Sleeping at Night

I spent the end of last week at the 3D Summit in Boston. Throughout the course there was one word that kept popping up – Confidence. Definition: The state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. The question was asked, “Do you have confidence in your ability to diagnose, treatment plan, and ultimately, perform?” The technology that is available today may not be a “necessity” in your practice, but it certainly can help in these areas.

This technology is not cheap, and it’s not for everyone, but there is value in being able to sleep at night. Imtiaz Manji talks about ‘sleeping at night’ as it refers to being confident in your decisions and your ability to perform. When you are in bed at night, it’s nice to not lay awake thinking about the procedures you did that day. It is comforting to know that you performed at your highest potential and that you are satisfied with the outcome.

Do you have confidence in your ability to diagnose?

Do you have confidence in your ability to treat?

Do you have confidence in yourself?

Time to Change the Filter

A filter, simply put, is anything that changes what comes through the other side. We use filters in our water to remove impurities. We use a filter on a camera lens to control the way light appears.

We have filters imbedded in ourselves, too. You probably don’t realize you’ve got one. Maybe several. It may take an interaction with someone else to understand how you’re perceived. We ask for a second set of eyes to help edit a paper. We ask someone, “how does this look?” because not everyone uses the same filters.

Some of us say that we speak with no filters. For example, you may have said this after speaking to your in-laws in a tone of voice you now regret.

I recently heard of a story of a man who was laid off. Every conversation he held with someone after his layoff came across as very negative. He was very much upset with his ex-employer, as well as himself. He dismissed ideas, and ignored any creativity. His filter was his layoff. Everything came through as pessimistic.

What filters do you have?