Managing Mindset: Kicking self-doubt and building confidence for Dental Care Professionals

At times, we all need help to elevate our mindset to get to where we want to be in life. Our mindset can influence us in so many ways, from our health and well-being to our level of success in life. It is our view of the world; a set of established attitudes that help us deal with all sorts of situations and scenarios. Mindset impacts everything we think, say and do. 

Our mindset has the power to create success and failure - we have all heard of, or even possibly experienced, defeating negative mind patterns. Having a good, positive, strong and confident mindset really aids us not just in life but also in our work. It sets us up to handle knockbacks and, during difficult days, it encourages us to get back up and keep going, helping us to build resilience in life.

Maintaining a strong mindset is more important than ever, not just because dental care professionals work in a profession where we give all the time - and this in itself brings challenges - but also after the testing last few years of the Covid 19 pandemic. 

Living the life you want 

You can build a strong mindset by improving your self-confidence, kicking self-doubt and believing in yourself! It is vital that we do not believe every negative thought but actively make decisions to take the right steps to promote a positive mindset. This can help us not just in everyday life, but in the clinical workplace. 

Let’s start with self-doubt. Self-doubt occurs when we lack confidence or feel incapable of doing the things we need to do. It could be about our thoughts, opinions, decisions or any self-views. A certain level of self-doubt is good, because it indicates that you understand what you need to improve in order to do a better job. However, persistent feelings of self-doubt can hugely

affect your life in a negative way, resulting in delayed actions and even missed opportunities. 

There are lots of things that we can do to kick self-doubt. Here are some top tips: 

Daily affirmations  

Affirmations are a good way to start the day. The media often publishes articles about the power of affirmations and manifestations, and how if we manifest, we can get the life we want. Affirmation is the practice of positive thinking and self-empowerment. This usually takes the form of a powerful, personal statement that is repeated to oneself daily. For the affirmation to be effective, it needs to be spoken in the present tense. It must be positive, personal to you, and specific. Ideally, it should be spoken out loud, but writing it down is fine, as there is power in the pen! An example would be: “I can do this. I am enough. I am confident!” 

Journaling and timelines

These are so important. Writing our thoughts and feelings down can be very cathartic and help to clear our mind. It also helps by releasing pent-up feelings and everyday stresses and strains. But, most of all, it allows us to let go of negative thoughts. 

The process is not just about focusing on the negatives in your life; it is about noting what successes you have had, and what went well today. Celebrating the everyday small wins adds up to a big win! 

Timelines are one of my particular favorite tools to use to kick self-doubt. I use this technique a lot with my coaching clients. Sometimes we cannot see the wood for the trees; we doubt ourselves and our abilities to achieve what we want. Writing a timeline of all of your achievements reminds you of what you have achieved so far, and gives confidence to pursue those things you still want to do. A useful exercise is to try completing a timeline of your life in general, or career. 

Practise self-compassion 

A simple strategy is to practice self-compassion, and build self-trust. Trust in your own abilities and believe in yourself. Although this can be challenging, it is important to believe in yourself, otherwise how can you expect others - most of all patients - to believe in you? 

This process must start ‘within’. We quite often listen to our own negative self-talk, but it is important to question whether this actually stems from fact, an event or incident, or are we worrying and ‘catastrophising’ in our minds? If it is becoming debilitating, then it may be a good idea to seek some external help. You could be experiencing Imposter Syndrome. 

According to Oxford languages it is:1 the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills. People suffering from impostor syndrome may be at increased risk of anxiety. Common characteristics are: berating your performance; negative self-talk; perfectionism; fear you will not live up to expectations. Originally, the concept of imposter syndrome was thought to apply mostly to high-achieving women. Since then, it has been recognised as a more widely experienced condition. It can affect anyone regarding their work, background, skill level or degree of expertise. We can also experience it at any age and at any point of our career. If you really are struggling with self-doubt and feel that you could be experiencing imposter syndrome, then it may be time to see an Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) coach.

So, what can we do to improve our mindset in general life? 

There are many ways that we can do this. Here are a few of my top recommendations. Some may seem basic, but it is always good to have the foundations in place. 

Nutrition and sleep Pain 

Getting the right nutrients and the right amount of sleep for you is a good starting point. Lack of sleep makes us tired, grouchy and even ill. Not getting enough sleep really can negatively impact our cognitive functions, let alone our long-term health. 

