“What was I supposed to do now?” My mind was panicked. I felt desperate as I mentally sifted through all the ramifications of what I had been told. How did I get myself into this situation?
It was 2006, and I had owned my dental practice for three years. The dentist I hired was one whom I felt extremely fortunate to be sharing the journey with. Our values and beliefs of how to manage patients and staff were aligned, and we worked together productively and happily. It was the perfect blend of my business management skills and her clinical abilities.
Then she shared her happy news: She was pregnant. She would be reducing her hours and then be on maternity-leave for a period of time before coming back part-time.
What wonderful, exciting news. I was thrilled for her.
After our small team of three had celebrated the news and the next patient was in the surgery, I took a moment to walk out to the back car-park. “What was I supposed to do now?”
I looked up to the sky, frantic. How was I going to replace this dentist who is so perfect for the practice? The dentist whom all the patients adore?
As I looked skywards, I found myself changing my question. Instead of a desperate wailing, I asked “What needs to change?”
The answer came as strongly as if someone yelled it at me.
“Stop relying on this one person to get the job done! Get more people in!”
Of course! More people! I was instantly relieved, and I felt empowered.
I excitedly went about planning for a growth phase for the practice. I would add another surgery, employ more wonderful staff and implement a marketing strategy to attract more new patients. I had not necessarily planned for growth, but it was now a reality.
What I had perceived as distressing for my business, turned out to be a blessing. Instead of suffering, the business became bigger and stronger. The structure became one that was far less dependent on individuals. It drew success from many, not few.
We have all had similar experiences. The panic of “What do I do now?” ultimately becomes gratitude for outcome.
The lesson I gleaned from this experience was articulated to me years later, when I met motivational speaker and now JPPS co-founder Charles Kovess. “NO RESISTANCE.” “Offering up resistance to the challenges of life will only hamper your progress. You will become ‘stuck’ and be unable to move.”
We resist the events of life in numerous ways. Through avoidance, feeling anxious, getting angry, distracting ourselves and self-victimisation. We place blame on others, ignore the issue and sometimes run away from it.
The opposite of resisting is EMBRACING.
World renowned spiritual guide Eckhart Tolle states in his best-selling book The Power of Now, “To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease and lightness.”
Thanks to this lesson I now welcome everything that life presents. I don’t label things negative or undesirable. I look for the opportunity for growth, development…progress. I now live with the awareness that it is through the solving of problems that life gets better.
I no longer, resist life…I embrace it!
