are not deterred by obstacles. You do not tire easily. You are not swayed by others who tell you no; tell you that you cannot. You step forward even if it is only one small step.

Ted Geisel loved to write children's books. He could have quit. It would have been easier. But his passion drove him and as a result he sold over 200 million copies of his books.

Stickiness is not outside you. You cannot buy it, borrow it or steal it. It dwells inside curled up in a corner of your mind dozing waiting for you to rouse it. Your stickiness may be dormant but it is not absent.

Stickiness is commitment. How do you know if you are committed? Patience. Patience is the outward expression of stickiness. Tough problems are rarely solved quickly. Problems like weight loss, high cholesterol, pain, addictive behaviors, financial straits or a marriage on the rocks all take time. You have to stick to overcome.

Start solving your problems by rousing your stickiness with a good dose of passion and sprinkle it with patience. Start sticking and watch what happens.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

*Reference: One Minute Businesswoman's Devotional: Wisdom, Inspiration for Today's Business Professional by Mike Murdock.

Build a New You

The persistent buzzing of the clock radio dragged Roberta from a deep sleep. She rolled over and hunted for the snooze button but it was too late. She was awake now. Might as well get up. Monday. The start of another week.

Roberta rolled out of bed, slid her feet into a pair of slippers and put on her robe. She stumbled the first few steps as she headed for the kitchen. After about five or six steps, she hit a small puddle. The splash surprised her. She then began to worry. She was in the living room. She flipped on the light to discover a large puddle of water. As she stared at it, she saw a drop of water hit the puddle making a small splash. She slowly looked up and there above her, on the ceiling, was a large wet area. Great. A leak. Just great.

Roberta went through her usual routine to get ready for work all the while thinking about how she was going to get the leak fixed. I'll have to call a roofing company today. Maybe they can come on Saturday. I can't deal with it this week. But, man, the carpet will be soaked. Aghh. Maybe I can switch some of my meetings. She loaded her car with her briefcase and workout bag, grabbed a cup of coffee to go and slid into the driver's seat of her Mercedes 320E. The car purred as she backed out of the garage. Roberta turned the corner and glanced back at her house in horror. Oh my God! This can't be my house! This is a shack! This can't be right!

What Roberta saw was not the brick, one story house with a tile roof and well manicured front lawn. She saw a crumbling, decaying structure leaning heavily to the right whose roof was missing shingles over her living room. The windows were cracked. The crooked front door was partially open. Roberta's house had changed over night. She woke up that Monday morning in a different house.

This is what it feels like to people who have osteoarthritis. One day you wake up in a different body. Your knee hurts or maybe its your hip or your back. And it hurts a lot. Everything was just fine yesterday and the day before. But today, you woke up in a different house. What happened? I didn't do anything! How can this be?

The natural first response is denial. It'll go away. But, it doesn't. Next, comes a bad case of the blues. I want my old house back. I liked the crisp, clean exterior and I liked the way the door sounded when I closed it. I don't like this house! You can always move out of an old, run down house and buy something else. But, you cannot move out of your body. And just like a house in disrepair, you have to do a lot of work to get it back into shape. Yes, you can tack some shingles down to fix the leak, re-hang the front door and try a fresh coat of paint to spruce it up. But inside things are falling apart. The exterior is just a representation of the interior. However it is possible to put an old house back in working order and fall in love with it all over again.

When you discover your joints are not as healthy as they once were and you can’t do the activities you love, its normal to feel angry. And when you're told there is nothing you can do about it; that you will just have to live with it, you may become depressed. These two emotions, anger and depression, suck you into a deep, dark lonely hole. These two are not friends of yours. You don’t want to spend time with them. But, you see no way out and no end in sight. Why wouldn't you be depressed?

But, here is the truth. If you have osteoarthritis, there is a lot you can do about it. In some cases, you can restore the entire spectrum of function you once enjoyed. But, it comes at a price. The price is persistence. You can improve the health of your cartilage but you must do it just like you renovate a house; a little every day. Like a major overhaul on a historical landmark, it takes time: 2-5 years.

You may be thinking, Two to five years! I can't spend that kind of time! I have things to do. I'm too busy for that! But once again, here's the truth. You are your most valuable asset. You. Your mind, your body and your spirit. Just start today. Do one thing for your joints. And tomorrow do one more thing. Major change comes from doing small things frequently. And if you want to change your life, you must change what you do each day.

What's wrong with today?

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

When Will You Be Great?

"Peter, I am the Magi. I have seen your struggles and wish for you to struggle no more. I will grant you one wish. What shall your wish be?" said the Magi.

The Magi was an angel sent by God to help those who had demonstrated persistence and determination. Only those chosen by the Magi could hear or see him. Peter had heard of the Magi but he thought it was a children's story. He could feel his heart begin to race and breath quicken. "Why me?" thought Peter.

"I have come to help you become, Peter. You may make one wish. What shall it be?" said the Magi.

Peter wanted more than anything to be a great athlete, but he was tired. He stretched and stretched, lifted and lifted, and ran and ran but he was not the athlete he wanted to be. He wondered, "What shall I wish? Should it be to be a great athlete? Would that be it? Or maybe if I were stronger or more flexible?" He did not want to waste his wish.

"I wish I were a great athlete!" Peter exclaimed after much deliberation.

"To grant your wish, I must understand your desire. What is a great athlete?" asked the Magi.

"A great athlete is strong, flexible and can run fast for miles and miles and can jump and throw. I want to be a great athlete too!" said Peter.

"Are you not strong and flexible? Can you not run fast for miles? Can you not jump and throw?" asked the Magi.

"Well, yes I can do all of those things. But yet I am still not great. I want to be great," Peter replied.

"When will you know you are great Peter?" asked the Magi.

Peter was silent. He thought about what the Magi had asked. After several minutes he said, "I will be great when I am the winner of competitions and everyone knows I have won."

"Peter, must you always win to be great? Could you be great and lose?" asked the Magi.

The Magi had asked a difficult question. If he loses, he is not great. Yet Peter knew of great athletes who had lost games. He knew they were still great and they would lose again sometime.

"Magi, I am confused. I think to be great, I must win but I know I may lose too. I think to be great I must be strong, flexible, nimble and fearless but I may never be strong enough or flexible enough. I may never be nimble enough or have enough courage. I want to be great but how will I know when I am great," said Peter.

"You will be great when in your heart you know you are great. Win or lose will not matter for your greatness will be determined not by your skill or your knowledge but by your desire. Can you see you are already great?"

Must you possess exeptional knowledge to be great? Certainly. Must you possess exceptional skill to be great? Absolutely. But there is no substitute for the power of desire. The proof of desire is pursuit. Be relentless to be great.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Velcro George

George loved to walk in the woods with his dog. He enjoyed the solitude. George was a naturally curious person and outside he could think about the things which puzzled him. After returning from a day of hiking in the Jura Mountains of France, the Swiss mountaineer discovered he and his dog were covered with burrs. As he tried to pluck them from his trousers, he recognized the tremendous gripping power of just one burr. George wondered how something so small could adhere itself so tightly to the fabric of his trousers. Using a magnifying glass, George looked carefully at a burr in the fabric. He found each burr had hundreds of tiny hooks which had connected to the fabric. Suddenly, he had a moment of great insight. What if I could make some sort of clothing fastener using this idea? No need for zippers!

