Happy????

Happiness is a choice- rather its in the small choices that we make every second.

It is not a coincidence or random and definitely not an accident.It is a state in the present.

Yes, there are many things in life that we have little or no control over, and these may be non-trivial things like natural disasters or health crises that bring real pain, discomfort and stress. Nobody - not even the wealthiest or most culturally-speaking "powerful" among us - can control the whims of fate - but what we can control is how we react to what comes our way.

I’ve always been a tough minded optimist - partly because it’s my nature, but also because I make a conscious and continuous effort to maintain positivity as a core personal trait because - put bluntly - it serves my life and the life of those around me the best. 

Positivity is choosing to focus on the good in any given circumstances. To allocate more energy toward the opportunities. Seeing the glass as half full. It’s approaching life with the assumption that everything is possible, that we can all live up to our fullest potential.

Negativity, it’s literally poisonous! Negative thinking causes your body to produce stress hormones like cortisol which can cause higher blood pressure, immune system suppression, increased abdominal fat, and a host of other concerning health problems.

Here’s a few concrete steps you can put into action immediately:

Surround yourself with positive people. Positive energy is contagious. The old saying that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with - you become like those around you.  As such, it’s better to use this dynamic to shape your thinking. If you’ve got negative people in your inner circle, I’d strongly advise editing them out.

Check your thinking. When you catch your thinking drifting toward the negative, make a conscious effort to correct course. Don’t complain or criticize. Frame things in terms of the upside. If you catch these words come out of your mouth, cut yourself off in mid-sentence if need be. "That’s not like me to think, next time i’ll focus on the positive."

Say it out loud. Take a moment to vocalize your positive thoughts. This might take a little time, but it’s incredibly effective. The reason is simple: by saying it out loud, you’ve made your thought real. It’s another impression on the brain. It’s external. You’ve turned it into sound waves, and that’s powerful. Thoughts become words become actions, and actions bring us closer to our goals.

Practice gratitude or meditation. This is perhaps the most highly publicized (and scientifically validated) practice culture today - and for good reason: it works. The science is clear. The act of starting off each day expressing gratitude for at least three things in your life or meditating, can have a profound effect on mood, disposition, and our efficacy throughout the day.

We all bring different experiences and therefore different perspectives to the table, so my approach to happiness may or may not work for you. By no means am I suggesting that it’s a one-size-fits all formula - but what I am suggesting is that you get started with framing happiness and positivity as a key attribute to your life - in whatever formula that works for you.

Happiness isn’t random. Happiness is a choice. Choose wisely.

Time to bounce back

Let me start with what Richard Branson of Virgin has to tell: Failure. Seven letters that affect everyone in some way or another. But why is failing, or losing our way, considered such a bad thing? Why don’t we see it as the next step in our journey – as a learning experience, or as an opportunity to try again with more knowledge behind us?

At this point we only have two choices- to run away or turn and face the failure. Even if doing the right thing feels like the harder thing to do… do it. In the long run, tackling things head-on instead of running away from them is going to make you who you were truly born to be. 

 This new, more optimistic way of thinking, has been reinforced by other trips and challenges since, cementing my love of going out of my comfort zone, facing the possibility of failure head on, and really learning about myself.

Life can be difficult, no matter what walk of life you come from, but hard situations present our biggest opportunities for growth.

Like every human experience, having the right outlook is always a choice. I’m not saying it’s always easy, but it’s a choice – one that will only strengthen your ability to succeed in life. There is a bad wolf and a good wolf in all of us… Which one survives? The one that you feed!

Is it the ROCKBOTTOM ?

Whether a clinic's funding has run out, or there’s been an all time low patients/ no patients, rock bottom doesn’t have to be as all-that bad as it turns out to be. Failure can be a great turning point.
Firstly, how do you know if you’ve reached rock bottom? Dentists have described it as a feeling of 'hopelessness' and an inability to convince a given patient. There are also tough decisions to be made - is it better to give up or keep pushing?

It is never risk-free to have your own clinic . It might make more sense to simply close the clinic than suffer more hits. If you’re not getting repeat patients then this is good reason to give up - it means you’re unlikely to be better off this time next year.

The reason to move on is often two-fold - clinicians rarely have lots of extra capital to keep funding through a bumpy patch. Spending all your money before your practice really takes off means there’s no safety.So how to 'get back on' and figure out what you need? Successful practitioners say resilience is most important. "The most important life-skill for a clinician is resilience.

 I’ve seen too many great people who have suffered significantly in terms of their quality of life because they didn’t have the emotional, psychological and stress-resilience you need to be an clinician. This isn’t something you 'have or don’t have'. You can learn it, and you can practice it, and you can become resilient." 

Learning good lessons is a positive outcome of hitting rock bottom. Building on errors that lead you to this position in the first place is worthwhile.

 Even if it feels like the thing causing the problem is out of your control, like a financial recession, building up savings, or having a strong network of contacts, can make or break your practice if it hits rock bottom.