As I was nearing the end of my daily morning walk with Nolabees the other day, I thought, “I can’t wait to be done with this walk.”

I was a little shocked by it, and I immediately became curious.

What was going on with me? I love my morning walks, especially in the summer. I get to start the day with some movement, fresh air, quality time with my dog, and the freedom to listen to any podcast that I want. It’s my time that is truly dedicated to taking care of myself. Besides, early summer mornings are so full of hope. It’s quiet outside, and you have the whole day ahead of you to feel accomplished.

How was it possible that I was wishing away my precious morning time?

I couldn’t understand why I was feeling this way. Then I noticed that I was hot. We were gearing up to have a 100 degree day. As that early morning heat permeated through my body, I became more uncomfortable, and I just wanted to be done.

That’s when it hit me: I had been walking for an hour, and I was bored of walking. I do sometimes get bored on my walks and can’t wait for what’s next in my day. That’s it. Nothing more.

It made me realize that when we do too much of the same thing over and over, of course we’re going to get bored and want to stop!

This happens all the time. Whether it’s in our activities, our rest, relationships, or work; monotony can easily lead to dissatisfaction. Add in a little discomfort, and we really want out.

Going into the dental office every day and doing the same stuff all day long will lead to this same sense of restlessness. It’s only normal. Plus, as the heat made me uncomfortable on my walk, there is a lot of “heat” we experience in the dental office. It’s no wonder so many people in this career feel burnt out from their jobs. Monotony + discomfort are the perfect ingredients in our burnout cake recipe.

Even if we generally like what we do, we can easily get trapped in routine and obligations that prevent us from seeing a possible cure for our boredom.

I call that being stuck in your career tunnel.

I distinctly remember discussing tunnel vision in the context of dentistry in dental school. It was the idea that one would get so focused on one spot through their loupes, that they might easily miss something going on outside of their immediate field of vision. Tunnel vision afflicts all of us and can happen in many instances if we’re not careful. We might get so used to looking at occlusion, that we stop looking for abnormal soft tissue lesions. Or maybe we are so focused on esthetics that we miss a perio diagnosis. It could even be that we only identify who we are by the work we do and miss all the other ways we could fill our buckets.

When we define ourselves only by our career, it’s easy to get stuck in the deep, dark career tunnel.

We’ve all been there in some way. The human brain just can’t take it all in at once, so we have to filter out all the noise.

That focus is great, but it can limit our experiences. Think about it. When you repeatedly do the same thing over and over, you can easily overlook having options and creating variety. Of course, that monotony + pain is a fast track to burnout.

Variety is the spice of life, right?

For years I only saw myself as a dentist. I had some interests outside of practice. I exercised, did yoga, skied and hiked, hung out with friends, and traveled. But I only saw myself as a dentist. Because of that world view, I saw all of those experiences through the lens of being a dentist.

That was okay when being a dentist was fulfilling and exciting. But when it turned painful, I couldn’t enjoy those other parts of my life. If I was traveling, I worried about having to go back to my real life. If I was on a hike with friends, I worried about having to work on Monday. Being in yoga helped while I was there, but the minute I stepped foot off my mat, the anxieties of dentistry came flooding back.

For all of us dental professionals, we can so easily get trapped in this tunnel.

The way out is to expand your own definition of who you are.

One solution is to find a creative outlet. For me, that was blogging. Blogging opened up my world. I never thought of myself as a writer. But once I started, my view of myself and the world around me expanded. I began to notice things I would normally ignore, and that helped create variety in my thoughts and in my life. That helped me notice more opportunities all around me.

How can you get creative? You might have other creative outlets, and if you don’t think you’re creative, that’s okay. The key is to expand your creative thinking and see what other opportunities life holds for you.

Another option is to consider starting a side gig. Trust me, if you do dentistry, then you have other skills. People are starting side gigs all the time– even dental professionals. The term “gig economy” happened for a reason– everyone’s doin’ it! It doesn’t have to be your passion. It can simply be a way of exploring who you are. Who knows? You might even find your passion along the way.

A third tip is to surround yourself with other people who see and go after opportunities. It’s contagious, and you’ll likely start to see them too. Instead of comparing yourself to dental professionals who obsess over loving dentistry, you’ll feel good and gain the confidence that you are so much more than just a dentist, a hygienist, or a dental assistant. You will see that you are a human being with talents and skills and gifts to share.

It’s time we stop blaming ourselves for being human.

Just like the heat makes me tire of my beloved walks, the challenges + the monotony of your work will surely bore you.

Try it. Create some variety in your life, and you’ll beat the burnout while you watch new opportunities unfold for you.