George was very excited. He knew he discovered something big but when he described his discovery to others, they all laughed. George persisted and finally found someone who agreed with him. The year was 1948. The discovery led to "Velcro" and George de Mestral later went on to patent his idea and create a multi-million dollar industry.

A new year often brings new opportunities and new resolutions. What are your dreams? What do you love to do? Why aren't you doing it? What is in your way? Can you doggedly pursue your dream as George did? As you ponder your new year, try setting one new goal. Just one. Then each day, do one small thing to bring yourself closer to that goal. The proof of desire is pursuit.

This same process applies to your clients. They want to achieve great things. "I want to play with my kids"..."I just want to snow ski again"..."I really want to run". Plan the end first then pick one thing each week and work toward achieving it. Focus, pursue, praise, and edge week after week. When you finish, you will be stunned at what you accomplish.

Let's make this a year of magical surprises. Celebrate your successes and learn from your failures. I hope you have a fantastic year.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

The Red Pencil

Mrs. Outerbridge loved to use her red pencil. I think she taught English and Writing at our high school since the beginning of time. The red marks she inflicted on a student's paper were legendary. No one had ever turned in an assignment without it being returned looking as if there had been some kind of accident. I, however, was certain it would never happen to me. I mean, after all, how hard could it be to write 500 words on Macbeth? Well, I was wrong.

After carving up our assignments, Mrs. Outerbridge would remind us about the power of words and the beauty of economical writing. "Remember, use only the words you need to use to say what you want to say." At the age of 15 it sounded like "remember - blahblah WORDS blahblahblah blah blah." I finally realized 20 years later her statements were not only true for writing, but for life in general.

How many times have you heard or perhaps said yourself, "I don't have time"? Clients often say, "I don't have time to come in here" or "I would like to exercise but I just can't seem to find the time". The answer to finding the time is to get out your red pencil.

There are 24 hours in a day. We all have the same amount every day. Some people seem to get more done in a day because of how they choose to use their time. My friend and colleague, Steve Crandall in Salt Lake City gets more done in a day than just about anyone I know. He is an owner of a busy private practice, has a wife and three children, holds a very responsible and time intensive position in his church, exercises regularly and somehow coaches basketball. He seems to always have a smile on his face, is genuinely glad to see you and stops everything when you ask him a question. So how does he do it? He makes thoughtful choices and plans ahead. If you visit Steve you will not find countless hours parked in front of a television or surfing the internet until late at night. What you will discover is that Steve uses his red pencil to mark out things that do not connect him to his life long mission and goals. He says no. He knows what is important to him, what he values and he purposely chooses to spend his time on only those things. As a result, he feels fulfilled, rewarded and it shows.

To find more time, first find out what is important to you. If your health is important, take out your red pencil and start making some red marks. Get rid of the things you do not need just like Mrs. Outerbridge did on our writing assignments. I am not suggesting it is easy but it is simple. Stop saying yes to everything and start finding the time to do the things that really matter.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

The Rear View Mirror

Everyday I meet someone who is unhappy with their position in life. An injury, a surgery or an illness took something away from them and they want it back. They want to move again. They cannot move the way they want or need to despite their own efforts to change it. Some people are angry. Others are frustrated and some have given up. Many cannot see a way out. They are lost. Do you know someone who is lost? Or maybe it has happened to you?

There are very few feelings more unpleasant than the feeling of being lost. A few years ago, my wife and I went snow skiing with a group of friends. We were both fairly new to the sport while our friends had been skiing for many years. My wife had the good sense to stay within her abilities while I momentarily lost all good sense and tried to keep up with my buddies. She made it down the mountain safely while I ended up in steep, deep snow surrounded by woods all alone and it was getting dark. I couldn't ski at all and worse, when I took off my skis to walk down the mountain the snow was so deep I sank up to my thighs. I had to ski through the woods. Frankly, it was terrifying. I was lost.

I made it out of the woods but imagine what would have happened if while trying to get down the mountain I kept looking back up behind me while thinking, "If I had just stayed with Ellen I would have been ok. If I could get back up the mountain, I could make a better choice and get out of this situation." Disaster. You cannot go forward while looking backward. It's like trying to drive your car while constantly looking in the rear view mirror.

If you look back while trying to move forward, two things happen. First, you miss opportunities. Every day doors open with new possibilities. You will see these possibilities only if your mind is prepared to recognize them. If your mind is filled with the past, it misses the opportunities of today. Secondly, you make poor choices. You choose to move backward instead of forward because it feels familiar and more comfortable. You would rather be comfortably miserable than explore the unknown. You climb back up the mountain because you know the path.

If you want to overcome an injury, an illness or disease that has left you feeling lost, you must do two things. First, you must create a clear, detailed image of what you want. Create a map with a clear destination and fix it in your mind. Next, you must focus your belief and look forward not back. Do you believe you can succeed? If so, say it. Out loud. You must believe success is possible and venture into the unknown. Leave the well worn and familiar path of self-pity and negative self-talk. Create a new path paved with thoughts, words and actions that lead only to where you want to be.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Fountain of Youth

Do you ever feel old or yearn for younger days? Why do some people seem young all of their life while others at a young age look and act much older? Since we all age does that mean we all will be old? What does it mean to be old?

I think the issue is not adding years to your life. We all age but not all of us grow old. The issue is energy. "Older" people seem to have drained their batteries. They move slowly, think slowly and talk slowly. Their balance is tenuous. Their world shrinks and along with it they lose their joy. They are not fun anymore. They're grumpy. Grumpy sometimes because they do not feel good and sometimes because they mourn the loss of their freedom but internalize it, push it down and try to bury it. What remains is a bitter crust. Growing old is not always genetically programmed. It is also from choices we make.

The difference between aging and growing old is in four things: nutrition, specific youth enhancing exercise, your mental attitude and your genetic profile. Today's View is about specific youth enhancing exercise.

Youth enhancing exercise does two things: promotes the production of a specific hormone and keeps specific connections in the brain active. In recent years, there has been a high degree of interest in a special hormone. The fountain of youth is Human Growth Hormone (HGH). The pituitary gland, a small region in the brain, releases HGH. HGH levels peak around the time of puberty and then decline. HGH does several things for you. It helps regulate lipolysis (the breaking down of fat stores for energy) and promotes muscle growth. It helps maintain elasticity in your skin and elevates your energy level.

The connections in the brain which seem to weaken with aging and effect movement are in the cerebellum. One of the main functions of the cerebellum is to help you balance. When you must stand on one leg, bend and pick up an object, it is the cerebellum that coordinates the muscles. The more you sit and the less you challenge your balance, the less the cerebellum does. The synaptic connections gradually fade away.

