How to recover from a bad month
How to recover from a bad month.
Or a bad week.
Or even a bad day!
LEARN from the past, LOOK to the future, LIVE in the present
BE where you are. Don't worry about what happened last month, or worry about what's going to happen next month. Focus on what you have direct control over - TODAY. What can you do today that will contribute to the long-term vision of the practice?
Focus on the bigger picture
I was talking with one of our members last week about a recent challenge. They had a patient that had prepaid and ended up canceling their appointment, wanting a refund. Obviously this had been a big downer, and they were frustrated. As we spent a few minutes discussing solutions, they felt as if they had done everything 'right'. I then asked 'How often does this happen?' Once. It happened one time since they began collecting prepayment 2 years ago. I then asked 'How many of your other patients have prepaid in the last month?' All of them.
See, we can have 99 things go right in a week, yet our brain automatically focuses on what went wrong. There's nothing wrong with self-evaluation to be sure you're stying on track. But be cautious of those knee-jerk reactions when your challenges make up a very small minority your results.
It's not too late to turn your cycle around!
'94% endure today just hoping for a better tomorrow' At the end of 2023 as several unexpected celebrity deaths, world-wide tragedies and other negative events hit the headlines, I recall several social media posts that seemed to be wishing away the last days of 2023... 'I'm so done with 2023', 'Ready for this horrible year to be over with!' As if the turning of the calendar had something to do with their misfortune. You know what? I often hear this same theory from some of you! 'This is such a horrible month - I'm ready to start fresh' or 'September is always bad - we're just holding our breath until October when things will pick up', etc. Well, I'm here to tell you that one day can make a huge difference. IF you make the choice to turn things around. I recall several conversations with a long-time dentist in small-town America - 'We were having a lousy month, do we decided to get back to basics - we turned things around and had one of our best months ever!' This is paraphrased, but it was always the same mindset - WE MADE A CHOICE.
Take Action
Stress is caused when we aren't living our vision. Progress Procrastination is a result of fear, feeling overwhlemed, or just blatant laziness. JUST DO SOMETHING. By taking action today, not only will stress decrease, but the action you take will result in motivation to keep moving. EAT THE FROG!