“You don’t have to brush all of your teeth…..just the ones you want to keep”
As a healthcare practitioner it really resonated with me.
We are certainly all guilty of neglecting areas of our life and lifestyle that contribute to our overall wellbeing…….yet a lot of us tell ourselves we are in pursuit of wellbeing and balance. We can’t be perfect all of the time in every facet of our life, we all experience stress and things that are out of control that come along and cause chaos, we deal with it the best that we can at the time and a fair number of us probably use the 80/20% rule with a lot of aspects of our lifestyle.
Most people that come to see us certainly have already made a decision to address their “pain” but the dentist’s quote stuck with me because we have certainly seen many patients over the years who are desperate for you to tell them that there is a quick solution to their problem. Some people spend the entire consultation trying to “negotiate” with your advice or professional opinion on what you think it takes to get better or really address the root of their problem.
OK sometimes you just fall off your bike and hurt yourself ……. but honestly most people we see could certainly be in much better shape working a bit more on their fitness, flexibility, posture etc …… not to mention diet, stress, work/life balance.
Most people we see usually have underlying issues that are contributing to their current state. Working with these patients to help them and see them move towards wellbeing and a much happier and healthier version of themselves is really what gives us a “kick’ as a practitioner. To use our many years worth of training and knowledge to see people well, happy and with less pain is what it’s all about for us. It’s the biggest thing that draws most of us into healthcare.
It’s always enjoyable and productive when a patient comes in who is really trying to achieve balance and is working forwards total wellbeing. The patient really wants to work and fixing their problem long term, they own their problem and their bad posture, lack of fitness, strength or whatever it is and are willing to genuinely try to do what they can and what it takes to really feel good. They are motivated and honest with themselves about all the facets of their life and trying to get some balance. These patients are inspiring people around them see and feel their motivation and it motivates others……… and make us love our job just that little bit more!
