I was always excited when I owned my dental practice. But I got SUPER excited in December. What excited me? New goals!
Despite spending my whole year tackling the existing practice goals, there was something magical about the Christmas break. I would spend time reflecting over the previous year. What were the challenges? What insights did I discover? What did I learn that would make coming years more powerful?
Then I would start imaging what I wanted to achieve in the coming year. And it was this process that I found exciting!
A new year is like a clean slate. You can move on from the difficulties of the past, leaving the experience behind but taking the lessons with you. A clean slate means you can abandon the limiting thoughts that can bog you down when you are dealing with the minutia of daily practice life and be creative and inspired when designing the path for the coming year.
The process of establishing goals and aligning your team launches your annual performance journey. Announcing the practice goals at an early-January team meeting will energise your team and foster a mindset shift out of the past, to look to the possibilities of the future.
Bringing an emotional element and sense of purpose to your goals will make them more compelling and desirable. How will achieving the goals make people feel? For example, if the goal is to introduce a dental hygienist into your practice, describe how your practice will now be able to provide the ability to achieve higher levels of oral health than ever before. That your practice patients will be able to enjoy the many personal and social benefits of an improved oral condition.
So when you are having your break over the Christmas period, I encourage you to take moments for reflection and imagining. When planning your year’s goals, be optimistic.
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” Helen Keller
Is it time to get excited? I think so!