Last week, in my Tuesday Memo to our Doctors, I asked them what have they been avoiding dealing with or what next decisions are standing in their way of progress.
It’s often these things that go undone that are the reasons why more success is not realized, more patients not helped, more money not made. Sure it can be a negative way of thinking about it. However, the great Napoleon Hill termed this “accurate thinking” – meaning assessing what actually is reality.
As human nature would have it, we justify things undone, mistakes made, opportunities missed because of how it makes us feel if we own the responsibility.
There are things in your life right now you have justified being as they are because you haven’t taken the initiative to make them a priority or place enough importance on them to take action. That’s not harsh or judgmental. It’s reality. What you focus on you get more of, what you make time for you accomplish, what you value you hold important.
If you think about the things you could do more of (more often, more consistently, more effectively), to better contribute to your team and patients’ successes, what would those things be?
There are tasks you are great at; probably most everything you do – when you do it. And that is, as I always emphasize, the hardest part of success and of any person’s responsibility… the discipline to carry it out again and again every single time and to always prioritize importance of value so that the highest level items get done first.
This is why I am adamant about having treatment plans pre-printed. Why I suggest discussing next appointments at the beginning of the current appointment (not an ‘oh by the way’ if you have time at the end. Why I stress not only taking pictures but talking about the pictures and not just diagnosing but asking the patient questions. All of these things matter.
If the only point was to ‘get it done’ instead of the quality of the outcome, the percent of case acceptance, the true clinical yes and the full commitment of the patient – then it would all be a lot easier. To the point that just about anyone could learn to do it.
Instead, you – not the task or action – are the uniqueness in the experience. The difference is in your level of attention to detail and willingness to perform the nuances that are necessary to create positive results.
I absolutely know you sell yourself short. You are probably down on yourself too often. You certainly don’t give yourself enough credit for what you do to help your team and patients win. That’s why the secret to a positive attitude and healthy personal psyche is to commit and promise yourself to always do your best.
It’s your decision to show up every day with every patient and do your part to make success happen. And that is the distinction between good teams and great teams.
So, I will ask you again: what’s holding you back from being at your very best? And what are you willing to do about it?
You, more than anyone else, deserves you to be at your best because that will give you the pride and confidence to build your self-worth; which is a value no one else can ever give you. The more you value yourself, the more you can be of value to others.
Life is predominantly a mirror. Attitudes are a reflection of one’s inner self. The best part is, no one has control over yours but you. However, therein lies one of life’s most trying personal responsibilities: you are the cause and effect for much of the positive or negative that you experience.
If you aren’t brimming with pride over your accomplishments, if you aren’t getting everything you want out of life, and if you aren’t a beacon of positivity for others, be reminded: only you can make ‘you’ worth more to yourself.
