Our physios gathered together to have our annual mid year planning day yesterday. With blue chilly skies, but no rain, we had a very enjoyable meeting, lunch, coffee and cake at the Container in Dundas. Food was great, and it’s always a nice time to see where we’ve come from over the last 12 months, and to plan for where we would like to get to over the next 12 months. Our team has changed a little – Kevin Zhu has made way for Angela Zhu (no relation), and our 2 clinics at 1Health and CCMC are all to sit under the banner of Tan Hands. I’ve returned to the clinic for the last 6 months at 1Health working two days a week, and ensuring that the clinic runs the way I would like.

Our theme for the next year ahead is to: Evolve.

Our lives are in constant flux, and it’s no different with business. We have to continue to grow and adapt or we get stagnant and outdated. And with growth, there are healthy ways to grow, and unhealthy ways to grow. But if we find the right balance of internal improvement, and a consistent structure to support our growth, both our lives and business will bear the fruit of all that toil.

One advantage of attending an agricultural school growing up (one that actually insisted that everyone learn agriculture – at that time) was the chance to learn and see how balance of elements (in the right combinations) was the vital part of all growth of animals, plants, and life. Plants need Warmth, Oxygen and Water (WOW) but in the wrong combination, the plants will die or fail to flourish.

For our team of physios, it’s often the danger of getting too busy treating and seeing patients that we lose the time to train, and to do the self reflection on things we could improve on or do better next time. Such as, how do I find the right words to communicate 10% more effectively to that difficult teenager who doesn’t see the link between their poor posture and their neck pain. Or how to better structure our athletes programmes to maximise their potential and strength, but also to prevent them from losing time to injuries and recovery.

And, as we find our balance as people and health professionals, we can help our patients to also find that balance and the positive benefits which that brings to their bodies and lives. So it’s important that our practice encourages balance for our staff, so that they in turn can provide the best care and help for the patients they are seeing.

And with all that said, my split life as a mortgage broker and physio, and team leader, administrator and work at home Dad, has had many elements of being as out of balance as anyones life. But it’s in the wrestle of all these elements to bring them under control and to try to excel in those areas, and to flourish and to try to build a team that also flourishes, is the process that still gets me excited each day – maybe a bit less so the brokering, but it continues to grow on me!

To all of our patients, thanks again for joining us on this journey of life and learning. We thank you always for your stories that challenge and educate us, so that we may all arrive to a point of understanding our bodies and our lives that much better.

Best,

Derek

Any feedback – send to derek@tanhands.com.au