How do you feel about change? Do you love it, or do you fear it? I love change! You know why? Because without it, I’d still be that same person I was 6, 10, 15 years ago. I would still be stuck exactly where I was. Change is scary for all of us, but I can’t imagine my life without it. Over the past 5 years you’ve followed my career journey, and I’ve been so fortunate to follow yours. It’s hard to believe so much time has passed since we started sharing our stories in November of 2011, the month...
Can you tell by now that Nolabees has a lot of energy? She requires a lot of activity in order for me to stay sane. I never miss my daily walk with her. I can’t, or she’ll torment me all day. I have to admit, though, I do love my walks with Nola. It gets her out, and it gets me out too! I love to see how happy it makes her. And let’s face it, it makes me happy too. It gives Nola a chance to interact with the world, and every day she entertains me with a silly,...
In my last post I marveled at how easily Nola is able to immediately let go of another dog’s aggression toward her. I even gave myself a little pat on the back for being so relaxed about it too… as if I’m always so calm, cool, and collected. It wasn’t until I read this comment from a reader, that he reminded me that I’m not always as skilled as I’d like to think I am at “shaking it off.” He said: If dentistry taught us something, its being able to move on after that last excruciating conversation with someone who’s...
Adapting to life with Nolabees has been quite a crazy transition. She has been such a fun addition to our lives, and at the same time she is a lot of work. I’ve never really had a puppy of my own before. It’s different when you’re a kid and you don’t take much responsibility in the care of “your” puppy. Now that I’m on the hook for feeding her, cleaning up after her, taking her for walks and much more, I realize that it’s a bit like having a kid– except on a faster track. Of course that’s coming from...
We all loved reading about my friend, Ritu’s story about her decision to sell her practice and take a break from clinical dentistry for a little while. It was great to hear from several of you who have also made your own changes and are inspiring others! I’ve asked Ritu to write one more post. In the first one, she shared her story to let you know why she chose to sell her practice. Since she just wrote the amazing book, The Energy Shift: Increase Your Energy and Do More of What You Want Every Day, I asked her to...
One of the great perks about blogging about my dental career is that I have met some amazing people along the way. Not only are they inspiring, interesting people, but they are also people who have decided they want something different out of life. They are people who have decided to take risks to bring more joy into their lives. They are people who have decided not to settle for their existing conditions because it’s easier to stay put than to change. I’m thrilled that one of those amazing people is now my latest guest blogger! Her name is Ritu,...
With so many great holidays to celebrate this time of year, there is one holiday in the bunch that will forever be my favorite– my anniversary! It’s the anniversary of my farewell from a high intensity career in dentistry. It has been 4 years, and it is so hard to believe that so much time has already passed. It’s fitting that it all came to fruition around Thanksgiving, because gratitude is the one feeling that never wavers. I know I made the right decision, and I’m so thankful those days are behind me. What does waver, though, is my perception of...
Have you ever noticed how sometimes the most simple discussions can bring about the most unexpected moments of clarity? While hanging out with a friend a few weeks ago, he reminded me of an old memory we shared. He is a high school teacher, and several years ago he had a student in his class with very bad teeth and very little money. She needed serious help, and he felt so strongly about helping her, that he paid me to do her dental treatment for her. As we reminisced about how amazing that story was, I realized that I had...
Do you ever think that when things are going great in life, they are bound to take a turn for the worse? That you’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop? Or that things have been going way too smoothly, so surely it has to get difficult soon? I used to kind of worry about that. Whenever life seemed perfect without any challenges sprinkled in, I anticipated a storm was to follow. Not only did I believe that I shouldn’t expect things to continue getting even better, but I assumed that good times were absolutely destined to be followed by...
How’s your luck? For years I believed that I had bad luck. It was true. I never won anything. Whenever there was a drawing or a lottery, my name was never drawn. It seemed like the same lucky people always won over and over. When I was 8 my sister won a highly coveted Cabbage Patch Kid on the Point Pleasant boardwalk by placing her $1 bet on the word “son” on the roulette wheel. The very next round I wanted to place the same bet but was talked out of it because it would never hit again. Guess what...
