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Archive for the ‘Motivational/Philosophy’ Category

Goal Setting in 2013

20 Dec

In a health Centered Practice goal setting is a huge part of helping people take control of their own health and breaking out of the disease cycle. I thought it would be good to write about the goal setting process as I know many of you probably have started to undertake the New Year’s Resolutions for 2013 and are now about a month out. To make sure these resolutions turn into attainable goals make sure of the following:

The acronym S.M.A.R.T. may be a helpful reminder of things that are needed to make sure the goals are achieved in what ever you do. “S” stands for specific. When you have a dream of accomplishing something, make sure that the goals that you set are specific and crystal clear. An example of this concept is this time of year many say that they want to lose weight. The question is, how much and why. Incorporate this into your goal and your chances for accomplishing this goal will increase.
“M” means that the goal must be measureable. Having this feedback is critical to know where you are and where you want to go. It also serves to help you know when you get there. “A” stands for attainable. Is the goal that you set able to be attained? “R” is for realistic. The goal in order to be attained must be realistic. Lastly the “T” stands for time. There must be a specific time when you plan to attain a goal.

Knowing these things when you set goals will help you to accomplish a great deal in 2013. People who set goals are always successful. They plan, and work the plan. I always say to my patients that if you have a plan you will succeed. To have no plan is to plan to fail. We have the patients set both short and long term goals. We also give them feedback on how well they are doing in accomplishing those goals with measurable objective information. That way they know whether they are moving closer to or farther way from their health.

Good luck on setting and accomplishing your goals in 2013. If you would like more information about how to take control of your health in 2013 or if you are healthy how to make sure that you stay that way, please call me at 572-8000 or contact me through my website at www.drtjbolt.com

 
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Posted in Motivational/Philosophy, Principles of the Path

 

Celebrating the Gift of Work

03 Sep

On this Labor Day 2012 I am very blessed to have a job that I love to do. I have been able through careful study to make my job my vocation. To be able to help another individual add significance to their life is very rewarding. Through a system derived from health centered philosophies I can help a patient break out of the disease cycle and take control of their own health. On this Labor Day I pay tribute to the two places that changed my life to help people change theirs. These two places for me were like no other. They are The L.D Pankey Institute and The Schuster Center for Professional Development.

In Hans Selye’s book Stress Without Distress, work is discussed at great length and I would like to share just a passage and encourage you to find something that you are passionate about in order to live a purpose filled life.

Selye states, Man Must Work: Just as muscles become flabby and degenerate if not used, so our brain slips onto chaos and confusion unless we constantly use it for some work that seems worthwhile to us. In the book he sites the great Canadian physician William Osler who recognized the significance of work:

Though little, the master word looms large in meaning. It is the “open sesame” to every portal, the great equalizer; the philosopher’s stone which transmutes all base metal of humanity into gold. The stupid it will make bright, the bright brilliant, and the brilliant steady. To youth, it brings hope, to the middle-aged confidence,, to the aged repose. It is directly responsible for all advances in medicine during the past twenty-five years. Not only has it been the touchstone of progress, but it is the measure of success in everyday life. And the master word is WORK.

Happy Labor Day 2012.

 
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More on Humanistic Medicine

07 Jul

There is a difference that must be understood between a disease and an illness. A disease is a pathology which a doctor diagnoses from the problem that the patient presents with. An illness is the personal experience of the disease. This takes into account the entire person including their attitudes, feelings, thoughts, and values that surround the disease. This reflects and often defines the disease.

Those doctors that are trained and see themselves as teachers and not just treaters will spend time in a participative role asking questions and helping their patients understand the difference between these two domains. In a busy disease care clinic unfortunately this will never happen. Knowing this difference is enlightening to the patient. It is essential for the growth of the patient and will ease the effects of disease itself.

 
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Posted in Motivational/Philosophy, Preventative Dental Care, Principles of the Path, Uncategorized

 

Humanistic Medicine

09 Jun

In 1975 there were a group of people who were not satisfied the way that people were being treated in the medical model. Doctors were treating patients differently than what had preciously been practiced. It seemed as if they were taking the Art out of Medicine and just making it all about the Science. These people formed a group and wrote a small book called The Dimensions of Humanistic Medicine. This group was not around when the first Private Care Conference in 1995 got together in Scottsdale Arizona presented and hosted by The Schuster Center for Professional Development. At that time 300 dentists from all over the United States got together and formed a Creed that has been lived by many dentists over the years. The Creed was formed from the group from 1995 under the premise that people longed for the Art in Medicine. It was also believed that over the last seventy years that the Art had gradually been taken away. In 1995 we believed that this is true. It was also believed that Medicine has helped people physically, but it has not satisfied some other essential human needs. They are: A need for personal recognition, compassion, choice, and self determination.

I am happy to report that even though this Private Care Community of Commitment has not met for a long time, there is still passion for the Creed that we formed, and is practiced by many dentists and physicians still today. Almost twenty years these principles are being lived out in the form of Health Centered Philosophies where people are given the respect that they deserve by seeing the whole person and not just body parts. There are health care providers who are willing to take the time to listen to their patients and to from a partnership with them to help their patients to take control of their health instead of just allowing them to leave it to fate or luck.

