"How to Become a Hardy Dentist" - from the "In Search of the Hardy Dentist" series by Cliff Katz.

ISOC is running a 4 part series by Cliff Katz on the Hardy Dentist.

Here is an excerpt from Part III, "Becoming a Hardy Dentist". To read the first three parts, go to: www.spiritofcaring.com

Becoming a Hardy Dentist, By Cliff Katz, DDS, PhD

But what of the Hardy dentist? How does he or she begin to develop and grow? Certainly the underpinnings of Hardiness are psychological and philosophical. Perhaps the “Serenity Prayer” quoted at the beginning of this chapter is a foundational aspect of Hardiness. What really is involved is a sorting out process which includes the paradox of “holding on and letting go”. Acceptance is a process of letting go -- of self-delusions, of irrational fears and beliefs, of the need to control everyone and everything in one’s environment, of impossibly perfectionistic tendencies.

The “holding on” involves those values and beliefs without which one feels less than the, person he or she wants to be. Holding on means taking responsibility for one’s own life in those areas over which no one else should (or, ultimately, can) have control. Holding on means maintaining the sense of commitment to others, to dentistry, to delivering the best service of which one is capable. The Hardy person does not expect to be perfect, but rather commits to being optimally whole as a person and as a dentist. The Vulnerable knows, whether consciously or not, that this commitment has not been made, and undoubtedly pays a heavy price for the resulting feelings of guilt, inner—directed anger, inadequacy, shame and loss of self—respect which results.

Notice, please, that I am not saying that there is an absolute right or wrong way to be, believe or think; the key issue is congruence with what is called one’s “idealized self—image”. This lack of congruence, I feel, is a key discriminator between the Hardy and what I have here been calling the Vulnerable personality. Perhaps the essential first step in becoming Hardy is the development of the wisdom to know what to hold on to and what to let go of -- and when.

It is only after the sorting out process earlier described that one begins to fully understand that he or she has not “arrived”, but has only just begun the journey. Then the course can be set for moving towards Hardiness. The path for each individual varies infinitely for each individual. But I believe that there are several major categories of life experiences which must be explored and skills to be developed as part of the process of becoming Hardy. I will mention each area only briefly, since each is an expansive topic in itself.

To read the rest of this article, go to:

www.spiritofcaring.com

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Top ten, fifty and 100 lists are in.

Who you would pick for your top ten most influential people in dentistry in the last 50 years? Please list them in rank order from 1-10 and give me your reasons for picking them.

When all of the lists are in, I will publish them on ISOC - and I will publish selected top tens on ISOC along the way to the Big Top Ten.

Some people are also picking their personal top ten and others are using this for a study group topic.

Use this spam free Contact Us to send your top ten to me.

Thanks,

Lynn