‘Lam, I hardly slept last night. I have so much anxiety about a change to… your practice. I just can’t make the leap. I can’t add one more change in life right now, you guys are great. And no group would be a better fit, but I just know myself and change is very hard for me I am sorry. It really hit me after our texts last night…’
I felt really bad for my fellow dentite.
30 years as an associate in dentistry and he’s too afraid of change in the face of potential for gain.
Let’s give my fellow dentite a name, Timidy
I don’t blame Timidy. Because I feel this is a symptom of a dental career wrapped in a facade of being in control.
My fellow dentite avoids conflict. Resents it with the same hatred you have towards a broken down bleeding endo treated root tip. But by avoiding conflict, he hasn’t ever received what he truly wanted.
Never wanting the ownership position certainly gives you the freedom from managing migraines. But it also steals away the locus of control. And for poor Timidy, he had lost all control in his practice.
He made plenty of money. A lovely wife and kids. Even a few hobbies like golf and working on his home.
But yet there was still something missing. Something Timidy was yearning.
He began teaching at the dental school. Timidy found something he didn’t have in his own practice.
In private practice, it ran like a well oiled machine. He never had to give injections. Scheduling was tight, but comfortable. And patients knew Timidly so well now, there was hardly a question when recommending treatment.
But there he never spoke with the owner. His fellow associates would grind away at enamel, but they might as well have been strangers living in the same building.
Teaching at dental school, he found camaraderie. He related to the struggles of the students. Got to know them, their struggles and see them grow.
And therein lays the key.
Timid had stopped growing and lacked camaraderie within his own practice.
And here he faced a choice that could alter the waning decade of Timidy’s career.
Stick with the familiar because it feels safe, yet struggle internally. Or decide to make change for the sake of yourself and see if there might be something better.
That locus of control is either inside you or you can let it rest beside you.
If you’re struggling with a difficult decision, I have just one suggestion for you.
Ask yourself: ‘If I opted to make this change, what’s the Worst that could happen?’
For most, the worst is that you remain in the same or similar position.
Lam