Of all the holidays we celebrate in both my religious and secular calendars, Thanksgiving is my favorite by far. I so fondly remember our first Thanksgiving flight home to New York from dental school in Richmond, Virginia, to see our family and friends. I remember the many Thanksgiving days spent fighting New Jersey and New York traffic to get to Fran’s (my wife’s) Aunt Jenny’s home, picking up my mother along the way. I remember having to control my F-bombs after my children were born, as traffic and tolls aggravated the daylights out of me. I remember hugs and kisses, football games, bickering over whose team was better, the guys shouting and groaning over a touchdown or an interception, and the girls wondering what the fuss was all about, eating great food, laughing like crazy, talking about family recipes, remembering those not with us to celebrate, and catching up with people we love who we may not get to see very often. Those memories are so much a part of who we are!
This year, Fran and I are excited to, for the first time, be Thanksgiving guests at our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson’s home! Together with our son and our son-in-law’s parents and their grandchildren, we’ll create great memories as we savor great food, a bit of football, and lots of grandparent moments. I’m sure we’ll take a few moments to lovingly remember our family members who are no longer at the table.
I anticipate the sense of love, contentment, and satisfaction that will not only fill our home on Thursday but will also be in all our hearts for the rest of our lives. Thanksgiving is always a highlight of our year, as I hope it is for you.
So, what does this have to do with dentistry? I’m glad you asked!
As we pursue whatever it is we want in our careers, and as we see different people giving us advice on how to get rich, sell more dentistry, make more money, or acquire more stuff, I would humbly suggest you step back and take a good look at your Thanksgiving—or any other holiday that means something to you and yours. You see, there is a huge difference between material wealth and contentment. There is a huge difference between being happy in what you do and being saturated with things. There is nothing wrong—in fact, there’s everything right—with earning a good living and seeking to be more profitable in each year of your professional life; HOWEVER, what’s in our wallets can NEVER substitute for what’s in our hearts. If you are practicing in a niche of dentistry that makes you fulfilled and gives you a lifestyle both inside and outside of the office, do you really need to do what some other expert is telling you to do? If your PPO/volume practice makes you happy in your office and allows you to live a nice life, what more do you want? If your FFS/low-volume practice does it for you, why change?
Bask in the satisfaction you gain each day, do what you love, and try to make something about each day memorable for yourself and/or for someone else. Please try to come away each day with a feeling or, better yet, an expression of gratitude for whatever it is that makes you content in your work. Because, with rare exceptions, we earn, at minimum, enough. Because, at minimum, we are blessed with the ability to help people in a unique way, including both our patients, our teammates, AND our colleagues who are in need. And if you are not content and are contemplating a change in how you practice, give some careful thought to your uniqueness, your core values, and your version of a happy life, and redesign your professional and personal life around it all.
Our Constitution guarantees us three unalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I am truly grateful that I chose both a profession and now a second career that allows me to pursue happiness and fulfillment daily. I don’t always get it (yes, I have those days just like everyone else), and it is never without stress. Still, I understand and appreciate that what you and I do can be very satisfying AND that we have so many choices within dentistry to find our happiness. So, look away from your bank account and business stats for a moment and look into your heart. Find your happiness. You can do it. YES, YOU CAN!
I am so grateful for all I have. I am grateful for my health. I am grateful for my wife, my children, my beautiful grandson, and my wonderful friends and mentors. And I am grateful that you have given me the gift of your time by reading this. I hope it adds something to your life.
From Fran and me to you and yours, our heartfelt best wishes for a memorable, joyous Thanksgiving with the people you love. On Thanksgiving and every day, be mindful to create memories, express your gratitude, focus on what’s important in life, and, above all, Enjoy the Ride!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alan Stern, DDS, retired from clinical dentistry in 2023 and now operates Better, Richer, Stronger, LLC. He is a dental practice coach, keynote speaker, and author.
His book, Enjoy the Ride, is available on Amazon.
Join his Facebook group strangely called Better, Richer, Stronger.
He can be reached at alan@Betterricherstronger.com.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: Lemono/Shutterstock.com.