What can you do to promote HGH and strengthen the connections in the cerebellum? Exercise. But, not just any exercise. You must do two types to retard the effects of aging. The first is balancing drills. While using machines helps you grow stronger, you must also add balance as in Tai Chi or martial arts. You can start with something as simple as balancing on one leg. Stand on one leg with your eyes open. Bend the non-weightbearing knee to 90 degrees. You should be able to balance on one leg for at least 30 seconds if you are between 20 and 59 years of age. From age 60-69, your time should be 22 seconds and beyond age 69, 14 seconds. Balancing forces the cerebellum to do its job and maintain vital connections as the years go by (to read more about how to improve brain function with aging, read Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot by Richard Restak).

The second type of exercise is short duration, high intensity movement like sprinting. After sprinting for only 30 seconds (which if you have not sprinted in a while will feel like an hour), HGH levels are elevated 25 times resting values and are four times resting values an hour later. Resistance training using a load which causes fatigue within 10 repetitions also increases HGH levels although not as dramtically as sprinting. If you prefer not to sprint, any short duration, high intensity burst will boost production of HGH levels.

What's the best choice then for youth enhancing exercise? Combine high intensity, short duration bursts with balance. Check out Gary Gray's Matrix drills (http://www.functionaldesign.com), or add speed to Tai Chi or even try Tae Bo. Remember though, if you have not exercised in some time, go easy at first to give your body time to adapt. No point in ending up in bed trying to stay young.

If you want to feel young as you age, perturb yourself a little (no transformation without perturbation). Force yourself to the edge and watch what happens. You might be surprised at how growing older can feel good.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

References: Adams, G.R. (1998). Role of IGF-1 in the regulation of skeletal muscle adaptation to increased loading. Exercise & Sport Science Reviews, 26, 31-60.

Nevill, M.E., Holmyard, D.J., Hall, G.M., Allsop, P., van Oosterhout, A., Burrin, J.M., & Nevill, A.M. (1996). Growth hormone responses to treadmill sprinting in sprint- and endurance-trained athletes. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 72, 460-467.

Rudman, D., Feller, A.G., Nagraj, H.S., Gergans, G.A., Lalitha, P.Y., Goldberg, A.F., Schlenker, R.A., Cohn, L., Rudman, I.W., & Mattson, D.E. (1990). Effects of human growth hormone in men over 60 years old. New England Journal of Medicine, 323, 1-6.

Sitting Cool in the Hot Seat

"I know the answer, I just can't describe it very well." I heard this response many times during my tenure as a professor. I believe true knowledge and understanding exists only when you can explain yourself in a way that someone else who knows virtually nothing about a subject can understand. I think Einstein said it best, "If you cannot explain something simply, you do not understand it very well." And Einstein was fairly smart. So, my students had to talk about subjects. I call it conversational knowledge.

Knowledge breeds confidence. People gravitate toward confidence which is comforting and reassuring. But, sometimes confidence is confused with arrogance. The word arrogant is derived from arrogate which means "To take or claim for oneself without right." An arrogant person claims knowledge without actually possessing it. A humble confidence quietly calls to the heart and soul of the listener. A proud arrogance calls only to itself.

You are confident when you are free from doubt. You believe in yourself and your abilities. You know your limits and set reasonable expectations. You are comfortable with a certain amount of risk.

How do you develop confidence? Here is what a good friend and classmate of mine, Dan Earl, and I did when we were in school studying for exams. We would find a vacant classroom at the University of Buffalo and settle in for a few hours of what later became known as the "Hot Seat".

Dan would open his notebook and texbook of physiology and start asking me questions. I stood at a black board and used it to outline my responses. Dan might ask, "Explain how a muscle changes length." In a matter of a few seconds I would find myself at the bottom of my well of knowledge. We would then look up the information and go again. We would work for hours at a time. It was a great way to learn even very complex subjects.

Some twenty years later, I still use the "Hot Seat" method. At SportsCenter, our performance lab in Austin where we rebuild injured athletes, we have "Hot Seat Tuesday" where a member of SportsCenter's clinical staff spends 90 minutes in the "Hot Seat". The "Hot Seat" transforms the murky gobbildygook into a crystal clear understanding and sears information into your brain unlike any other learning experience. Although the process is uncomfortable the result is uplifting and inspiring.

To use the "Hot Seat" method you need two things: a partner with the same zeal to learn as yourself and a verifiable reference to keep you honest and true. Start with everday topics like, "How does stretching work?" or "What is strength?" You can find great information on the internet from sites such as emedicine.com, biomednet.com or scirus.com. Before long you may find yourself with a dozen or more new friends all digging together to expand your knowledge.

To build anything worthwhile, whether a business or a relationship, requires confidence. To build your confidence, try the "Hot Seat". Once you sit cool under the heat of this method, you will be amazed at what happens to your world.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Shake the Shillyshallies

"I doubt it."

"Why?"

"Don't know. Just do. I don't believe it. It'll get better. Anyway, if it doesn't, I'll do something about it then."

Sally has the shillyshallies. She is a doubter; a procrastinator. She pushed her decisions and actions to tomorrow and when tomorrow came it was today so she pushed it again and again. That's what the shillyshallies will do to you. Before long, you accomplish nothing but say you will - tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I will pay more attention to my wife; my children. I'll play catch with my son. Tomorrow, I will get really serious about losing weight and lowering my blood pressure. Tomorrow, I'll start reading that book that has been collecting dust on the bedside table. Tomorrow, I'll get that knee pain checked out. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. To whip up the sticky sweet elixir of the shillyshallies, mix the powerful pleasure of the present with a good dose of a diluted future.

Procrastination is the result of perceived importance or salience. The higher the salience, the more likely we will choose a course of action and procrastinate less. Salience is a function of four variables and can be expressed with the following formula derived from expectancy theory:

Salience = (E x V) divided by (S x T)

E stands for Expectancy; the chance the outcome will happen with a pleasing result while V stands for Value or how pleasant the outcome is. If you offer me a hot fudge sunday or a root canal, I will choose the hot fudge sunday. There is a very high probability that I will enjoy the Sunday (the value of E) and the value of the sunday to me is also high (that would be V). Basically, I will choose something I feel I will enjoy. I know I will not enjoy a root canal no matter how hard you try to convince me otherwise.

S stands for Sensitivity to Delay. How willing are you to wait for a positive outcome? T stands for Time or how long the delay will be for the result. If I am impatient for a result, then I would have a high sensitivity. This is why people join health clubs and quit within 90 days. They are impatient with the lack of results (S) because it is taking too long (T).

Motivational research tells us that people who have the shillyshallies generally doubt their or others performance abilities, have lower self-esteem and have higher levels of fatigue. They do not believe they can (low expectancy), do not think they are worth the effort (low value) and do not have the energy anyway (which means they will not tolerate waiting very long for the outcome. They do not have the endurance).

Here is how it works. You have a dull, throbbing pain in your knee that comes and goes. You have had it for years. Yet, you have chosen to do nothing about it even though you talk about it weekly. Why?

