Here’s what we all know… there is a world of truth in the saying “perception is reality.” The bottom line is you can’t change someone’s mind if they aren’t open to it. You have undoubtedly tried it. Yet, their perception is their reality.
That is why you have to pull out your bag of tricks to help open up the minds of your patients in order to be educated, motivated, and influenced by you.
The Wizard of Oz was all perception and illusion. Yet, the desire of the recipients to believe they could gain a brain, courage, or heart was all they needed to begin to transform themselves.
Therein lies the source of all of your magic… you don’t change someone’s reality first, you start to change their perception of reality.
All progress happens first in their belief of what is possible (perception) before it can take effect in their lives (reality).
This is one of life’s greatest secrets that applies to happiness, peace of mind, confidence, health, and success. As you’ve come to expect, I hold nothing back here. I’m bringing all the treats this Halloween, and you didn’t even have to wear a costume.
So, how can you apply this to your leadership with your patients?
Most likely you are getting caught up in focusing too much on the things that patients don’t want instead of what they do want. It is easy to start lecturing about clinical procedures and forget that the patient must first accept the idea that they can be pain free, that they deserve a perfect smile, or that they should sleep soundly.
The Scarecrow was too busy focusing on everything he didn’t know instead of using what he did.
The Lion had made up his mind to be afraid of everything instead of embracing the strength inside of him.
The Tin Man choose the feelings he didn’t want instead of filling himself up with what he thought he was lacking.
Perception. Not Reality.
Your magic, much like the Wizard of Oz, stems from your patients coming to you to believe, to be led, to be guided on a path towards better health. We often feed into the spells that we talked about last week, which they cast often unknowingly and unintentionally because of what they perceive to be true.
That is why your greatest source of wizardry comes directly from your genuine desire to influence your patients for good and to help them achieve positive outcomes in their lives.
Where are you holding back your power to influence and reshape your patients’ perception over you, your role, their role, their own health, and the value of dentistry?
My challenge for you is do not miss out on an opportunity to help your patients get the health benefits they deserve simply by allowing their perceptions to remain their realities.
Your patients also have what they need inside of them to make a great decision, they just need some encouragement to reframe their perception and permission to accept improvements in their lives.
And if you are really ready to wield power over reality… what perceptions of your own are in the way of your success?
And that’s right where we’ll pick up next week.
