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What I Learned:

There’s a sixth sense you develop visiting orthodontic practices.

Vibes you pick up.

Energy.

You can tell.

You can tell by the front staff— their attitude and posture. Is today a good day? Was there a difficult patient? Is now a good time to talk to the doctor?

The same goes for the doctor—the emotional toll of dealing with a troubled teenager, being polite to an insensitive parent and offering kind feedback to the new assistant who handed you a plier …when you directly asked for a mirror.

I had lunch with an orthodontist, and we talked about these types of sixth senses we have come to develop.

She brought up a documentary she watched on Roger Federer. She told me Roger’s serve, hit, and return rate isn’t significantly better than his competitors. Far more players swing harder, hit faster, return better, and move quicker. His athleticism—while elite—isn’t what makes him who he is.

This documentary taught her one of the best lessons ever in running practice-

Roger’s MVP skill is his ability to move on to the next moment.

Move on to the next moment.

The moment after Roger serves, he’s moved on to the return. He puts all his energy into focusing on what comes next, not what just happened—even if he made a mistake.

He’s trained his mind, body, demeanor, attitude, and mental toughness to live and let live on the court and focus on whatever comes next.

Most can’t do this. Most obsess. Most relive it repeatedly and bring that same energy to the next moment, creating a domino effect of poor outcomes.

Roger’s skill is that he doesn’t do this.

The doctor told me that there’s a moment when you’re in the chair, adjusting a wire, and a patient’s snide comment will throw you off. The pit of your stomach will fill with enough vitriol to drown your entire team. Then, you’ll have to stand up, walk into a new patient consult, and be the most incredible and welcoming person to a new patient.

That’s a skill she wants to develop to be a better provider.

Moving on if something, or someone, throws you off.

There’s no way around avoiding pain or poor visits. The skill is in the recovery, the moving on part.

This week, take the best lesson learned from this orthodontist and bring the skill to you and your practice—

Learn to let go and move on.