Comparison is the thief of joy.

You’ve heard me talk about “It’s Me Vs. Me.”

There is undoubtedly some powerful truth in that mantra. Comparison is the thief of joy – and comparing ourselves to others results in a feeling of inferiority or superiority, neither of which is productive. And yes, this is the time of year when we should look at practice performance and finalize our goals for 2023. However, there’s a catch. And the fantastic podcaster, endurance athlete, and recovering alcoholic Rich Roll pointed it out to me in these 30 seconds.

Wait one cotton-pickin’ minute Kristie; you’ve been preaching your entire career that we should compare ourselves to ourselves – to look at our practice performance on a rolling 12-month scale and compare it to the previous 12 months. You’ve told us not to compare our “perceptions” with others while sitting in a continuing education session or reading a post on Facebook or Dentaltown. Now you’re telling us that after one 30-second snippet from Rich Roll, that’s not true?

Here’s the thing:

Many of you are in a different environment than you were at the beginning of 2022. You may have different:
Team members
Hours
Patients
Insurance
Marketing
Facility
Fees
Operating Costs
The list goes on…And that’s just at the practice.

Our personal and professional lives are connected – Last year, at this time, I was at chemotherapy every Wednesday. This year I’m not. Should my professional schedule on Wednesdays be the same as last year? You might think this is an extreme and obvious example. Look at your life outside of the office – your health, relationships, and family commitments – Are they the same? Should your practice goals be altered accordingly?

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not encouraging you to “scale back” or “double down.” There is no one correct answer. And that is the point. Me vs. Me is not just about the numbers – the growth, the revenue, the new patients, the weight loss (or gain), the miles ridden, the yoga sessions completed, and the presentations given. It’s about being realistic about where you are RIGHT NOW and what YOU and YOUR TEAM are capable of doing. And that is the only way to make progress.