Episode 2:
Taaron joined me for my second episode featured on the weekly bulletin. As a fellow classmate of mine, we have nearly identical schedules, mindsets, and end-goals. We are well aware of the level of difficulty that chiropractic programs provide. Knowing this, we make sure to hold each other accountable every day and week. Taaron is passionate about serving his community, making his friends and family proud, and doing more than what is asked of him. My first two impressions of Taaron were: 1) why is this kid from New Mexico a Miami Dolphins fan? and 2) he allows himself to be vulnerable and put himself out there in order to make others happy; he’s selfless.
Another thing that I’ve recently found out about Taaron is that he isn’t the type of person to slam his laptop shut right at 5 o’clock. He’s willing to put in over-time until he masters the objective at hand. I recognize this and try to apply this “second-wind” to my daily life.
Watch the video above to learn more about Taaron, his future in chiropractic, and what his plan of action is to becoming successful, in and out of the clinic.
**Recap: “**Time is not linear. Time is the feeling that we experience when we see some kind of change in our spatial bodies or environments.”
This week I had 3 exams and 1 skills check. It was a hectic week but, as always, it was manageable. Following the conclusion of the week, I looked back and felt satisfied with my performance on the exams. I am quite critical of myself so my initial thoughts were that I could have studied a bit more, especially for my Clinical Biomechanics exam. Taking exams in person was actually a nice change of pace. I really had to focus on my studies and make sure to remove all false senses of security since I could no longer rely on my notes that were by my side. I hadn’t taken an in person exam since my last term at OSU in the Fall of ‘21.
Challenges: “Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise” — Kobe Bryant
For my Chiropractic Methods skills check, I had to palpate the largest students’ left L3 mammillary process while in side-posture. This is the exact scenario that each and every student was dreading. Larger students’ bony landmarks are more difficult to locate due to extra soft tissue, and the mammillary processes have been a challenge for me since we began learning about them. It was only destiny that I got this scenario since I had attempted to manifest to get literally anything other than what I got.
Mammillary process (noun): a superior process on a costal process connected in the lumbar region with the back part of the superior articular process
The whole class was watching, the room was dead silent, the teacher was recording and taking notes. After my typical introduction to my patient, I went to slide the leg rest out from within the chiropractic table for my [estimated] 6’7 300 lb patient. The leg rest wasn’t long enough for him and it fell out of the table. Embarrassing… This threw me off and I began to panic, especially since setting up the table is the easiest part. Once I had my patient in position, it took me a while to get started, which is normal for patients in side-posture. After a minute or two, I located what I believed to be the desired landmark. The doctor came over, replaced my finger, and then jotted down some notes, all without saying a word. Talk about being stressed!
Afterwards, my patient, Riley, was a great sport and told me that I did all I could do given the situation. Though I wasn’t looking forward to this specific palpation, I was glad I got it. I needed the challenge and adversity. I ended up getting 20/20 for the skills check which provided me a great sigh of relief.
Going back to what I’ve discussed previously about leadership, if there’s anyone that's going to be put into a high pressure situation, then I hope that it’s me. I’m starting to get the feeling that some of my peers (outside of Erin and Taaron) see me as someone who has their craft together. And if they don’t, I don’t care. I’m going to continue to embody the persona of someone that is passionate about community, healthcare, and leadership. If I allow weak, negative thoughts to creep into my mind, they will take over and multiply, kind of like viral transduction…
Transduction (verb): the action or process of converting something and especially energy or a message into another form
Recipient cell is our brain
Negative attitudes are the bacteriophages
Negative thoughts are the viral DNA
Viral DNA use the recipient cell’s intracellular protein assembly pathways to create more bacteriophages
Conclusion: “You can’t control other people. You can only control your reactions to them.”
We are all the authors of our own personal stories. For the most part, we control our fate. Many will argue that life is unpredictable and that we are unable to control all of our outcomes. This is somewhat true, but when we are confident and prepared, the ambiguity of life becomes less frightening.
Humans are resilient. We can achieve anything that receives our undivided attention. Failing once does not mean that the task at hand isn’t for you, it means that more practice is needed in order to adapt to the challenging stimulus. As we continue to try and fail, time and time again, our brains undergoes neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity (noun): the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections, especially in response to learning or experience
This phenomena is often described as “use it or lose it”. If you stop working out, playing golf, or speaking a second language, those movements and neural pathways become weakened over time. This makes doing any of these actions more difficult when you attempt to pick the activity back up. But if you continuously work at it and allow yourself to fail, your brain will form new neural circuits that makes doing these activities easier the next time around. What is frequently called “muscle memory” is biologically known as neuroplasticity.
Knowing the logistics of neuro-anatomy and physiology, I can use neuroplasticity to my advantage. If negative thoughts and attitudes are going to diminish my emotional neural circuitry over time, why would I continue to allow that to process in my head?
Any scenario can be substituted for the one I just described. Take one good habit and one bad habit from your life. These are established habits because you routinely do them. They feel natural to do because they have the most neural circuits compared to neural pathways of similar actions (e.g. going to the gym vs not going to the gym).
Newton’s 3rd Law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Newton understood the physics of everyday life in order to determine the predictability within nature.
I want you to be the most open-minded, productive and loving version of yourself. But in order to accomplish this, you have to put the time and effort in. Do not overload yourself with negative stimuli that will weaken your system over time.
— tovey.eth