 What were you doing this time 6 months ago? According to some surveys it is highly likely that this time 6 months ago you were probably all geared up to start 2018 with some New Year’s resolutions. And according to those same surveys it is highly unlikely you have stuck to them (less than 10% of people make their resolutions stick).
A 2017 Telegraph article suggests that 8 of the top 10 New Years resolutions involve some aspect of getting physically healthier. Whether you have made some kind of health/happiness resolution and got it to stick or failed miserably, it is highly likely that Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s book “The 4 pillar plan” may be of interest to you. It gives a great scientific (but not overwhelming) explanation of the 4 main areas that he has found almost everyone can make simple adjustments to in their daily lives that will result in effective and long lasting improvements to long term wellbeing.
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It’s always nice to hear patients being complementary about my work or manner or the practice as a whole. Yesterday I had a lady really genuinely enthusing that I was the best dentist she had ever found. It really made my morning.
All I did was a checkup but I guess the key is that I did a “proper checkup”, which for me means:  A few months ago a very insightful patient was watching my TV slideshow and asked an interesting question. Out of the blue he said “Are you training to be a Buddhist monk?” To be clear, I am not, but I have a lot of respect for their way of life and enjoy a lot of what others might call “monastic pastimes”. Meditation is a regular part of my morning routine as is Tai Chi. I have enrolled in an extended online course on Mindfulness and a lot of my teaching is really centred around the idea of self reflection. And even the changes in my diet to eliminate refined sugar, reduce the intake of unhealthy foods and consume organic food sustainably sourced fits into this picture. I think it is fascinating that a patient who has only spent a total of a few hours in my company can watch a slideshow of previous work and some motivational messages and see that connection between mindfulness and dentistry.
 A very interesting study which backs up a lot of the ideas presented in BOUNCE and BLACK BOX THINKING about how to master any task using deliberate practice, learning from failure and feedback.
Research in other domains, mostly by Ericsson and colleagues, has shown that the main determinant of success in expert performers is not the amount of time spent practising, but the amount of time devoted to activities specifically targeted at aspects of performance that need improvement. After initial mastery of basic skills, some types of practice, the proficient execution of routine tasks for example, are unlikely to lead to further improvement. In other words, repetition in itself is not enough. This highly targeted type of learning has been given the term DELIBERATE PRACTICE. |
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June 2019
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