What is the most invaluable piece of equipment in your practice?

Consider for a moment your chair, handpieces, your car or any other piece of equipment you use on a regular basis. Imagine that they stopped working, how inconvenient would that be?

If your dental chair broke, or your handpieces seized it would prevent you from being able to work and what problems would that cause you, your staff and your patients?

If your car broke down and was going to take a week to fix what inconveniences would that cause?

You know that if your important equipment failed it would cause all sorts of problems so you have a service schedule to prevent the nightmares.

Consider for a moment that you are the most valuable and indispensible piece of equipment in your practice, how well do you look after, service and maintain it?

Do you look after your car better than you look after yourself?

Studies have shown teachers that experience burn out and those that don’t have different habits of self care. Those that remain healthy regularly engage in activities that result in them being healthy physically , socially , intellectually , emotionally and spiritually, those than experience burn out do not, A valuable exercise would be to regularly, stop and reflect on your life, consider how satisfied you are with certain areas, this can be done using a tool like the balance wheel. Draw a circle, divide it into 10 equal segments and label the sections as follows,

• Work, career and business
• Money, finance and wealth
• Health, fitness and appearance
• Relationship - significant other
• Relationships - friends and family
• Personal growth, education and learning
• Fun, free time and recration
• Physical environment and possessions
• Spiritual connection
• Contribution, community and charity

 

The centre of the circle centre represents zero, the circumference 10.

Consider each segment as an aspect of your life and score yourself from zero to ten as to how satisfied you are with each area marking your score witha a dot or a cross on each spoke,  join the dots.

Now ask yourself,     

• IIf this were a wheel on a bicycle how comfortable would the ride be?        
•  Is this an accurate metaphor for how you experience your life?       
• As you look your evaluation of your life are you truly happy with it?

 

 If you have answered no to the last question I would invite you to consider what would you like your life to be like and what could you chose to do differently that would result  in a better experience for you?

Focussing on one area that you are dissatisfied with, now ask yourself

• How would I like this area of my life to be different?
• What are some of the many ways that I could make a change?
• What resources do you need to implement these changes? This could be help from others,  learning new skills, reorganising your time, new equipment etc.
• What action are you going to commit to taking and who are you going to ask to hold you accountable?

 

Let me know what changes you would like to make and what progress you are making.

If you would like a copy of a personal balance wheel or a 12 spoked business balance wheel to help you review your practice, e mail me Jane@healthyandwealthy.co.uk