Bored Dental Hygienist: Find Your True Calling
🤪I was just out for my morning run, and as usual, I was listening to a podcast. It was with Rachel Hollis and Ken Coleman and was titled “Battling Burnout & Finding Your True Calling”.
I was already ruminating about what I would write about today, and of course, when I am thinking like that, I always go to that place “where I used to be”…a bored dental hygienist.
For me as a bored dental hygienist, it was burnout. Or mind-numbing boredom. But nonetheless, Rachel commented that when people say they are burned out, it just means that you’re “doing something that doesn’t light your heart up anymore”.
Ken, a successful author, and motivational speaker chimed in with this fun fact…
“the World Health Organization” just declared “burnout” a medical condition.
Whaaaaaa?
Ken doesn’t believe in burnout, because he says that happens when you’re dead. When the flame has forever been extinguished. But, what about buildup? Buildup on your heart.
He defined 5 causes of buildup…which took me back to exactly where I was years ago before starting Integrative Myofunctional Therapy.
- You don’t have any passion for the job: You are good at what you’re doing, you just don’t love it anymore.
- You are in a toxic environment. Whether this is the leaders or the people around you, a toxic environment is toxic to your health, your attitude, and your grateful heart!
- You are overwhelmed. You either don’t know how to say no or you’re so valuable that people keep dumping all the responsibility on you and you can’t say no.
- You are under-appreciated. The #1 thing that you want to hear is “atta girl!”
- You are bored.
Wow. Did any of that hit you like a brick? That was totally me. I never loved hygiene. I was an engineering student when I decided to change to a career with family-friendly hours and a good paycheck. I hated scaling. I hated probing. But…I loved teaching, helping, and building relationships with my hygiene patients. Sad to say that it took me so many years of being a bored dental hygienist to pivot, but I’m so glad that I did.
When I say pivot, I mean you don’t have to switch careers. You just need to build upon your strengths. And for the love of Pete, you need to build upon what sets your heart ablaze! You might be doing the right thing in the wrong place as I was. The right thing was helping, teaching, and mentoring. The wrong place was in a dental office setting as a bored dental hygienist.
Maybe you just need a new challenge. To breathe life back into that knowledge you have.
So, what should you do if you are shaking your head to 1 (or 2, 3, 4, or all 5) of the above causes of buildup?
You need to get real and call it out and figure out a way to alleviate it. If YOU are one of the sweet, frustrated, bored folks flooding my inbox with emails asking for advice each week then…I want you to sit down and document a plan to set your heart ablaze.
One of my biggest mistakes on a personal level is that I didn’t do it sooner. That I became a miserable, unhappy, unfulfilled, bored dental hygienist before I made a change. You guys, I started to have heart palpitations on the way to work and knew I had to get out.
If you know you need a change, now is the time. Please let’s visit. Regardless of whether you want to take the Myo Mastery Program or not, I’m here to share my story and empower you to make a change.
Sometimes, all it takes is one 🤪 crazy, passionate person 🤪 to cause change. And I’m happy to be that 🤪 crazy, passionate person 🤪 for you!
Surround yourself with people who will help you find YOUR calling,
Ps…Have you downloaded the “Stop Playing Tiny Workbook”? Are you making excuses? Do you matter? Are you living a fulfilling life? If you find yourself once again wishing you would just finally make a decision to rock your world, what are you waiting for? It costs you exactly ZERO dollars to meet me on Skype and learn about my journey. Do yourself a favor…click here and make that appointment TODAY!
Have you downloaded the Stop Playing Tiny Workbook?
About the Author, Carmen M. Woodland
Carmen is a powerhouse myofunctional educator, whose “secret sauce” is teaching women how to build their own, incredibly satisfying career in myofunctional therapy. She is obsessed with all things myo, myofunctional therapy business, marketing, social media, content, data, revenue, goals, and helping you navigate the messy and magical journey to becoming an authority in the myofunctional therapy niche.
She teaches you the tried and true secrets to building a career you’re in charge of, and one that’s life-changing for both you and your clients.
Shy away from the hard stuff? No way, Carmen gets down in the trenches with you, just like your favorite gal-pal there to cheer you on. Her no-nonsense-tough-love-common-sense-solutions-oriented approach is the real reason that she gives you the kick in the pants you need. Carmen is your one-stop shop to learn everything you need to know about delivering effective myofunctional therapy, and building a thriving, profitable myofunctional therapy business.
A dental hygienist who got tired of watching unhealthy people slip through the cracks. She took her 15 years of dental hygiene experience, completed advanced post-graduate training in orofacial myofunctional therapy, earned a prestigious M.B.A. (Masters in Business Administration), grew a successful myofunctional therapy business, and now she works from home with clients around the world and runs an extremely popular myo coaching and business training program.
If you find your passion intersection at the corner of Myofunctional Therapy Avenue, Dental Hygiene Highway, Female Entrepreneur Boulevard, and Work From Anywhere Way…then get cozy here, because you’ve found your unicorn! Carmen is here to educate, encourage, and empower you while she teaches you all the things!
