Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in with your dental community? I felt that a lot throughout my decade in practice. Whenever I showed up to local CE or dental society events, I felt invisible. It was hard to genuinely connect with other dentists within the community, and I didn’t think I had much in common with most of the people I met. So I slowly pulled away from the social aspects of the dental community. After all, I wasn’t getting much satisfaction from it. Plus, I felt tired of eating, sleeping, breathing, and discussing dentistry all the...
Please welcome my next guest blogger. This dentist has a great story to share and, for now, wishes to stay anonymous. Which experiences described below do you relate to most? People often ask, “did you always know you wanted to be a dentist?” My answer is usually something like, “No, I did it on a whim”. Although I haven’t heard many such admissions, I think there are dentists out there who relate. We essentially winged it, or chose dentistry for some trivial reason, owing in part to limited life experience. Add to this the inability to truly gauge how much...
In 2018 I wanted to highlight more stories of dentists and hygienists leaving dentistry to create more happiness in their careers. I came up with a series of blog interviews sharing others’ amazing stories, so that you could see that change is possible for all of us. Then it dawned on me that the interviews may have been glossing over the real work involved in career change. I wrote this article to keep it real, as yet another reminder that this process can feel really complicated when you’re going through it. I hope you enjoy. I recently had a conversation...
Please welcome guest blogger, Dr. Julie Kellogg. Julie is a third-generation dentist as well as a certified professional coach, writer, investor, dog mom, skier and shoe aficionado. She lives in Walla Walla, WA with her two dogs, Mochi and JoJo. Her 5G coaching combines coaching and travel for achievers who want to get out of their head and into their senses. You can find that along with her travel blog and texture library at travelwithtexture.com Enjoy this two-part blog post where Julie shares her story in the first one and what she did about it in the second post. What...
Please welcome guest blogger, Dr. Julie Kellogg. Julie is a third-generation dentist as well as a certified professional coach, writer, investor, dog mom, skier and shoe aficionado. She lives in Walla Walla, WA with her two dogs, Mochi and JoJo. Her 5G coaching combines coaching and travel for achievers who want to get out of their head and into their senses. You can find that along with her travel blog and texture library at travelwithtexture.com Enjoy this two-part blog post where Julie shares her story in the first one and what she did about it in the second post. Can...
Did you ever want to quit because you felt so burnt out in dentistry? Three years into my dental career, I suddenly decided I couldn’t do it anymore. I hated being a dentist. I constantly worried… would my work last? Would it turn out okay? Which patients were going to get mad at me today? Was someone going to sue me? Although I always did my best, I could never guarantee that the results would match the quality of my work. I thought if I could only be MORE perfect, then I’d never have to face those consequences I constantly...
I wrote this blog post on March 14, 2013. At the time, I reflected on what worked for myself in creating change. Despite having no experience coaching at the time, these are some of the principles I use today to help others create their own path and design their career on their terms. If you’ve followed my blog over the past 11 years, you’ve had a front row seat to witness my huge and daunting career change. “Huge and daunting…” Hmm. Today I read that and am intrigued by that description from 11 years ago. Indeed, that was exactly how...
You should always change where you sit. Sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it? I’m sure you’ve heard this advice before. “They” always suggest this as a simple way to change your perspective and see more opportunities. Whether it’s sitting in a class or on a bus, being in the exact same spot every day can limit your point of view. Let’s face it. Change is hard, and staying in your comfort bubble is easier, even when it comes to simple routines. Last weekend I had the chance to do the one thing that always makes me nervous. I attended a...
Can you imagine what it would be like to divorce your career? It’s a strange concept, I know. But what if we looked at our careers the same way we view our human relationships? With marriage, you don’t commit to a lifetime together after seeing a photo of someone, researching them online, and then only talking to their friends about whether they are the right fit. Instead, you date and get to know your potential life partners. You start out casually, only committing to that person once you experience life with them. Then, when you know they’re The One, you...
In December of 2012, one year after having quit dentistry, I wrote this follow-up post to clarify why I compared leaving dentistry to leaving a cult. I’ve added a few updates to the post. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! If you’ve ever wanted to quit dentistry, you probably felt like leaving your career was like leaving a cult. I recently broached this oh-so-controversial topic of whether dentistry is like a cult or not, and luckily for my ego, there wasn’t a huge backlash. Not everyone loved my analogy, but that’s okay. It sparked some interesting discussions in...
