Just Two Minutes: And vs Or

Bite-sized dental wisdom in under 2 minutes.

Some people are AND people — they want to add everything, do everything, and stack everything.

Others are OR people — they think every decision means one thing lives and everything else must die.

Both approaches are wrong.

Real progress comes from knowing when to use AND and when to use OR — because most of the biggest mistakes I see (and have made myself) come from choosing the wrong one at the wrong time.

You burn yourself out by saying AND when the moment required OR.
You stunt your growth by saying OR when the moment required AND.

Let’s talk about the difference.

When You Should Choose OR

OR is what protects your focus and keeps you from drowning in your own ideas.

1. When you don’t know your priority

If your plate is already overflowing and you’re asking yourself whether to start a new initiative on top of the others…
that’s an OR moment.

Pick the one that matters most.
Everything else gets parked.

2. When adding AND dilutes the original idea

Opening another op AND hiring a new associate AND redesigning your website AND upgrading equipment…
If stacking ANDs makes each one 50% worse, the answer was OR.

3. When the urge is driven by “shiny object syndrome”

Let’s be honest: we all love new projects because they feel exciting.
But excitement is not strategy.

But every time you say AND to something because it feels fun or gives you a temporary hit of dopamine, the correct choice is almost always OR.

When You Should Choose AND

On the flip side, there are moments when OR actually slows you down.

1. When the two things multiply each other

Some decisions aren’t either/or.
They create more power together.

For example:
Training your team AND improving your systems.
One makes the other work better.
That’s an AND.

2. When both actions push the same primary goal

If both options move you in the same direction, you don’t have to choose.

If your goal is growth, and two things directly drive growth, that’s an AND.

3. When the cost is tiny and the leverage is huge

Recording a Loom, writing instructions, documenting the checklist while you’re already doing it — these are low-cost ANDs.

They compound over time.
They make everything else easier.

The Rule:

Use OR when you need clarity.
Use AND when you gain leverage.

OR helps you choose the right thing.
AND helps you maximize it.

Your job isn’t to always be one or the other — your job is to know the difference.

Because most overwhelm comes from throwing AND at problems that needed OR.
And most stagnation comes from throwing OR at opportunities that needed AND.

-Dr. Alex

P.S. If you can’t decide between choosing AND or choosing OR, at least choose something. Choosing neither guarantees you get nothing.