Just Two Minutes: Pick Your Hand

Bite-sized dental wisdom in under 2 minutes.

There’s a lie we like to believe in dentistry:
That there’s an “easier” option: an office that runs itself, a role with no stress, a setup where nothing ever goes sideways.

Spoiler: it doesn’t exist.

You stay an associate? That’s hard.
You don’t control your schedule. You don’t build equity.
You’re stuck with someone else’s systems… or lack of them.
You might make good money, but you’ll always be working on someone else’s terms.

You open your own practice? Also hard.
Now it’s your name on the door.
You’re in charge of hiring, firing, paying bills, making payroll - even when collections are down and your front desk just quit.

But here’s the truth: it’s all hard.
There’s no path that doesn’t come with problems.

You think the grass is greener?
That’s just because you haven’t seen where they buried the bodies yet.

So don’t waste time trying to find the easy road.
Instead - pick the version of hard that moves you closer to the life you actually want.
Pick the suffering that builds something meaningful.
Because sitting on the couch sounds nice in theory… until you realize boredom is its own kind of pain.

And if you’re going to suffer either way -
At least make it count.

And since it’s Thanksgiving, I’ll say this:

I’m thankful that I know the life I want.

Because even when it’s hard - even when I’m stepping into completely uncharted territory, doing things I’ve never done before, putting myself out there in ways that feel risky - it’s still the path I chose.
And that makes the suffering feel... earned.
Not random. Not handed to me.
Mine.

There’s peace in that.
Even if the to-do list says otherwise.

-Dr. Alex

P.S. Make every day truth day.