What We Learned and are Grateful for in 2020

2020 was a year unlike any other. It was historical for many not so good reasons. However, I do feel like 2020 gave us many things...especially for those who looked for the good.

I know that 2020 has been a rough year and has been difficult for many, so first and foremost I want to acknowledge how difficult the year was for many and give my condolences to anyone who lost a family member or anyone that they love. If you lost a family member or someone close to you that you love I pray for your family and healing in these hard times. I also pray that you find peace and purpose in the year to follow.

I have asked the MPI instructors to tell me what they learned and are grateful for the 2020 experience.

Below are the responses that I got from the MPI family about lessons they learned and the things that they were grateful for from 2020. I think all of us can agree that the most obvious thing that we can be grateful for this year was that it forced us to slow down. 2020 allowed us to connect and reconnect with family and friends in different ways. It gave us more time with our families and for that I will always be grateful for 2020.

Enjoy these responses and let's make 2021 the best year yet.

Brett Winchester,DC:
I decided to take a different approach during covid. Everyone was talking about finding ways to still grind/teach through covid, I decided I was going to do the opposite. I slept in more, hung out with my friends and family alot (drank wine), rode my bike etc. I also dug deep in my private practice and looked for inefficiencies. I looked at this year like halftime in my career. I will be ready to crush in 2021.

Grateful for the community of Troy, MO.

Mark King,DC:
I learned that good sleep makes me a better person, DC, athlete, learner, husband, father, friend.

I am grateful that Covid gave me great times with my kids with just us as a family.

Erika Mennerick, DC:
Learned: I learned that crisis makes entrepreneurs get really creative and efficient with their businesses. ...I’ve seen it in my own business, but I’ve also been inspired watching entrepreneur-patients handle the changes that the pandemic brought to their industries. Approaching crisis from the mindset of “Challenge accepted. Game on.” and “Okay, what now?”, instead of wallowing in negativity has been key for all of us.

Grateful: I’m grateful for the extra time we had together as a family this year....We were home together for about 8 weeks in the beginning of the pandemic during Illinois‘ shelter-in-place orders with minimal work for Tom and I, and kids home from school. We had our ups and downs but we did so much together during that time. It was great to have our cottage in northern Wisconsin to get away and have a change of scenery (and awesome trails to play on!).

Sarah Macchi, DC:
Simplicity. I’ve learned that less is more...quality over quantity in practice and in life.

I am grateful for the amazing community I live in and the loyal patients that helped us thrive during this challenging year.

Rich Ulm, DC:
I have learned that getting quality sleep (consistency and duration) has increased my productivity, quality and overall enjoyment of both my job and life. Despite the fact that I have less hours to get shit done, I am getting more done.

I am thankful to have a supportive team around me to get through such a crazy year.

Lindsay Mumma, DC:
I have learned that asking for no-judgment feedback from all staff during our weekly meeting has provided incredibly valuable insights and avoided a lot of issues.

I am very grateful to have manual skills that allowed me to bring comfort to people during a very challenging year.

Jason Hulme, DC:
The power of having a team and systems is everything we've been banging the drum that it is. You never know when a pandemic will come grab you. Your shit better be ready. Fortunately ours was.

I was grateful to spend more time with my kids than I have their entire life. It was the silver lining.

Kevin Christie, DC:
Be the Buffalo, not the Cow
"In his book, Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success, Rory Vaden explains a phenomenon observed frequently on the Colorado plains, which are home to cows and buffalo alike. When storms approach, the two animals react in opposite ways. Cows will start moving away from the approaching storm–actually traveling in the same direction as the storm. Buffalo, however, will move toward the storm, rather than away from it.
Consequently, by running into the storm, the buffalo experience the pain of the storm sooner because they charge at it. The duration of the storm, however, is less because they keep moving through it. Contrast that to the cows, which hope to run away from the storm. The storm inevitably catches them and they experience its painful forces for a longer duration because they are traveling in the same direction."
I think we would all agree the storm came this year.

Steve King, DC
NOTE: I’m paraphrasing this from the email Steve sent me.

Steve struggled with this question and he admitted that he struggled with this year. He went on auto-pilot many times when someone would ask this question and would just respond “ O.k. and I’m grateful for time with family” He admittedly struggled this year and was very honest with it. Steve is grateful for the Mount Lookout Family and his brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Donna King.

His vulnerability and honesty is his strength and it is refreshing to hear. I think we all had a tougher time than we’d like to admit. Steve is the administrative machine that runs MPI and is the man behind all the things we don’t think about. He doesn’t feel like he should be included in this amazing group but he absolutely does and I (Corey Campbell) am very grateful for him.

Corey Campbell, DC:
I have learned that people are truly resourceful and tough and that's our greatest resource. I've seen in my patients and in my family that grit and the ability to figure things out is alive and well. I've seen people pivot and become entrepreneurs in areas they never even thought they would be involved in. I've seen people find ways to not just survive but to thrive in the service of others. I am extremely grateful for the time that I've had with my family. The decrease in travel and teaching has given me time to deepen my connection with my kids and gave me a chance to feed my passion for coaching. It gave me a chance to coach my son's football team and to watch my girls become friend and reconnect. For that I will always be grateful.

This year was not easy and I don't pretend that it was. I hope that 2021 brings you prosperity, abundance, peace, happiness and most of all passion for what you do and love for the people that are around you. I hope you find purpose in all that you do in 2021. Thank you so much for being part of the Motion Palpation Nation and we look forward to seeing you this year.

Corey Campbell, DC