Self-esteem means to hold your self in high regard. We tend to take care of the things we love. I know people who take better care of their automobile than they do of themselves. Disregarding messages from your body is one form of low self-esteem. As hard as it may be to accept, you do not care enough about your own knee to take action. If your knee were a friend, it would have abandoned you years ago for lack of interest.

Your expectancy is low. The outcome you desire is for your knee to quit hurting but thus far it has not. You do not expect it to because you have no reason to think otherwise (Freud said it best in 1925 in his paper on Negation. We first deny reality, choose the worst scenario then seek evidence to support the choice) and the pain is not yet bad enough. You choose things that you can more easily obtain over things that require more effort. Every choice has a pay off. You choose to talk about the pain instead of taking another action because it pays you back in some way that you value (percolate on that one for a while and I believe you will find it to be a truth).

If you have the shillyshallies, it's time to shake them. Today. Not tomorrow. To shake the shillyshallies, the first step is to accept you are your most important asset. Remember, we care for the things we love and love is a choice not a feeling. Second, to raise the salience, think about the pay offs. What are you choosing to do instead? Why? What does it give you? A temporary, warm glow that fizzles with the first rain? Fight the temptation to run from the truth. Look at it straight in the eyes and say it out loud. "I choose to watch TV because it's easier than reading with my daughter and I'm tired and I need a break". That would be the truth and how does it sound to you? Still want to watch TV?

Oddly, the shillyshallies, as with nearly every human dysfunction, is an intergenerational and a transgenerational one. We pass it on to our children and they to their children. Why? Because the dysfunction is subconscious. We do not even know we have it until you read something like this essay when suddenly you feel the resonating chord in your soul and silently whisper, "That's me." And if you are unaware, you will never change it. And so it goes...

Make today a shillyshally shaking one.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Joy Ride

Standing in the long check out line at Best Buy, I noticed a young woman with her two children, an older man by himself and a family of five. They didn't know each other but shared the same look. They all looked unhappy. Then I glanced around the store and there were more. More people everywhere with that same gaze.

I see people chasing things they can never catch; running from things that will never catch them. And there are no smiles. Frowns. Worried and furrowed brows. Down turned lips with eyes that no longer see. They stare. They miss so much. They miss themselves.

Sometimes injuries can rob you of your joy. Snatch it out of your soul silently and with such deftness you don't even know it's gone. You have a hole in your heart the size of a truck and desperately fill it with whatever you can.

And so, the quest goes on to find something, anything to fill the void. To mend the heart. To find the joy again.

When is enough enough?

Enough money.

Enough control.

Enough space.

Enough time.

Enough anger.

Enough vengeance.

Enough bitterness.

Enough power.

Enough speed.

Enough strength.

Enough fame.

Enough stuff.

Enough food.

Enough drink.

Enough love.

When is it enough?

When will you be fulfilled? Satisfied? When will you be happy?

What keeps you from being you? When is being you enough for you?

Joy comes from an open heart. Sometimes the pain is so great, we close our heart to avoid feeling it. We substitute bitterness for pain. But, joy cannot dwell in a closed heart. To find your joy again, start by acknowledging your loss. Let yourself feel it. Talk about it. Then let it go. Pursue something new. Help someone other than yourself. And suddenly the hole in your heart is filled.

Go find your joy again.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

I Love Lucy

I flipped on the light switch for our backyard expecting to see sections of the yard bathed in light. Instead, half of the yard was black. Since we were having friends over to dine outside, the darkness had to go. This meant changing two light bulbs nestled nearly 30 feet above the ground under the corner of the roof. No problem. Just climb up there and change them. How hard could it be?

I didn't have a ladder that would reach and realized I also didn't have time to go buy one. So, I invented one. I walked around the back of the house and then into the side fenced area where we keep our large, green, plastic trash bin. Everyone on our street has the same trash container from the city. It is huge. The roof line was about seven or eight feet and I figured the trash bin would get up close enough that I could scamper onto the roof then make my up onto the second story. From there, I could change the bulbs.

I rolled the trash bin over and lined it up with the edge of the roof. I strategically placed it up against our fence so it would be secure. I shook it just to make sure. "Good enough," I thought and climbed up on top of it.

I had made a small error in judgment however. The trash bin’s two large wheels were on the side of the yard sloped down away from the house. So, as I got up on top with one foot on the trash bin and one on the roof, the trash bin began moving. Suddenly it was moving away from the house and it was picking up speed. I realized, too late, what was happening and quickly fell to the ground with a sharp thud! I hit a brick lying casually next to the bottom of a tree with my left elbow. My left hip missed the edge of a cement block by about an inch. I was bruised but not broken. There was some evidence of my mishap though. My left elbow was scraped, bleeding and growing in size.

I was not deterred. I remembered I had a stepladder. It was six feet tall. Why didn't I think of this earlier? Duuuuhhhh! So, I lugged the ladder around to the side of the house replacing the trash bin. I managed to climb up on the roof and then made my way on up to replace the bulbs.

Thirty feet is very high off the ground especially when you're looking down over the edge of a roof. The bulbs were tucked up under the edge beckoning to me, "Hey buddy, I'll bet you can't get me!" To change them, I would have to lean over the edge, reach out and under the roof, unscrew the bulbs then screw in the new ones. My elbow throbbed with each heartbeat. It was kindly reminding me of my earlier stupidity. Thankfully, I listened and climbed back down off the roof to live another day.

Carol Burnett once said, "Humor is tragedy plus time". When I told this story to my wife, Ellen, later in the day (upon her astute observation of the bruised elbow), I laughed. So did she. And, every time I tell this story, my audience laughs. Tragedy plus time can be funny.

The greater the tragedy the more time we need before we feel safe enough and whole enough to laugh again. When the World Trade Center Twin Towers were attacked in 2001, a long time passed before we found anything funny. I suspect for some of the families affected by the attack, humor is still a long time away. It was a tragedy of an unbelievable magnitude. But, without laughter we become imbalanced. We must laugh to be whole. Laughter is good for you. Here’s why.

When you laugh, levels of Cortisol, a hormone released into the bloodstream during stressful events or thoughts, drop. Cortisol is immunosuppressive which means that it reduces your body's ability to fight off infection and inflammation. It also lowers your pain threshold. A good, hard, belly rocking, tear producing laugh elevates your T-cells, Natural Killer Cells and Immunoglobulin A* and lowers your pain. In other words, it jumps starts the immune system.

Sadness and laughter cannot coexist. The human brain is capable of holding only one emotion at a time. You cannot be both sad and happy simultaneously (to learn more about this, read "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman). I am not suggesting you just start laughing instead of crying. If you need to cry, cry. But, when the tears stop, go watch "I Love Lucy" and have a hearty laugh. And then, do it again tomorrow.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

P.S. There's more to come about laughter! Stay connected!

How to Win

There are few things in life that feel better than overcoming a challenge. Whether it is a painful knee, a stiff lower back, an under performing business or a lackluster relationship, winning is good. Contrary to what many believe, success requires more mental skill than physical. The words you speak create actions. The actions you take begin building habits. Habits yield results. So, the question becomes are you happy with the results? If not, what do you do?

