I have been there, and now I am past it, looking from the outside in. Why? Because personal experiences with my body trumped my ideals. As a doctor, I also have seen how different methods work for different people, and at the end of the day, I am just happy to see them thriving. And as a doctor, I have seen how one method can potentially work for everyone, but the steps each person has to take to get to that level can be different, difficult, trial and error, time-consuming, financially challenging, require a lot of patience, energy consuming, the person may not be mentally and emotionally ready for those steps at this time, and the supervising health professional’s personality and various mentalities can be a significant obstacle.

Health evangelists: It is easy to hold up an ideal when you have found something that works for you and 80% of the people you implement it with. It is easy to hold up an ideal when you condemn those who don’t follow your advice as ‘they weren’t ready,’ ‘they didn’t want it bad enough,’ or something similar. Although these statements can be true, saying them has the potential to disregard all the factors as to why someone had difficulty following through on your instructions, and those factors may have to do with you not being willing to – or know how to – adjust, or you not willing to admit that your method is not for everyone, and that this person may find what they need elsewhere.

Clients/Clients: Be under someone you are comfortable with and that you trust. If they ever break your trust or make you feel ‘less than’ in any way, forget the money you paid, stop the process, and run. If they dodge your questions, or try to place any kind of negativity on you for asking reasonable questions, don’t even start working with them. If they are confusingly contradictory, or you pick up that they are entirely too rigid for you, or even narcissistic, adjust how much you listen to them or just move on to the next one. There is usually someone else or some other way that you can achieve the results you are looking for.