I am excited to get together with a committed group of doctors this September 13-15, 2012 in Boulder Colorado where we will discuss these very important concepts and create an action plan to see that this Humanistic Style is still preserved and will live on in this dramatic changing time. Stay tuned for more details as this Community impacts the Nation. For more information on this and more see my website at www.drtjbolt.com

 
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Health Goals

04 Feb

Last month we discussed long range planning. There are seven areas of life that need consideration for long range planning. They are: Spiritual, Family, Career, Self Improvement, Health, Social, and Financial.

This month we will focus on health goals. When someone enters the practice for the first time, we set up an initial interview. After learning something about the patient from a personal standpoint, we focus on any immediate concerns. Then we move into the health history of the patient making sure that there are no contraindications for dental treatment including routine cleanings. If that is satisfactory, I ask the patient if given a choice between disease and health, which one they would pick. They always laugh or snicker a little bit like I’m asking a silly question. Then they always reply, “Health of course.” I respond by then asking what health means to them. Each patient has a different concept of what health is. Once we find out what health means to them, I always follow up with asking what they are willing to do to stay healthy or if not as healthy as they want to be, what they are willing to do to get healthy. Finally we discuss what role that I can play to help them get where they want to be. It is after a careful examination then, called co-discovery, where the patient and I learn together the state of health that they are in, records are collected, and then after any follow up questions we plan a future appointment.

The patient returns at a subsequent appointment and the findings are discussed. It is at this time that a partnership is formed and the goal setting process is conducted. You see if there are no goals set, there is nothing to measure. If you don’t know where you are going, how do you know when you get there? Based on the patient’s goals, in partnership we create a Master Plan. Health is a function of participation. Equal sharing of responsibility is discussed. Through this discussion the relationship grows and a trust is created. Without this interaction, the patient really has no idea of their responsibility. You can’t rely on a health care facilitator to do it all. If this is done correctly, the dentist and team become dental health coaches in a health centered practice. Remember that only 3% of the population has written goals and 97% do not. It is only those 3% that out perform the masses because their goals are written down. Health goals need to be written and if you want to be successful hiring a good dental health coach is the difference between breaking out of the disease cycle or continually spinning around in it for the rest of your life. For more information please see my website at www.drtjbolt.com or call ne at 402-572-8000.

 
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Posted in Motivational/Philosophy, Preventative Dental Care

 

Long Range Planning

14 Jan

Last month I talked about the power of goals setting. This month I would like to talk about planning not one or two years out, but the power that comes from planning 10 years out.

There are three reasons why this is powerful. Here are the benefits. First by putting your vision of what you want to create 10 years out on paper, the subconscious mind embraces it and brings the vision to reality. Maxwell Maltz the author of Psychocybernetics calls this a servomechanism. Secondly people who set goals are more likely to reach them. Lastly it establishes sophisticated milestones that act like a crowd of well wishers that cheer every time that we go past one of them.
By putting this plan 10 years out, it really brings about the plan to us quicker by as much as three years. It is important for us to realize that when we do not put the planning process out 10 years and move it closer to current reality we run into obstacles. By setting a ten year plan it is far enough out that there are no obstacles and we can be completely creative. In other words it frees up our mind to think ideally. By doing this it is like looking at things from hindsight in advance. Think of an occurrence that you have had years ago with the obstacles that were before you. When you look back on things the obstacles don’t look that big. So project 10 years and get it firmly grounded and we can practice hindsight in advance.

One important aspect of projecting 10 years out and the reason for having a clear purpose is illustrated by this example. A person with no real purpose plans their 10 year plan at age 55. Because the 55 year old was planning on retiring at age 65 his 10 year plan was focusing on retirement not what he would do when he retires. There are many people with similar stories and here is a sad statistic. The death rate between age 66-67 is very high. This is like planning to die. The 10 year plan really needs to be well grounded in a life purpose. Long range planning takes commitment. There will be no commitment without a clear purpose.

There are seven areas of life that need consideration for long range planning. They are:
Spiritual, Family, Career, Self Improvement, Health, Social, and Financial. All these areas are important but the first three are placed in order for importance. The others can be taken as one sees fit except for the last which is financial. The financial goals are designed to bring about the other six and can only be computed after the other six are fully defined.

