Have you ever thought that maybe you didn’t want to help people for a living? Seriously, tell the truth. If you have had that thought, you know you’d never tell anyone, and in fact it’s pretty tough to even admit to yourself. I felt that way for a long time. There, I said it. In a recent conversation with a client, he shared with me the ideal qualities of his dream job. Although he doesn’t yet know what the job is, he made a great list of what is important to him. As he was rattling off his list, he...
Do you ever feel unhappy, bored, uninspired, and annoyed by work? Do you ever look down into your patient’s mouth during an exam and think, “Ugh, if I have to look at another tooth, I don’t know what I’ll do.” I used to have that exact thought at times. The more I felt stuck in my career, the louder that thought became in my head. It’s not fun at all. Feeling like you have no options is really stifling. You know what’s keeping us stuck? We won’t get out of our heads. For many years I went round and round. ...
Don’t you love the kind of straight talk that slaps you in the face to get your attention? No sugar-coating, no beating around the bush– just in-your-face, brutal honesty? Okay, not always, but sometimes that is just what we need to inspire us into action. I’m a pretty sensitive person, but when the raw truth is delivered with humor and the right intentions, tough love can certainly set me straight. In another of my favorite podcasts titled, Why You’ll Fail to Have a Great Career, Economy Professor, Larry Smith does just that. Why we will all fail sounds like an...
I’m shocked to announce that Nola has run out of wisdom to teach me. I know it’s surprising. I never thought a butt-sniffing, poo-eating creature as amazingly clever as she is, could ever run out of wisdom, but Nola is out of ideas. Luckily our walks together have led me to another source of wisdom… the podcast. After walking in silence every day for months, I’ll admit I kind of got tired of hearing my own thoughts over and over. I got bored with myself, so I decided to multi-task and learn something new during that hour. Of course I...
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,...
People say that they’ve learned the most in life from their experiences as a parent. I think I get it. I learn a lot from my child, too, even if my child is a dog. I’m amazed at how much you can love your little one. Sometimes I love her so much that I want to eat her up. I know that sounds weird, but you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’ve heard you say those weird things too. Then there are times when she does something that pisses me off so much, that I almost hate her, for...
In recent weeks Nola has been teaching me how to move on from conflict. She is a pro, but do I have it mastered? Not even close! However, I do feel like my response to a recent event was a great first step to mastering this craft. In my last post I mentioned my success leaving behind a bad experience I had. Here’s what happened… On my way to the gym, I was trying to turn right at a red light. There was a lot of traffic that day, intensifying my impatience. When I finally saw an opening, I quickly...
Last week I wrote about the human decency that we can learn from (ironically) dogs. Later that same day 2 interesting things caught my attention. First, on a walk with Nola, we ran into her old acquaintance, Lady, whom we hadn’t seen in a while. Deep down Nola always wants to jump on everyone she sees, but somehow she has learned a little about how to greet other dogs. She usually knows to come in slowly for a more smooth greeting. She often cowers down, puts her bum on the ground, and sometimes even rolls over on her back. It...
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...
