About 4 years ago, I went through a very bad business situation while working for another dentist/dental practice. This led me to having a negative attitude and outlook. The last few years of my life, I have been mentored, coached, counseled and have read many books about attitude.
What exactly is attitude and why write a blog about it on your website about dentistry?
Attitude is a noun that is defined as:
1. a manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind: a negative attitude; group attitudes.
2. position or posture of the body appropriate to or expressive of an action, emotion, etc.: a threatening attitude; a relaxed attitude.
Now that we know what attitude’s definition is, lets look at my definition. To me, attitude is a mindset, that is naturally developed over time, through experience and learning. It comes in two forms, positive and negative. Positive attitude is a mindset, where things, situations, etc. are going to be okay to good. A negative attitude is a mindset where its believed things are going to go wrong or not work out for the best. Again, these mindsets can come from experiences over time, which develop into beliefs which effect attitude.
So, what does this have to do with dentistry? Everything! Lets look at a positive patient attitude verses a negative one:
Positive attitude when going to the dentist: Everything is going to go great, It’s not going to hurt, I am glad I am taking care of this and myself, I am in good hands, This is a good investment, etc. Since learning about attitude and how it works, I constantly work on a positive attitude. A positive attitude attracts others with positive attitudes, allowing for successful situations.
Negative attitude when going to the dentist: Its going to hurt, Why am I here? This sucks, I could be doing better things with my time and money)
It works the same way for patients.
When I get in the dental chair, I need a dentist with a positive attitude. This helps put me at ease, knowing two positive attitudes are coming together. I know two is definitely better than one!
I see this first hand, patients come in with positive attitudes, it rubs off on the office, so our attitude gets better, which leads to a great visit. I truly feel that positive attitudes lead us down a great path in life. People want and need to be around other positive energy. Is it always easy to have a positive attitude? No, our mind wants to go negative very quickly. I work on my attitude daily, and if my attitude is not where it needs to be, I tell people to let me know about it. My staff, wife, friends all are quick to help make me aware of my current attitude. My 9 month year old daughter is the best detector of my attitude each day.
Here are some books that I have read on attitude:
Attitude is Everything: by Keith D. Harrell
Attitude 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell
The Winning Attitude Your Key To Personal Success by John C. Maxwell
Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of SUCCESS by Jeffrey H. Gitomer
There are many great books out there on attitude. They all stress what this blog does.
Have a great day.