It is never easy to go back to square one; to tell yourself to start again. To accept that things did not turn out as they should have and it is time to do things differently; to reinvent yourself to be able to wake up in the morning with a smile on your face and the desire to actually go to work.
Bet you are thinking, ‘Great! I have found the go-ahead, someone else also thinks I need to make big decisions in order to find the fulfilment that has been missing from my life! But….’ Yes, in most cases, this ‘but’ and the stream of questions, insecurities and indefiniteness that follows stops your trail of thoughts before they carry you away to a point of no return! And the responsibility of making such big decisions without any assurances is way too scary to even think about, let alone act on.
If you often find yourself on a similar rollercoaster ride, then I have got you covered today! Read on to see how you can take big decisions with minimum risk and rewrite your success story that rates five stars for satisfaction and fulfilment.
Freedom of Choice- Keep Your Finances Strong
In most cases, the only thing that stops you from pressing the Send button on your resignation letter are the piles of bills on your coffee table. Your expenditures really put shackles on you and limit your freedom of choice. By making your finances strong, you can break those barriers and allow yourself to take big leaps fearlessly.
Many a times, talking about money is considered a bad thing. You might tell someone you want a change in your career, or open up your own practice rather than working for someone ‘But I can’t because the money is good right now’ and you can get ready to be judged. Money definitely is good, and research shows that a certain level of money does indeed buy happiness. If you don’t have the ability to put food on the table or pay your bills, you cannot find fulfilment in the most desirous of situations. So it is better to get stronger at the financial end before investing in a total makeover of your life.
Freedom of Decision-Tap Into Yourself
Many a times, people stop themselves from making big decisions because they are unsure/scared/financially weak yet unhappy. They continue to lead those unfulfilling lives rather than take action to do things differently. The moment you decide not to do something about your current situation, you’ve made a decision there and then! Not taking an action is making a decision too, the only difference is that you’ve made a decision to put yourself in the backseat and tagged yourself as unimportant.
Not to say you should make instant decisions to transform your life, but waiting too long to make a decision can also waste valuable time. You need to be deliberate. When do I make a quick decision? When do I really need to sit down and plan it? But also when do I really need to tap into myself and listen to myself?
Freedom of Options- Asking the Right Questions
Before you do type that resignation letter or close down your dental practice, you do need to make sure if a career change or relocating to a new place is actually what you want to do. Some of the questions that can help you make this decision are:
- How much do I want this change?
- What is my risk appetite? What is the level of risk I am willing to take?
- How much does this new path matter to me?
- What is stopping me from achieving these goals?
- What do I want from myself in the next 12 months, 5 years, 10 years?
Freedom for Contemplation- Quieting the Uncertainty
You probably have a lot of questions going through your mind just about now. But what if the market changes? What if I slow down to make big decisions and someone else takes over this position? What if I am no longer employable if I get out of the market for long enough? Your mind is always rambling; there’s just way too much uncertainty in all of this. But if you don’t slow down, if you don’t give yourself time to think, to reflect, to feel, you’re just going to do what you’ve always done because it’s easy.
It is only when you silent your mind, that you can actually listen to yourself and what you want from life. Always take time out to connect with your inner self and with nature, because it really is meditative.
Freedom for Contentment- Fulfilment vs. Achievement
You may tick all the boxes for a successful life according to basic standards of success, but if you aren’t happy, you aren’t truly successful. Everyone has different career drivers. What are your career drivers? Are they financial security, being challenged? Love of learning? Helping others? You can only be content if you find fulfilment in what you do. If not, then you could be sitting on the highest positions of the corporate ladder, earning truckloads of money and still not be truly happy. And it is the most difficult position to be in, to seek fulfilment when you could continue being successful.
At the same time, we also over-complicate our lives by thinking what people would think of us or using money as a scorecard for success. You may have achieved your goals, but because you aren’t earning enough or living a certain standard of life according to other people, you may not be truly content. By doing that, you set yourself up for a lot of pain because you are following other people’s ideas of success.
Understanding the Equity Theory
The equity theory evaluates a person’s sense of fulfilment from the value that he offers. Work is an exchange of value. You turn up, you deliver, and in exchange the work gives value back in terms of money, remuneration, compensation etc. Equity theory is a psychological term that estimates if the value exchange is actually balanced. So say, you believe that the value you give to the company is not balanced out by the value they give to you, because you feel you are being underpaid, overworked, lesser incentives etc. Then you might feel the need to ‘even the scales’ by not working hard enough. The theory estimates that people who believe are not paid fairly either go slow or become less productive or even resort to stealing in extreme cases.
Freedom to Say NO
As important as it is to say Yes to big changes that will move you towards a more content life, it is just as important to say no to the things that are not going to help you. There will always be a lot of noise and people out there trying to distract you, or dissuade you or wanting you to get involved in fulfilling their goals; and it is great to get involved and be helpful. But there is only so much time we have; and we can either spend it trying to be someone’s assistant to a great life or pave our own pathways. Of course you should be helpful! But if it comes at the cost of putting yourself in the backseat, then learn to say no!
It is only when we are uncomfortable, that we are learning. So try to do new things every day, things that might be scary but rewarding. And never think it is too late to reinvent yourself!
P.S. Whenever you’re ready …. here are 4 ways I can help you grow your dental practice:
- Grab a free chapter from my book “Retention – How to Plug the #1 Profit Leak in Your Dental Practice”
The book is the definitive guide to patient retention and how to use internal marketing to grow your practice – Click Here
2. Join the Savvy Dentist community and connect with dentists who are scaling their practice too
It’s our Facebook group where clever dentists learn to become commercially smart so that they have more patients, more profit and less stress. – Click Here
3. Attend a Practice Max Intensive live event
Our
4. Work with me and my team privately
If you’d like to work directly with me and my team to take your profit from 6 figures to 7 figures …. just send me a message with the word “Private”… tell me a little about your practice and what you would like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details! – Click here