I cannot take credit for this quote, but I love it. Several months ago, while I was onsite, a Dr said this at morning huddle, and it resonated with me. Right now, with everyone’s stress level, I think it is a great quote for this month’s Coach’s Corner.
Sometimes we say things or change the way we communicate differently under stress. One thing about 2020 so far, it has been a stress filled year. Stress from all sides of our lives – home, work, family, really all aspects of our lives has been touched. Normally for September I would be discussing something in dentistry with a back to school theme, but this quote encompasses that and so much more.
It’s more important than just going back to school. I know for a lot of my clients they have multiple team members affected by their children either doing remote learning, hybrid, or changing in/out of the classroom. What used to be a standard of what “back to school” meant is changing for everyone. That is causing a lot of stress within families and our practices. I think this quote has many levels of meaning for us and is a reminder to take our time and be patient with one another. This is not only true for our team member but for our patients as well. I know patients are coming into offices and acting different than they did before just because of the stress they are under and wondering when their lives are going to return to normal. Due to this stress, our patients are exhibiting a lot more issues with bruxism than ever before.
By “tasting your words before you spit them out” it reminds us to reset and align our thoughts, words, and actions so we may be a bright spot in someone’s day. We make assumptions all the time about others without knowing what is going on in their lives. Use this month’s Coach’s Corner for your next morning huddle. You may be pleasantly surprised with how this phrase will open your team up to share with one another.