Pain  

Being in pain can have a massive effect on our mental wellbeing and mindset, and can also be linked to poor quality sleep. Being in pain can, unfortunately, affect our professional work. Using our hands all of the time, and leaning over with poor posture - which leads to back or neck pain – or various repetitive strain injuries, puts us at risk from developing problems. 

According to Healthy Place; ”Pain can cause mental health problems. Further, it’s not uncommon for physical illnesses, especially chronic ones, to lead to mental health disorders”. Pain can wear us down, both physically and emotionally and can affect our mindset and confidence. 

Practise gratitude

Another game changer to help improve our mindset is the practise of gratitude. Numerous studies have shown that practising gratitude is good for our health, not just mentally, but physically too. It is so easy to take the good things in life for granted, however small! 

Practising gratitude is something that I personally practise, and I also recommend it to my clients. It makes us more optimistic about our lives and, of course, more grateful. This leads to a more positive and confident mindset. I always end the day by making physical or mental notes about three great things about my day, however big or small. 

Know what you can control 

In life, we spend so much of our time and energy on things that we cannot control, or even worry about things before they actually happen! This pattern of behaviour steals important energy and can promote an anxious, negative mindset. 

Setting goals is also paramount to gain and maintain a positive and focused mind. Setting goals and working towards something improves our mindset and focus, and gives us a sense of purpose, be it a professional or personal goal. It is good to have goals! 

Being flexible in life can also help us. Being open to life, its opportunities and not having a fixed mindset helps us to look at other ways to achieve happiness. This will help you not be thrown off course if life does not go the way you planned or hoped. Being flexible also decreases anxiety in life. 

How to build confidence at work 

So, how can we promote inner confidence as a clinician? Let’s start with time - give yourself enough! We need to do a lot as dental care professionals: carrying out treatments, writing notes, decontamination etc. Time management was the second biggest pain point in a recent poll that I carried out. The trouble is, if we rush and constantly feel stretched and stressed, mistakes can and do happen. We can doubt ourselves because we were rushing! Effective time management aids confidence. 

How we communicate with others is paramount. Do not be afraid to speak up! This is not the same as being rude or difficult - if something really is not working for you then discuss it. After all, we have a duty of care to ourselves, not just to our patients. You need to be professionally assertive; ask questions at work and get involved with the team. As dental hygienists and therapists, we quite often work in more than one practice and sometimes it is difficult to stay in the various practices’ loops. But I would actively encourage you to communicate with the team and the practice. Unfortunately, from my recent poll on the hygienist and dental therapist group on social media, the highest pain point was lack of support from the practice, making people feel excluded. 

However, if something really is not serving you, then change it! If you have worked on your mindset and successfully managed to change how you look at a situation, and have been ‘solution focused’, but you still feel that it is affecting your mental wellbeing and confidence, then maybe it is time to change it. You need to know your worth. 

Another key to promoting confidence is our wellbeing, both physically and mentally. In the world of NLP, mind and body are one system, and they influence each other. Improving your physical health reflects your mental well-being and vice versa. It is so important as clinicians to look after ourselves, as we ‘give’ all the time to others! 

One way of increasing confidence is continuous professional development. It is paramount when building confidence at work, to undertake professional development tailored to your weaknesses and what you would like to gain more confidence in. It could be dealing with challenging patients or taking radiographs. Knowledge gives us confidence and power. Consider expanding your current qualifications.

This takes us nicely on to what you say to yourself. Talk to yourself as you would a friend: be kind, motivational and encouraging. We often would not talk to others in the way we talk to ourselves! Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Think about, for example: what are you really good at; what is your special gift; are you really good with nervous patients; are you good at taking impressions? Celebrate your strengths! 

Your posture and body language is very important. Practice being aware of how your posture affects your confidence and how it impacts a situation. Use positive body language when you are moving around the practice and communicating with your patients and fellow peers. Stand tall with your shoulders back, engage with good eye contact and smile! It might seem basic, but it is so important. 

Lastly, you cannot always control what happens in life and at work, but you can control how you react to it. Take back the control… 

Article written by Andrea Griffin was published in the BSDHT publication. Thank you to the British Society of Dental Hygiene & Therapy for inviting me to speak about 'Managing Mindsets' at the Autumn 2022 Study Day.