“My formula for success was very simple: Do whatever is put in front of you with all your heart and soul without regard for personal results.
Do the work as though it were given to you by the universe itself – because it was.”
Michael Singer
Who do you trust? Who can you trust? from GDPUK
My latest post for GDPUK:
One of the main tenets of Professor Onora O’Neill’s arguments around the theme of trust is that we must aim to have more trust in the trustworthy but not in the untrustworthy. She says, “I aim positively to try not to trust the untrustworthy.”
Which brings around the questions. Who can you trust? Who do you trust? And then by extension, Who can trust you? Who does trust you?
All of us exist in different circles. At the centre is the Circle of Control. Sometimes when I talk to dentists and their teams they say that they feel they have little control over their lives, I can understand those feelings but they are not correct. We have control on where our focus is from moment to moment. We choose and can control our reactions to events and to others. We control where and how we spend our time and energy. We control how we turn up every day. We also control how trustworthy we are.
The next circle is The Circle of Influence. In here are the things that concern you and that you are able to Influence. When we look at this closely many of the things that cause us concern are beyond our control and influence.
Finally the outer circle is the Circle of Concern. In here lie all the things that concern you in your work and life, including health, family, finances, the general economy and so on. Everything inside the circle matters to you, everything outside the circle is of no concern to you.
The lesson around the circles is to “Focus on what you can control and don’t waste energy on the things that you cannot.” To take a topical theme, it is very unlikely that any of us can control the outcome of the UK’s proposed Brexit deal – yet many are losing sleep, getting anxious, losing friends and letting it dominate their thinking.
Continues HERE.
Why wouldn’t you?
I have a hoard of unpublished blogposts, some half written, some one line ideas, they are the result of experiences, ideas, conversations, things read, seen or thought.
This one came about after talking to a client about his team routinely recording their patients’ blood pressure and pulse.
Increasingly dentists ought to be seen as Oral Physicians as well as Surgeons and should look at their patients overall health. Often dentists are in a better place to do routine checks than our medical colleagues and should do them before many procedures. This is good practice and those who embrace the role are to be encouraged. They, and their teams, do need to be competent at doing straightforward measurements. It’s something I started (but did not persevere) back in the early 1990s.
These are comments on three patients from the client
- Nice outcome. Did patient’s BP and it was 210/99, sent her to her GMP as a matter of urgency.
- Normally he would be hospitalised but treated under own doctor’s care, turns out to have high platelet count.
- Had to send her away last time as we had potential cardiac issue on our hands. Saw her this time and she was still effusively grateful for us having found this. Saved her from heart attack or stroke.
The client continued:
“I cannot understand why “X” (client’s associate) is reluctant…”
“We should have been doing them years ago….”
The Monday Morning Quote #568
“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want.
No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”
Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym
“I wish someone told me” Ira Glass
My thanks to Will Rees for sharing this.
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me.
All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste.
But there is this gap.
For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good.
It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.
But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer.
And your taste is why your work disappoints you.
A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.
Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this.
We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have.
We all go through this.
And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work.
Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story.
It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.
And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met.
It’s gonna take awhile.
It’s normal to take awhile.
You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
The Monday Morning Quote #567
The Monday Morning Quote #566
“Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.”
Lessons Learned from the RNLI
I was at a meeting at our local RNLI station in Union Hall a few months ago. We were counting the cash from the annual fundraising collection in and around Skibbereen.
Whilst we were waiting to get started I was nosing around, as I do – curiosity being one of my core values, and came across these files on a shelf.
The RNLI exists because things go wrong on the sea or sea-shore. If everything went according to plan, if there were no storms, no tides, no human or mechanical errors, the volunteers who man the rescue boat would not have to routinely put their lives at risk.
Of course not everything goes smoothly during rescues or practicing sessions. So they have a file of what they have taken on board (excuse any pun) during any activities. I’m sure someone in Health Education England, the GDC, the CQC or any combination of “stakeholders” could have spent months with focus groups, working parties and in depth questionnaires to produce a paragraph length title for such a file.
In West Cork (and I’m sure throughout the RNLI) it is pragmatically called: “LESSONS LEARNED”.
Where is yours?
The Incisal Edge Podcast with Lauren Harrhy
Alun talks to Lauren Harrhy about her career in Dentistry as Principal of Sparkle Dental Centre, her work with Mental Dental – A group for Dentists in Crisis, the Confidental helpline, the BDA and more.
The Podcast Notes:
Mental Dental – A Group for Dentists in Crisis. LINK
CONFIDENTAL, the 24 hour telephone helpline for dentists by dentists, is now officially live . Trained volunteers are there to offer support in a crisis and are there to listen. https://www.confidental-helpline.org
Phone number is 0333 987 5158 Please share the information about this service with colleagues .
Listening saves lives
The Incisal Edge 