Now knowing all the seven areas to set goals it looks like we have a lot of planning to do. Good luck and because I am a dentist of course helping you with your health goals is an area of my prime interest, so we have laid the ground work and next month I will focus in on the ways that we work with our patients to become successful on their health goals. For more information on this and other topics go to my website at www.drtjbolt.com

 
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Posted in Motivational/Philosophy, Principles of the Path, Uncategorized

 

Goal Setting in 2012

13 Dec

In a health Centered Practice goal setting is a huge part of helping people take control of their own health and breaking out of the disease cycle. I thought it would be good to write about the goal setting process as I know many of you probably have started to undertake the New Year’s Resolutions for 2012 and are now about a month out. To make sure these resolutions turn into attainable goals make sure of the following:

The acronym S.M.A.R.T. may be a helpful reminder of things that are needed to make sure the goals are achieved in what ever you do. “S” stands for specific. When you have a dream of accomplishing something, make sure that the goals that you set are specific and crystal clear. An example of this concept is this time of year many say that they want to lose weight. The question is, how much and why. Incorporate this into your goal and your chances for accomplishing this goal will increase.
“M” means that the goal must be measureable. Having this feedback is critical to know where you are and where you want to go. It also serves to help you know when you get there. “A” stands for attainable. Is the goal that you set able to be attained? “R” is for realistic. The goal in order to be attained must be realistic. Lastly the “T” stands for time. There must be a specific time when you plan to attain a goal.

Knowing these things when you set goals will help you to accomplish a great deal in 2012. People who set goals are always successful. They plan, and work the plan. I always say to my patients that if you have a plan you will succeed. To have no plan is to plan to fail. We have the patients set both short and long term goals. We also give them feedback on how well they are doing in accomplishing those goals with measurable objective information. That way they know whether they are moving closer to or farther way from their health.

Good luck on setting and accomplishing your goals in 2012. If you would like more information about how to take control of your health in 2012 or if you are healthy how to make sure that you stay that way, please call me at 572-8000 or contact me through my website at www.drtjbolt.com

 
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Posted in Motivational/Philosophy, Principles of the Path

 

Vision and Priorities Offer Hope

19 Aug

So many times I have the opportunity to help really sick people. These are people who are not foreign to dental care. They have been going to the dentist for many years but are feeling desperate. They have nothing to show for their efforts. The reason may be that they have been having repair dentistry done for many years and because of that they are finding themselves in a state of disrepair.

“ Most people I find don’t lead their lives, they accept their lives.” John Kotter

Complete dentistry on the other hand is less expensive and is more stable. Steven Covey in his book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, states in one habit Begin with the End in Mind. We must first create a vision of what health looks like. Then we must do an examination and determine current reality. From a careful interview the patient must have some idea of what values that they bring to the office. Knowing the concerns, and values, and an idea of what health looks like, along with the current situation, priorities can be established. It is at this point that the patient discusses possibilities, learning about the disease cycle, their role in breaking that cycle, and what priorities that they have, and a plan is co-developed.

With this plan, short and long term goals are established and with those priorities a patient starts to feel in control. Dental Disease can be reversed and long term health can be established if that vision is created as to what health looks like, priorities established and a patient takes part in their role to break that cycle. Knowing what the cause is and creating this strategy, the dentist does his/her part and the patient does their part.

A partnership is created. If there is no partnership their can be no healthy situation for this vision to come about.

I can’t tell you now many people come to my office thinking that they are in a good to excellent state of health only to find out that they are in an active disease state. This happens because of the style of dentistry that has been performed. If there is no comprehensive examination (what is going on), no comprehensive diagnosis (why it is going on), and no comprehensive treatment plan (how to improve the situation), the dentist is just performing repair dentistry. If this goes on long enough, just repairing body parts, the patient at the age of 50-70 will be in a state of disrepair. Not looking at the whole system and understanding causes of problems will just keep getting more of the same, until the system just can’t take it anymore. If you would like more information about comprehensive dental care, please feel free to call my office at 402-572-8000, or visit my web site at www.drtjbolt.com and click on the link of the Pankey Institute.

 
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The Power of Enthusiasm

16 Jul

One of my mentors Napoleon Hill (Think and Grow Rich) did research for Andrew Carnegie. He studied common traits of some of the most successful people of his day in the later 20th Century. Some examples of the people he studied were Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt, and Henry Ford just to name a few.

Enthusiasm is a very powerful and magnetic quality. I know that an enthusiastic doctor that carries into the sick room with him this energy, has more to do with bringing about a cure for his patient, than all the medicine that he can prescribe. I want to share a resent example of this with you. My son recently had Tommy John surgery for a torn UCL in his elbow. The surgeons Drs. Thompson and Brown after meeting them, because of their enthusiasm and their positive mental attitude brought great trust and comfort to not only my son, but also my wife and I. I do believe that this scary experience and the stress level that accompanies it, was decreased greatly because of the ability that these doctors had, and the confidence and enthusiasm that they carried with them. Even though our meeting with them prior to surgery was brief, they were masterful at expressing this confidence which made a huge difference in the outcome and recovery of my son.

Enthusiasm is a necessary quality to aid in a positive mental attitude. It has long been known by doctors that a positive mental attitude is high on the list of influences that gives one sound health. Disease germs cannot live in the blood stream of those whose mind is always positive.

Enthusiasm is a very important quality when someone is seeking out the help of another. Having a positive mental attitude and being around those who can help support this can be a real game changer. Check this out when you are in need of help with your next project. Also look for this quality when you are selecting someone to aid you in staying healthy. For more information on this topic or many others lie it, check out my website at www.drtjbolt.com or my blog found on the site. You can contact me directly at 402-572-8000

 
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Posted in Motivational/Philosophy