I was asked to provide an editorial to Oral Health about self-love, so watch out for that later this year. In the meanwhile, I didn’t want you to wait for that article in order to get the message out there to dentists – namely, that you need to practice self-love!
Dentists endure so much pressure – social pressure, family and friend pressure, patient and team pressure. And they are constantly asked to serve others and perform. They have to take all their knowledge, skills and experiences that they learned throughout school and at work and they need to deliver solutions to give patients a beautiful and healthy smile.
Dentists are healers. But even the healers need healing too! Sometimes life puts you through tests to see how you’ll react. Those tests are often necessary to build your character. Will you fall into depression and feel low all the time? Will you acknowledge your thoughts and emotions, but rise to the occasion to conquer what’s in front of you? This is about your own personal growth and development.
We at DMC want all of our dentists to raise their collective vibration to the highest level possible. This will allow your family, friends, patients and team to see you at your best and it will be INFECTIOUS!
So here are 10 Tips that dentists can do to raise their vibration if they’re feeling low:
Tip #1: Do Nothing
That’s right. Don’t do anything. Let the situation just sit. Acknowledge that it’s there. Acknowledge the thoughts and emotions that are popping up. But just sit in the nothing. Wait for the path to be clear. I often find that this happens after a day of doing nothing. Don’t try to solve it. Don’t rationalize an immediate solution. Just BE. Remember: you’re a human BE-ing, not a human DO-ing! What I’ve found is that often times a solution will present itself after a period of not doing anything. The universe will find a way to solve the problem for you. And sometimes the solution is to acknowledge that the problem exists and doesn’t need to be fixed (think about that one!); maybe there’s no good answers so doing nothing is actually the best answer!
Tip #2: Detach
If you find yourself caught up in too many things that are taking up your energy and not giving you personal fulfilment, you may want to detach. Take back your energy and time. Focus on yourself and doing what YOU want to do. The interesting thing is that when you detach from a person / place / thing that is taking up too much of your energy and not giving you what you want, you free yourself up for the next bigger and better thing in life. So don’t be afraid to let go!
Tip #3: Rest / Relax
All of the holiest people in the world weren’t out there, performing miracles, preaching and healing others all day long. They rested. too! They had alone time. They prayed / meditated. They did it alone. That’s when you can regroup and recuperate. This way, you can be your best when it’s time for you to perform. You can’t be going hard all day and all night. You can’t say ‘yes’ to everyone and everything that demands your attention. You are a person and your body needs physical resting, a good / clean diet, and exercise to keep it healthy. Resting also means praying / meditating. Be-ing by yourself to find the answers from within. You’ve got the answers! You just need to quiet the external world and all of its distractions to hear the answers!
Tip #4: Do Charity
Charity isn’t where you just do something for someone else. It’s where you gift yourself one of the best gifts known to humankind. You are freely and voluntarily giving to someone else. And you don’t have to go about proclaiming the charity that you’re doing. You can just feel amazing about yourself and your charity and that’s the best thing you could do for you! Dentists always ask me: “Michael, how do you sell dental practices with so many problems? Bad lease, no team contracts, tough lawyer on the other side, etc.” My answer is always the same: “Charity! When we freely and voluntarily do good for strangers, good things are done for us. And if we need to sell your practice so that you can do more charity – for example by participating in one of our dental charity programs or donating money to buy new equipment, etc. – then we call upon that higher purpose to help us get through the sale!”.
Tip #5: Ground Yourself
Get out in nature. Go for a hike. Get out in your garden. Hit the beach or lake and let the water and sand touch your feet. If you’re out in your backyard or front yard, take your shoes off. Feel the ground. Touch a tree. Just hold it with your hand. Feel its energy. By grounding yourself, you’re focussing your energy from your head (and your possibly turbulent thoughts and emotions) down to the ground. You can also wear wooden or lava beads around your body to help ground yourself.
Tip #6: Breathe
Most of us take breathing for granted. Have you ever tried to really focus on your breathing? It’s quite amazing that most people don’t think about breathing. Don’t believe me? Try this simple exercise: breathe in for 6 seconds, breathe out for 6 seconds and hold for 6 seconds (and repeat 3 times). Chances are you can’t do it. Why? Because you’re rushing your breathing. Most people cannot take in a breath in 6 seconds. They’re done breathing in in 2-4 seconds. So you really need to slow down. Focus. And by just focussing on breathing, you forget about your thoughts and emotions. You forget about the worries and stresses of the past and future. And you come to HERE and NOW, which is where you should operate.
Tip #7: Shower Yourself With Love
Go to the mall and buy yourself something nice. Take yourself out for lunch or dinner. Buy yourself that car or apparel that you’ve always wanted. Take that trip. Who are you accountable to? That’s right: YOU! And you are here to experience your own love. We all know that dentists are so busy taking care of everyone else. Showering their love on everyone else. But they need
Tip #8: Find The Joy in Everything
Nothing should be considered a burden. You can find joy in everything you do. And if what you’re doing is stressful, then just keep telling yourself that it is a test designed to make you stronger. It’s a test from the universe to help you grow and develop. It’s not just what happens to you that determines your character; it’s how you react to those things that do. And you can find joy in the littlest of things when you go about your daily life. From cooking, to watching a favourite movie, to cleaning up the house. You can do so with focus, determination, and love for service.
Tip #9: Flow With It
If it seems like you’re always fighting whatever is presented to you, maybe just stop fighting and flow with it. Take care of yourself, ground yourself, breathe, and FLOW. If you find that there are restrictions or boundaries in place, you can test the waters, but if you’re just butting up against something, just stop pushing. Take a minute to reflect inwards. Do nothing. And let the universe present a solution to you – based on universal timing (not your timing). You want things to be resolved immediately, but that’s not always how it works. That wanting or needing can actually be counterproductive to the lesson that you’re being asked to learn (e.g. patience, flowing, acceptance, allowing). If you’re like me and you want to fix everything yesterday, one of the toughest things we may need to learn to help balance ourselves is, when we’re faced with a wall: don’t just break through at all costs. Take a minute and inspect the door. Leave and come back. You might just notice a door to the side 😉
Tip #10: Confirm What You Already Know
There are lots of ways to confirm what you already know. You can talk to people, read books, go on YouTube, etc. You’ll find lots and lots of information out there. You can also talk to people (or hire professionals) to help guide you through whatever it is you’re going through. The point is: you’re not alone. And you’ve got: YOU (who else do you need to take care of you?). But it certainly helps to hear that others have been through what you’re going through and they may have tips and tricks that helped them get through it which can help you too!
