Member-only story
Focus on the positive
One of the most important survival skills in life
Geoge Lucas, the famous film director of Star Wars said, “Always remember – your focus determines your reality .”
Why we must focus on the positive.
1 Life will throw a lot of obstacles at you. Some are disguised as opportunities. Being negative would only make you think about problems. Staying positive makes you take action.
2 Research and studies have shown that the human mind tends to be affected by negative thoughts and hold on to them longer. I think that our minds naturally gravitate towards negativity which may be due to self-preservation.
We have to work hard to get out of a negative mindset.
We need to train our minds to think of the good stuff.
Let me relate my experience about focusing on the positive.
One day, my patient brought her 18-year-old daughter to my clinic and said, “Please give her something to do while waiting for her results. She wants to do dentistry”. She seemed like a good girl, somewhat reserved.
My negative tendency was to note that she had no experience whatsoever and would consume much of our time to train her. She was only going to be a temporary help.
The positive angel in me told me that this young quiet lady would have a bright future if I could inspire her. This was my chance to do some good for someone who needs guidance.
So, patiently, we gave her the ropes – taught her the basics about teeth and dental health, encouraged her to learn, coaxed her along, caught her doing right as a dental assistant, and complimented her. Errors were gently corrected.
She felt encouraged and bloomed over the months. She was joyful and helpful, tried to perform well, and built her self-confidence in the process.
She became determined to join the dentistry course after her interest was piqued. We believed that she could handle the manual dexterity test and interview well. Turned out that she was accepted into dentistry in July. She was elated.
Around the same time, I have taken in another patient’s son who wanted to be a dentist though already had a diploma…
