Commitment And Change
By Steve Taubman, Thu Dec 8th

Ten years ago, I was living an entirely different life. I owneda large chiropractic, holistic health clinic. I was thepresident of my state chiropractic association, and I was seeingmany hundreds of people for their health concerns each month. Iwas, by all outward measures, successful.

Yet, I was discontent. Everything on the outside seemed alright,but I couldn't get excited about my life. I felt bored, anxious,frustrated, and unhappy. I started to notice that I haddeveloped the habit of looking at my watch more and more often.In the final days of my practice, I would have looked at mywatch about 10 times by 9 a.m., and I'd only arrived an hourearlier!

Finally, I realized that this couldn't go on. It wasn't fair tomy patients who deserved an enthusiastic, committed doctor, andit wasn't fair to me who deserved a rewarding, fulfilling life.I'd already attempted to light a fire under myself on severaloccasions by attending motivational and educational seminars,but the results hadn't lasted more than a few weeks each time.It was time to make a change.

I knew that there were going to be a lot of unhappy people, whohad come to count on me for a variety of reasons and that myparents weren't going to be excited to learn that the investmentI'd made of my time and, to some extent, their money, was nowgoing to be wasted. Nonetheless, I had to be true to myself andtrust that in doing so I'd ultimately be doing what was best foreveryone.

I decided to embark on an adventure with no firm plans of whatwas next. I went to Guatemala, intent on spending a few monthstraveling around Central America, with no established structure.I thought I could use the time to reflect on what was importantto me, to work on my language skills, and to drink in a newculture. It was an exciting proposition. Still, it was a bitscary. I didn't know what I'd find there, and I didn't know howwell I'd fit into the fabric of Latin American society.

It was during my fourth day in Antigua that I discovered a smallchiropractic office on a side street and off the beaten path. Isat in the waiting room until the doctor came out and found mesitting there. I introduced myself as Steve, a chiropractor fromthe USA, and he introduced himself as Todd, an Americanexpatriate, living and working in Guatemala for the last coupleof years. Upon learning that I was a chiropractor, he asked whatmost chiropractors ask of their colleagues. "Would you mindgiving me an adjustment? I haven't seen another chiropractoraround these parts for the last six months!" I obliged him, andafter trading adjustments, we walked out to the waiting room.

There, sitting in the waiting room by himself, was an Americanman about my age. He stood as we entered the room. He lookedfrom me to Todd. He extended his hand to me, thinking I was thedoctor, and said...

"Hello, I'm Steve. I'm a chiropractor from the USA."

Todd and I looked at each other in disbelief. After a moment ofsilence, Todd introduced himself as the proprietor of thepractice, and I introduced myself as Steve, a chiropractor fromthe USA. He asked me where I practiced, and I told him of myrecent departure from the field. He responded that he, too, hadjust sold his practice of 14 years (the same length of time I'dbeen in practice.) "What brings you to Guatemala?" I asked.

"I just wanted to have a place to reflect on my life and goalsand to work on my language skills. And you?"

"The same."

After his adjustment, Steve and I decided to get lunch togetherand discuss our common experiences. We walked out the door intothe afternoon sun and simultaneously reached

into our backpacksto get a cap. The caps we pulled out were identical, except forone thing. While mine said "100 Years of Chiropractic" on it,his said "Vermont," which happened to be the state in which Ilived. Turns out he had friends in my city and had been thereseveral times in the past.

Over the next several days, Steve and I became friends, as weare to this day. We learned of many more coincidences, includingthe fact that we had both been married and were currently goodfriends with our ex-wives and that we both enjoyed adventuresports.

Weeks later, I was traveling through Honduras with mygirlfriend. We were taking a boat ride around the island ofRoatan, and I was telling her the now famous "Steve Story." Asthe boat came to the dock on the remote side of the island, wedisembarked and climbed the steep wooden staircase to therestaurant above. My story was winding to a conclusion, but Icouldn't have anticipated that the last words of the story wouldbe... "And that's him, right there!" Ten feet in front of us satSteve and his lunch guest, blissfully unaware of our arrival. Wespent the next couple days catching up and telling more stories.

On arrival back in the USA, I made plans to meet up with Stevein his home state of Montana, as part of a plane trip I'dplanned across the country. When I shared my travel plans withJohn, the doctor who'd purchased my practice, his questions ledto the most startling revelation of all: John had lived inMontana, Steve had been John's chiropractor, and John's bestfriend had purchased Steve's practice.

When I got back to Vermont, I shared this story with a verywise, spiritual man I know. I said, "What do you make of thisbizarre set of events?" He said, "I think it proves that youwere in the right place, because when you got there...there youwere!" He then went on to remind me of all the fear anduncertainty I felt embarking on the journey, and how none ofthat existed any more. The magical quality of the meeting withSteve had reassured and supported me as I went along my path.

The universe has a way of supporting courageous action. Manypeople have had the experience of delaying a decision out offear and then finally taking the leap, only to have a series ofunforeseen events unfold to support their decision and help themalong the way. In 1951, the Scottish explorer, W.N. Murray said:

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to drawback, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiativeand creation there is one elementary truth, the ignorance ofwhich kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the momentone definitely commits oneself, Providence moves too. All sortsof things occur to help one that would otherwise never haveoccurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents,meetings, and material assistance, which no man could havedreamt would have come his way.

Your commitment to a path of change is likely to yield fargreater benefits than you might imagine. Embark on your journey,confident that there will be surprises which will help remindyou why you're taking the action you're taking. Trust theuniverse to support your growth, and invite it to present youwith delightful gifts that will prove to you that you're on theright track. Never doubt that once you've established a firmfoothold on your commitment to change, you'll get support inways unimagined.

About the author:Dr. Steve Taubman is recognized as the nation's "Starting overExpert." As a chiropractor, magician, hypnotist, pilot, speaker,coach, and author, Dr. Taubman has developed skills to reinventhis life and the techniques to help others do the same. You canvisit his web site at: www.unhypnosis.com