Clients want to feel better. Most do not know why they feel bad or what to do to feel better. The first step to overcome a physical challenge (or any other type of challenge) is take an inventory of the essential ingredients for success. The essential ingredients come from the world of sports.

Researchers at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, identified five characteristics for success. They did this by studying 128 characteristics of winning athletes. They created two lists from the 128 traits. One list of physical traits and one list of psychological traits. They enlisted the help of 658 coaches asking them to identify five traits that they routinely noticed in winners. The five traits for winning are:

1. Winning athletes love to play their game or sport.
2. Winning athletes possess a positive attitude in general towards life.
3. Winning athletes are teachable/coachable.
4. Winning athletes are self-motivated.
5. Winning athletes have the discipline and drive to take the necessary steps to improve their game.

By changing a few words, this list works for your clients as well. Replace the word "athlete" with client and the word "game" with "life". Replace the phrase "love to play their game or sport" with "love what they do". The list now looks like this:

1. Winning clients love what they do.
2. Winning clients possess a positive attitude in general towards life.
3. Winning clients are teachable/coachable.
4. Winning clients are self-motivated.
5. Winning clients have the discipline and drive to take the necessary steps to improve their game.

There is no mention of physical attributes on the list. Winning is mental first, physical second. You must focus on the present, work toward the future and let go of the past. You must take suggestions and criticisms and look closely at your weaknesses striving to minimize them. You must think what others do not think, do what others do not do and go where others will not go to win.

Share this list with you clients, co-workers, friends and family. Help them become winners by changing how they think. You will win too.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Gentleman Jim

The two heavyweights were on edge. One, a methodical, clever and persistent puncher while the other a wild swinging brawler. The public adored the brawler John Sullivan, the current champion at age 33. The media hype leading up to the historic fight was intense and all bets were on Sullivan. But he was in for the shock of his boxing life.

James Corbett at age 26 was the world’s first “scientific” boxer. Rather than hone his skills in the local pubs and bars as did the other boxers of his era, James went to a gym and worked on specific skills he knew he must have to win. He was slight of build for the heavyweight division at 6’1” and 180lbs. Speed, dexterity and cunning deception were his best assets. He doggedly pursued his training all the while keeping his eye on the prize.

In 1892 James had his chance. He managed to secure a fight with John Sullivan, winner take all, in New Orleans at the Olympic Club. If he succeeded he would walk away with $45,000 (which today would be about $800,000!). Over 10,000 fans packed the arena paying up to $15 a piece (about $268.00 now) to witness what they were certain would be a brutal beating of James Corbett.

Corbett, from months of training, had developed skills unlike any boxer John Sullivan had ever faced. Corbett attacked Sullivan’s belly and ribs pounding away mercilessly easily landing punch after punch. The champion stumbled around the ring in a daze. Suddenly, a furious right hook landed square on the face of Sullivan followed by a lightening quick combination to the body. Sullivan collapsed face first and was down for the count. James Corbett had accomplished the impossible and he did it with focus, preparation and persistence.

Later in life, James Corbett was asked to describe what it takes to become a champion. He said, "You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round."

Gentleman Jim succeeded not by just fighting another round but by also fighting smarter. He assessed his strengths and honed them. If you or your clients have tough problems, follow the lead of Gentleman Jim. Don’t give up, fight another round, fight smarter.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Everyone Has a Story. What's Yours?

(Last year, I wrote a View entitled Minor Miracles. The following paragraph is an updated expansion of that story.)

When I first met Sherry, a 21-year old woman, in the spring of 2001, she was in a wheel chair accompanied by her mother and father. An orthopedic surgeon had referred her to me. I glanced at the referral and read, “ crutch training only.” I sighed. I was not thrilled with the idea of teaching someone how to use crutches. My mind began to crank up facts to support my lack of enthusiasm. It sputtered things like "After all, I had over 20 years of experience, was board certified and earned a PhD. What am I doing crutch training? I can't believe I am back doing crutch training! This is not going to be much fun."

I introduced myself and invited the family into the center. I sat down in front of Sherry and asked how I could help her. She paused and looked at her mother. Then, in a low voice, she said, “ I can’t lift my leg”. Not what I was expecting. I asked her why. “ I was in a really bad accident and broke my leg and my arm. And I got burned pretty badly too. I was in the hospital, the burn unit, for quite a while. I really want to walk.” I felt a mixture of sadness and embarrassment settle on me with a crushing load. Suddenly, I had a very different view of “crutch training only.

We all tell ourselves stories. We use stories to make sense of the world, to learn, to share our ideas and thoughts. Stories have the power to bring us to tears, stir deeply buried anger or evoke great joy. We can make up a story in a flash just as I did about Sherry. I did what many of us do. We see or hear, we create, we feel and then act. I saw a piece of paper with a few words scribbled on it and in the blink of an eye created a story well before I really knew anything. I made a crucial mistake. My assumptions were wrong.

Story creation is at the core of many disjointed relationships. We dread holiday gatherings because of the stories we create about people, which our mind then races dutifully to find the supporting evidence. We don't talk to each other about the difficult subjects because "we know" what the other person will do or say. We quietly undermine our employer by not giving our very best effort at work supporting it with a story like "well, he won't notice anyway. Why bother?". We spend our lives in a quiet inner world needing more, wanting to feel connected, needing a sense of value but have created stories of impossibility and then let the story play itself out in our lives.

Our actions are the result of feelings. We would like to think that our choices and actions are logical and rational. Hardly ever. Our choices are fueled by the story we have created which in turn evokes a feeling. Some of you may disagree. You may be thinking "Well, when I'm upset, I feel it first. I don't tell myself a story. I feel upset. And it is always first." But, remember, the story is created "in the blink of an eye". It is subtle and in most cases below your conscious awareness. You may have heard of a "hot button" or the phrase "he really pushes my buttons". The reason we have a "hot button" is that when the button is pushed it calls forth the connected story. Like a computer program. You double click on Internet Explorer on your desktop and off it goes. The program has to be there though for the button to work. No story, no hot button.

The first step in creating more harmonious relationships and getting more joy out of life is to recognize your contribution to your own story. Separate what you feel from the facts. Look at only those things that are verifiable, objective and stop. In my case, as soon as I started the inner dialogue about crutch training, I should have taken a breath. The facts are there is a young woman in a wheel chair with her parents here to see me. Those are objective and verifiable by a third party. The rest of the dialogue is just stuff I made up. A story. And, while I am making up the story, I miss the most important part of the meeting. Connecting with the other person.

When you are upset with feelings like anger, anxiety, fear, or doubt, ask yourself "what story am I telling myself?" How does this story help me? How does it hold me back? What purpose does the story serve? Are there any facts or is it all fiction?

What stories do you tell yourself? Are they holding you back or propelling you forward?

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Dump the Dump Truck

Every once in a while a person will drop by the office unannounced to say hello. It's sort of a mini-reunion. Gilbert stopped by the office today. He wandered in with his hands in his pockets. He looked about the same at 5'8 inches weighing roughly 170lbs with his ball cap on backwards and sporting a goatee. I said, "Hey, I know you - Gilbert! How are you my man?"

