Keepin’ It Fun While Playing To Win

One often underestimated quality that you will lead to more success in your practice is having more fun.  That certainly doesn’t mean it will be absent of work.  There will still be some days you’d surely like to forget or at least can’t wait to end.

Nevertheless, teams that have fun are teams that do well together and make the experience less stressful for their patients.  All too often the patients feel the tension and the frenetic energy of the practice as you’re all “grinding it out.”

It can feel as if the patients just happen to be in your way as you try to get through the day.  That can’t be the sentiment experienced by your patients.  Instead, the outlook must be about making the most of every single day and every single patient.

The best way to do this is to keep it fun for you and for everyone else.  That means you don’t take things personally and you aren’t be so serious that are your insensitive to others – just be real and present.

Over the last several weeks, I’ve outlined 7 Luck Factors that will help you perform at a high level as a Dental Professional and as a Human Being.  Throughout all of those 7 Luck Factors the one thing that has to remain constant is that you have to keep the perspective of what you are trying to accomplish.

You know that saying, “Keep calm and carry on,” well apply that perspective to all areas in life and dentistry.

Here’s what I hope you will do with the 7 Luck Factors… review them, practice them, talk about them, focus on them, internalize them and put them to use because all too often people work against themselves and get in their own ways.  It’s really not all that difficult to be successful in what you are trying to achieve if you first set yourself up for success.  The 7 Luck Factors do that.

One Doctor, who understood this very notion, used to tell his team, “Let’s just make it a game, and like any game, have fun playing but playing isn’t the only point.”  I challenge you and your team to make it a game, keep it fun but play to win.

Here is a fun way to incorporate the 7 Luck Factors in your next team training… Write down each of the 7 Luck Factors on index cards and go around the room playing a good old fashion game of charades.  See how familiar everyone is with the concepts and how many clever ways you can act them out.

If you want to be at the top of your game, you have to have built up your “muscle memory” and strengthen your reflexes for interactions with your patients.  It’s the only way to be ready for whatever comes your way.

As we love to say, “Champions don’t need to be told, they just need to be reminded.”  Reminded first that you are a Champion, second that Champions play to win, and third that Champions love playing the game.

Giving yourself permission to have fun and feel the excitement is the only means to ensure you consistently win – and there’s nothing more fun than that.