An eclectic combination of reads that come together to form the ideal therapist: from Taleb to The Dalai Lama.
In no particular order are ten books that have helped me through tough times that I can refer to again and again, representing the tastiest morsels of self-help and wisdom in my repository.
These books have something in common: you can open them at any page and find sanctuary and wisdom. You don’t need to read the chapter before for it to make sense, and I’ve chosen these reads over others because of their practical applications, the relatability of the author, and ease of reading.
1. Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman
This book I spied on the shelf of a psychologist’s office (more like a personal…
Economic theory is highly pertinent to the time to which it applies.
I’m sure most social science students have paused and put down their textbook when reading some social or economic theory and thought “Is this relevant anymore?”
It’s a fair question, considering there are so many different viewpoints thrown at students (and of course, at the general public) from leading psychologists, sociologists, and economists — all worth their own merit — yet often conflicting.
Like the Hogwarts houses, if you study economics there’s an expectation you ‘pick a camp’ and defend your theories lustily in the name of honor…
Even if you’ve never done one before, like me.
Let’s start off with some context. I’m a dentist by trade, but not for much longer. At the tail-end of 2020, I managed to get shortlisted for an interview for a healthcare management internship. The interview consisted of a comprehension test and two group interview tasks followed by an individual interview: all online.
I’d never done a group interview. Most dental interviews were the same: a few questions on how you’d deal with a patient or adverse situation with some basic dental knowledge questions thrown in, such as how to manage a patient on blood-thinning medication. …
The rollout of a COVID vaccine in the UK prior to year-end 2020 is further proof we are rubbish at predicting the future.
Let’s rewind six months, to June 2020. Well, not even six months: just under four months ago, since it adds further weight to the argument. Remember reading news stories like these?
Knowing these will maximize your efficiency and productivity
Need to make your next marketing session pop? A stressful situation causing your mind to draw a blank? By turning to acronyms you can use words as your weapon to remember a process with efficiency.
Creating new phrases with existing words is known as a bacronym. Here’s an example by Ralph Johnson for ACRONYM: abbreviated coded rendition of name yielding meaning. Neat, eh?
I’ve included just over 40 bite-sized nuggets so you can become a Jedi Master of communications, but be warned: you’ll get ideas across so quickly your audience might get whiplash.
ABC
Always Be Closing. A traditional marketing…
How to avoid thinking in black-and-white terms, overgeneralizing, and filtering.
I’m going to be the first to admit that, at least since my teens (and probably before), I’ve developed some unhealthy thinking patterns borne out of the desire to succeed or get ahead in life.
Did it make me happy? Of course not.
I was an idiot thinking being harsh on myself and supposedly being disciplined with myself would be helpful. But that’s what most of us do, right?
We associate drive, ambition, and ticking off boxes on our goal list with happiness. …
Why reporting the absence of findings and objections is important for your sanity and career.
I was taught that if it isn’t written down, it didn’t happen. Call it defensive dentistry from an increasingly litigious society but I’m thankful for the fear it put in me for note-keeping purposes and more generally, emails.
I’m all for picking up the phone and having a conversation. I think we should be doing this more instead of being keyboard warriors. However, people are busy and are prone to information overload from every angle, as devices and people compete for our most precious resource: our attention.
An email is like a receipt. Proof of a transaction of words or…
Working In a Pandemic
If I can pursue my dreams in a pandemic, so can you.
As a dentist with over 8 years of experience working everywhere from the National Health Service, hospitals, various private practices, and most recently, in community dentistry — I thought I’d seen it all.
Then, I suddenly became a dentist working in a global pandemic.
Melbourne, Australia, has had some of the world’s toughest restrictions imposed upon its residents and its fair share of political drama circulating the Coronavirus pandemic. Dentistry was considered one of the highest risk occupations for contracting and spreading the virus.
Despite many referring to Dentistry as a “recession-proof” career, the COVID-19 pandemic has proved this to…
Career change leaves you with an appreciation of how lucky you have been, even if it’s time to move on.
Dear Dentistry, as I embark on the next stage of my career, here are the things I want you to know that I still value, and am grateful for having the opportunity to learn, practice, and apply.
The Satisfaction of Relieving Someone’s Pain
I know for sure I’ll miss digging out the roots of a tooth so badly decayed, that there was nothing to hold on to but mulch, but after half an hour of using every instrument in the practice, I finally rid someone of the cause of agonizing sleepless nights’ worth of pain.
I love taking out teeth. That’s one of the reasons I…
10 reasons why you shouldn’t look at someone else's profession through rose-tinted glasses.
In less than two months I’ll be hanging up my gloves and ditching the dentistry. Here’s what I won’t miss…and it ain’t the Ferraris and Versace handbags. 😆
1. Selective hearing from patients
This is a major source of stress for healthcare professionals. Often, we throw a lot of information at our patients and try to use effective communication techniques such as repetition, reinforcing verbal information with written information, and asking a patient to repeat back to us the key points.
Despite this, patients (and people in general) only hear what they want to hear. They may anchor on the low end of a price…