Gilbert could not stop grinning. He said, "Hey, dude, I was just down the hall. Busted my little finger and I thought, you know, I should stop by. You guys just rocked me man. Just so totally rocked me. Hey, I like what you've done to the place. Very cool. I love hanging out here, man. You dudes are just cool."

I'll admit I felt cool at that point. There is something about being 46 and someone over half your age calling you cool. You enter a special club - the cool club- by invitation only and not everyone is invited. You cannot create or invent a cool club invitation and I felt privileged to be in Gilbert's cool club. Made my day. Well, really it made my week. Maybe even my month. Okay, it made my year.

Gilbert found his way to our clinic, SportsCenter, by way of his case manager Sheila. Gilbert had injured his back at work several months ago. Sheila called me and explained he had been to a physical therapist and work hardening but was still not ready to go to work. She asked if I would take his case. I had doubts. The odds were not in Gilbert's favor. He had been injured several months prior, had already been through months of rehab and the research on return to work suggested he likely would not ever go back to work. But there was something quietly calling me to say yes and suddenly I did.

I believe most people want to improve and want to change. Many alcoholics want to quit drinking, smokers want to quit smoking and people in pain want out. But they do not know how, have no plan, no support and no accountability. They spend too much time looking at where they have been and not enough time looking at where they want to go. This was Gilbert's problem. His words reflected his thoughts. "I hurt all the time and can't really do anything. I'm not sure I will ever be able to work again." The anchor of the past was the size of a dump truck. He would have to cut it loose.

Gilbert and I had a long talk about his current situation. He was miserable. Finally, I asked, "Gilbert, when do you want to go back to work?"

"I dunno. I can't. My back hurts too much man. I mean I want to but I can't."

I paused and then asked again, "When do you want to go back to work?"

Gilbert just looked at me. "How can I? You don't have this pain! You don't know how I feel! How should I know?"

"Gilbert, as long as you think you cannot, you will not. I know this is hard because of all the things you have been through but if you want to change your life you must change your thinking. Now, when do you want to go back to work?" I responded.

"So you're saying just pick a date? Just some day in the future?"

"Yes. Pick a date. If I think it is too soon I will tell you."

"Well, I guess two months. Two months from today - is that a good time?"

"Excellent. Two months from today you will be back at work. Now let's talk about how you will do it."

I explained my expectations. "First, you must have a winning attitude. Winners do not quit just because something gets hard. Everything is hard at first. If you really want to work again, your body is going to make you earn it. Show up whether you hurt or not, work hard and tell me if something bothers you. If I ask you to do something, I expect you will give me nothing less than 100%. Anything less and we're done. Agreed?"

He agreed and off we went.

Gilbert did everything I asked of him and more. He worked harder than many of the pro or Olympic athletes I've trained. He had periods where the negative self-talk would slip in and doubts would bubble to the surface when his back hurt, but when I asked him if he wanted to quit he would say, "No way." He was a real pleasure to be around and his positive can-do attitude was infectious.

Gilbert beat his two month goal. He was very proud and when we presented him with a certificate of completion, he paraded around the room showing everyone what he had done. He had successfully transformed himself from a negative, miserable victim to a positive, shining winner. It all began by changing what he thought he could do. Although the drills and exercises were important, they would be useless if Gilbert had not made the decision to dump the dump truck of his past and negative thoughts.

Are there people you know who are pulling a dump truck? Who can you help become a winner? Who in your life needs to pick a date and go after the dream?

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

The Cocaine of Back Pain

Our world has become one dominated by accessibility, speed, and rapid gratification. Mobile phones, pagers, personal digital assistants, and email have all become not only common place but necessities. And while these tools have made the transfer of information easier it comes at a price. The price is an addiction to more stuff sooner, quicker and faster. We want what we want when we want it and not a second later.

In business, some people think the answer to rapid gratification is the discounted price "Sale! - for this weekend only!" approach. Business owners (and I admit having been under its spell) are hooked by the elixir of quick sales, high volume and flowing cash. But, it is a short lived high for the consumer grows wise and is quickly educated to wait for the next sale and the next sale. Before long profits slide and what was once a rising tide of hope and joy is now the whimpering voice of despair. The SALE is the cocaine of advertising and believe it or not, the same phenomenon exists in health care.

The cocaine of back pain is the quick fix of manipulation. The cozy comfort of the snap, crackle, pop as the joint surfaces separate followed by a rush of neuronal impulses to the unsuspecting thalamus in the brain. Here, the thalamus succumbs to the onslaught of stimuli and passes it on to higher brain centers. With amazing speed, what was painful is no longer but the problem is still lurking in the shadows just waiting for another opportunity. We go back to our frenetically paced life oblivious to the time bomb in our spine. Tick Tock.

Think for a moment about the things in your life you really, deeply care about and I suspect none of them developed quickly. Your friends, your home, your business, your career, your family and even fine wine all take time. Great art and music take time. The body is no different. Recovery, healing, and rebuilding take time. You have to earn your health.

What kind of business or career do you want? What will be the mark you leave in the world? Will you be happy and fulfilled with a string of quick fixes or just successful?

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Champions Never Hurry

Champions never hurry. They know they do not become champions at the end of a race or game. They become champions by the choices they make every day. They create their future.

Julio Franco, former National League batting champion, once told me "It's not how you start. It's how you finish." The difference between a champion and second place is three things: attitude, preparation and execution.

The Champion attitude is built by remembering that what you speak you will eventually believe. Champions speak the language of winning. They are not deterred by setbacks. They say "I will" not "I hope". As Yoda aptly put it "Do or do not. There is no try." They do not try to be better than someone else. They try to better themselves. Every day presents opportunities; choices. Every day the champion makes wise choices to build an impenetrable attitude.

Champions prepare themselves off the court. They are consumed by the passion for what they do. They know everything about their sport. They practice the skills required, strive to minimize their weakness and exploit their strengths. They spend hours practicing and rehearsing to create automatic and nearly reflexive responses. They seek out the best and learn from them. Preparation develops skill. As skill improves, confidence rises.

While many have the attitude and the preparation, few can execute when it matters. John Wooden, former head basketball coach at UCLA and the winner of an unmatched 10 NCAA titles with 7 in row, rarely left the bench during the game. He never shouted at referees or berated his players. His opinion was at game time, the only thing that mattered was execution. Yelling and screaming will not improve execution. What improves execution is focus. Focus on the basics; on what you know you know. Do not deviate. Have faith in yourself. Be patient. Most men and women fail from fractured focus. They have the skill but under pressure they gravitate away from the very things that brought them to the pinnacle. They try to do or be something they cannot. They fail.

Champions are all around you. Would you like to be a builder of champions? Who needs you today?

Change the world.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Saving Apollo 13

Ken planned for years to make the flight. He studied, practiced and trained with tireless intensity. As the medical staff explained his condition, Ken struggled to accept the news. His fate on Apollo 13’s flight to the moon was sealed because of the measles. Although he was certain their diagnosis was wrong there was nothing he could do now but stand aside and watch.

In April 1970, Apollo 13 experienced a series of problems en route to the moon. As a result they had to abort the mission and return to earth. The crew was told to shut down the command module and power down all of the computers to preserve the little battery energy remaining. On earth NASA scrambled to develop a start-up sequence that would use only 20 amps of power. They called Ken Mattingly for help.

Ken sat in the flight simulator for hours working on the sequence. The frustration levels were high as time was running out. With each trial Ken exceeded 20 amps. The Flight Operations Director told him to omit something, to get the amperage down to 20. Ken exclaimed, “I can’t! They need every one of these steps to get back here!” Flight Ops responds, “Ken, you’re telling us what you need. We’re telling you what we have to work with – 20 amps.” And in that moment Ken accepts “what is” and goes back to work. Later, Ken developed a sequence that used only 20 amps of power.

Everyday in our practice people struggle accepting “what is”. Some of us spend hours wishing for what was while others fear what might be. The hours slowly expand into days and the days into weeks. Accepting “what is” frees your mind to work on what could be. The mind constantly seeks solutions and evidence to support our thoughts. If we are anchored to the past or fearing the future, suddenly everywhere we look we discover something to reinforce our position. What we think is what we say, what we say is what we do and what we do is what we get.

What would have happened if Ken Mattingly refused to accept the reality of the 20 amp limit? Apollo 13 wouldn’t have been one of America’s greatest recoveries. It would have been a tragic disaster.

How much of your day do you or your patients spend wishing for what was or fearing what might be? Accept “what is” first and begin planning to reach for what could be.

Make Today Count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Tick Tock

It seems contradictory to suggest you could be more productive, get more done in a day by slowing down. Somehow we have been conditioned to believe that if we hurry, we will get more done.

Time is the only asset we have and it is the one thing we all have in common. One twenty four hour period repeated seven times in a week. Each decision we make can be translated into time. Everything else is a derivative of how we use it. Those of us who use this time wisely produce more, get more done and have more time to do other things.

Fortunately for us, someone has already figured out how to help us make better decisions. His name is Vilfredo Pareto. In 1906, the Italian economist Vilfredo made a stunning discovery. He noticed that eighty percent of his country's wealth was owned by only 20% of its' population. Eventually this became known as Pareto's Principle or the 80-20 Rule. Regardless of what you call his observation, it means that the resources you expend will not match the output.

Another way to think of this is 80% of the time we waste in a day is on 20% of the things we do. We become sidetracked by the trivial. For example, how long, on average, does a physical examination take for someone who has low back pain? If we apply Pareto's Principle, we can conclude that 80% of our time will be consumed by only 20% of the things we choose to do. So are those things helpful in either disproving a diagnosis or directing an intervention? If not, we can re-capture a good chunk of time to use elsewhere. It is all of these small decisions that cumulatively add up to wasted time.

Instead, focus on the most troublesome 20% of the problem. Solving this amount will translate into fixing 80% of it. Patients tell us everyday their most troublesome problems. " I hurt when I walk" or " I can't bend over without hurting" or " I can't go up and down stairs - my knee hurts too much" are frequently heard in clinics all over the country. If we tackle one of these issues and focus on solving only the most troublesome part, we will make an 80% improvement in the problem. Take the problem of "I can't go up and down stairs - my knee hurts too much". Without a focus on the 20% of the problem, I may choose to strengthen the quadriceps through isometric contractions of the muscle or perform straight leg raises. Or, I may choose to do things to the person to reduce the complaint of pain perhaps ultrasound, electrical stimulation or massage. In either case, I have yet to focus on the most troublesome problem - climbing stairs. What I need to know is why stairclimbing hurts and remove the barrier. Perhaps it is because of a weakness of the patella tendon or perhaps the femur is rotating too quickly or maybe the joint surface is too soft. Before I intervene, I need to narrow my focus. I need to slow down to speed up.

Where do you spend your time? How can you use what Vilfredo discovered?

Make Today Count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

The Mystery of Dr. Albee

Dr. Albee set his tools aside and walked to the hand sink for what felt like the 1000th time over the past week. He was exhausted and perplexed. He had just completed his 50th dissection. How could his colleagues make such a mistake? His friends in gynecology and anatomy were unwilling to accept his stunning discovery. Why? What else did they need?

His discovery would explain the unusual pain patterns of women struggling through the final months of pregnancy. Dr. Albee's colleagues casually tossed the women's complaints into the "it's just some back pain" category and told the women they would just have to learn to live with it. From his studies, Dr. Albee knew they were wrong. He knew the pain these women experienced was from the yet to be accepted sacroiliac joint. He had, for the first time in history, clearly defined that the sacroiliac joint was in fact a true joint with all of the features of other joints in the body including the capacity to produce pain. The year was 1909.

Now, over ninety years later, Dr. Albee's work is still misunderstood. When I was teaching at the University of Oklahoma, every student had the same reaction to the topic of the sacroiliac joint. It was a mixture of anxiety, fear and dread. “It’s too complicated. All those axes, movements, terms, definitions. I just hope I never have to treat anyone who has a problem with their SI joint because I won’t have any idea what is wrong!” The students’ perception was an accurate one. I still hear it from clinicians today. But consider this - the joint moves only 3 degrees. How difficult can a joint be to understand that moves only 3 degrees?

Why does the SI joint cause such anxiety? Why did the physicians and scientists of the early 1900's reject Dr. Albee's findings? Why do people fail to accept the facts and instead accept fiction? Because fiction is more interesting.

The fiction of the SI joint is that treatment is dependent upon the exceptional palpation skill of the practitioner; without understanding all of the complexities of its axes of rotation, positional changes and unique physical properties, one could not possibly understand what to do. Hence, practitioners feel quite intimidated by their own apparent lack of knowledge when in fact they know more about the SI joint than they realize. How do I know this? I used to teach manual assessment of the SI joint and all of its complex treatments for many years. Fortunately, the good fairy of reason and common sense came to visit one night and clobbered me over the head. What a relief.

For those of you who want proof, there are two large problems with the distinction of the SI joint as different from other joints. First, is the assumption an asymptomatic population will have symmetrical findings and movements. They do not (Dreyfuss et al., 1994). Second, the entire assessment process is highly suspect since one is determining the degree of motion of a joint that under the best of circumstances has a maximum range of motion of 3 degrees.

Letting go of the need to make something complex when making it simple will do, is liberating and yet sometimes challenging. Treating someone for SI joint related pain is not terribly difficult especially when you no longer care which way the sacrum is tilted or whether one ilium is positioned too far forward or back. Dr. Albee would be proud.

Make Today Count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

The Looking Glass

Peter stood about a hundred yards from the edge of the city and stared straight ahead.  In the center of the magical city of Zoom stood a mirror.  This was no ordinary mirror. The Looking Glass, nearly ten feet tall and four feet wide, occupied a unique place in Zoom.  It had been there as long as anyone could recall.  Around its edges blossomed seasonal flowers with aromas that wafted through the city day and night.  If you looked closely, it almost appeared to be smiling.  Everyone in Zoom held the Looking Glass in high regard because it had special powers.

Anyone who stood in front of the Looking Glass and asked, “Looking Glass, what do I see?” knew the Looking Glass could, in an instant, determine the fears and weaknesses buried deep inside them and could also discern the readiness to hear the answer.  The answer would begin as a low emission of fog from the bottom edge of the mirror and slowly rise above The Looking Glass.  Barely legible words would begin to form at first, but suddenly a clearly defined answer would appear.  If the Looking Glass knew the person was not ready to see his own fears and was unprepared to address them, the answer would be “ANOTHER TIME.”  If, however, the person were earnest and ready, the fears would be revealed and removed for all time.

The people of Zoom had issued only a handful of Gold Medals of Introspection.  To stand before The Looking Glass required a level of humility and honesty that took most people many, many years to obtain.  Once a person received the Gold Medal, any other person who had the same fear or weakness noticed it had subsided in them as well.  Peter felt he was ready though and eagerly looked forward to standing before The Looking Glass.

As Peter approached the magical mirror, the people of Zoom took notice and gathered around the center of the city near the mirror.  He began to have second thoughts.  The thoughts of Doubt and Anxiety spoke with increasing volume.  At first, they whispered, “You’re not ready.  You will be embarrassed in front of the whole city.  The answer will linger for years for all to see.  Go home now before it is too late.”  He ignored them and continued forward toward the mirror.  With each step, Doubt and Anxiety grew louder with their threats.  He took two more steps, then three more.  He had at least twenty to go.  Doubt and Anxiety knew that most people would have turned back by now.  They decided to get some help.  As Peter took his next step, he heard from Loss of Control and Incompetence.

“You can’t do this Peter.  You don’t know how.  And even if you think you can, you won’t be able to stand the honest reflection of what makes you so worthless!” yelled Loss of Control and Incompetence.  Peter struggled to take the next step.  Should he quit? Were they correct?  Is this really worth it?

“Peter, I know you –the real you. I believe you can.  You are up to the task.” whispered Faith.  He had met Faith about a year ago, but he had grown to depend on him more and more. “Peter, trust yourself. You are an awesome person.  Go forward to The Looking Glass.”

Peter managed to get to the front of The Looking Glass with Doubt, Anxiety, Incompetence and Loss of Control all yelling as loudly as they could.  Peter closed his eyes, took a deep breath and barely spoke, “Looking Glass, what do I see?”

The crowd was silent.  A few seconds passed.  Nothing happened.  Peter opened his eyes and as he did he noticed the fog beginning to build at the bottom of the mirror.  A low murmur began to build through the growing crowd.  The fog gradually rose above the mirror.  The words Doubt, Anxiety, Incompetence and Loss of Control appeared.  The crowd erupted with cheers and applause.  Peter was so overwhelmed he began to cry.  The Looking Glass boomed “Peter, you have banished Doubt, Anxiety, Incompetence and Loss of Control from you forever and the people of Zoom have awarded you the Gold Medal of Introspection.  Step forward and receive your medal.”

Peter smiled a smile so big his face hurt.  He had done it.  “Peter, you should be proud.  I knew you could do it.”  said Faith.

That day in the city Zoom, Doubt, Anxiety, Incompetence and Loss of Control became very small in the lives of the people.  They have Peter and Faith to thank for it.

Can you stand in front of The Looking Glass?  Can you manage your fears and weaknesses enough to face them?  Standing in front of The Looking Glass will forever change your life.

Make Today Count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.

Dreaded Mrs. Jones

I love a good story. As I read or listen to a masterful storyteller, I am transported to a new world. Images appear in my mind. I create the characters in full color. It is like having a high definition television somewhere in my brain.

Patients tell you their stories everyday. Some people are better storytellers than others, but each has a unique story to tell. Within the story is the nature of their problem and how they’re dealing with it. I often hear in the story what the disease or injury is doing to them. I can hear anxiety, worry, pain or sometimes apathy. I can see it in a facial expression or body movement. For the first several minutes of the interview, I listen and create images in my mind from their story. I just let them talk. And talk. And talk. I ask questions along the way to get them to process their own story but initially I want to discover how they feel about what is happening in and to their body without actually asking the question overtly.

One of the main contributors to burnout in healthcare, from my view, is the requirement to listen to people all day long and yet not have the necessary skill to do so. For me it is like trying to tighten a screw without the right size screwdriver. It can be exhausting to hear people complain all day long if you do not have a method of coping with it. We will of course develop some method of coping as a psychological defense. Some of these coping skills are not very flattering but they work. I have seen practitioners use everything from humor to completely disengaging from the patient in an effort to minimize the draining of their own energy. How many times have you found yourself dreading Mrs. Jones scheduled in the morning at 8AM? First, why are you even thinking about it? Why the dread? Mrs. Jones has successfully transferred her problem to you and now both of you are miserable.

My professional training was severely lacking in the skill of listening. When I first began practicing, I was more interested in getting boxes filled in, forms completed and data collected than I was in listening to what someone had to say. I felt the need to do something; examine, poke, prod, stretch or jiggle a joint. If I was not doing something I was not a therapist. As long as I collected some data, poked and prodded, I would exit an interview feeling pretty good about my accomplishments. In reality, I knew very little about the person I just interviewed.

Along the way, as is the case in life, I met someone with exceptional listening skill, Dr. Ed Tyson. Dr. Tyson is a family medicine physician with a sub-specialty in adolescent medicine. He listens unlike anyone I have ever met. I discovered his amazing talents by simply talking to him. The entire discussion is about you - not him. He knows how to help you discover things about yourself and in the process you feel really good. I was very intrigued by what Dr. Tyson did, so I spent many hours talking to him about his skills and how I could develop my own. It was from both our discussions and reading that I gradually began to develop my listening ability.

When I feel frustrated or anxious about a patient or situation, I do two things (I learned these from my good friend Dr. Tyson). First, I make a note to myself. I need to check this out. Something is going on here and I need to know why. Why do I feel like this? Discovering the “why” may take a while but awareness is the key to discovery. The way you see the problem is the problem. The feeling of dread comes from my own fear of incompetence. I feel out of control and do not like the feeling. I then associate this with Mrs. Jones. The problem is me – not Mrs. Jones. When I identify the source of my incompetence (which by the way is interpersonal communication skill for most of us) and address it, the dread will disappear. Secondly, I remind myself that sometimes a person like Mrs. Jones just wants to be heard. Think about the healthcare system, and for that matter society in general, and you may begin to understand her plight. Our culture is speed oriented. Get a lot done in a little time. But we are social beings with strong needs to be heard, loved, valued and respected. Where do we get that in our everyday lives? Many people simply do not. Sitting down with Mrs. Jones and helping her talk will often diffuse the intensity of her need to be heard. The behaviors you found so unappealing will begin to fade and a new person will emerge.

Are you listening now?

Make Today Count.

Doug Kelsey
Author. Teacher. Therapist.