How to Bring More Joy Into Your Practice

Joy may be all too often overlooked with the day-to-day operations in your busy office. However, feeling joy is very important for you, your team, and the patients you serve in your practice. I believe there are seven different things that can significantly increase the amount of joy in your practice and particularly in your life.

The first one is to take care of yourself. I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but you really need to practice what you preach. You must take time for yourself, so you are better able to manage difficult situations and create a future you desire. This means taking time to take a deep breath when things are crazy, to meditate, think about your goals, and exercise. You need to make sure that you are eating healthy and getting enough sleep, just like you tell our patients. The reality is no one is going to do this for you. It is something that only you can do and of course – you are worth it!

Second, don’t overthink situations and compare yourself to others. If you spend a lot of time thinking about something that’s a problem in your life, the problem tends to grow in its enormity and can take over your thoughts. Then oftentimes, you can create problems for yourself by comparing yourself (and your business) to others, when really you just need to be yourself and focus on building the practice that you desire most (one that fits your goals and lifestyle). So often, when you compare yourself or overthink things you may even think that there’s an issue going on that isn’t a problem at all. If you just ask about it or are upfront about it, you may find you have nothing to worry about. And if you do, you identified it early and can move on to focusing on the solution which is my next recommendation.

The third thing that can add joy to your life is to be solution minded. When a problem or a frustration occurs in your office, it’s just so important to be solution minded. This relates to your team as well. When they come to you with a frustration or a problem, right away go into a solution mode. “Okay, this is what the problem is, how can we manage this best? How can we overcome this problem?” Sometimes what you’ll find is that you’ve over-complicated a system or you have placed emphasis in the wrong place or maybe they’re overthinking something. They may be expecting something or think you’re expecting something from them that you’re not. So, becoming solution-oriented lowers anxieties for everyone. We all learned this firsthand throughout the pandemic. We had to be solution oriented versus just wallowing in the problem or situation at hand. Being solution oriented is a sign of a great leader and it’s also something that helps increase the satisfaction of your team while increasing their confidence and comfort level. So, practice this yourself and encourage your team to be solution minded by giving them a little bit of leeway in making some of those decisions when appropriate.

Fourth – Create a happy environment. This sounds like a no-brainer as well, but you will have more joy when you create an environment that is joyful. In our office, we are very focused on the signs that we have in the office. One of them is just a little wooden sign that says, “Happy to be here!” and…we are happy to be here. We have motivational posters throughout with successful patients and their quotes to motivate others. We also have Motown music playing in the waiting room on low since that’s something that almost everybody can tap their foot and relate to. We focus on our music & our décor. It can even extend into your own workplace, your exam rooms, your desk, your employees. In fact, letting them personalize their space a bit, while keeping it very tasteful, brings joy. When they see pictures of their kids or their grandkids or something that makes them happy, it reinforces their feelings of joy.

The fifth thing that increases joy in your office is to provide genuine support to your team when they need it. Coincidentally, this ends up happening in reverse as well. As you know, you work with people so much they become sort of your family. I know in our practice over the last couple of years, we’ve probably had four team members who have lost a parent and so while we have a joyful environment, we also have a supportive environment. This is one where we know there are going to be tears sometimes. There are going to be some struggles in everybody’s life, there’s going to be illness and we want to make sure we are supportive of them. This relates to how you interact, your verbal communication, how you demonstrate that you care. On a side note, I have found that whether it’s a sticky note or a card or giving them something little to brighten their day it all matters equally. And as I mentioned, when I may have something going on in my life or they can tell I’m a bit stressed, ( will find a little note under my door. It really boosts my whole outlook, and it helps me take a deep breath and move forward in a positive way.

Sixth – Every so often, ask how they’re doing. Ask how your team is doing and be genuine in that. You want to know if something is going on because it may explain the behavior or it may be something you can help them through. Ask how people are doing and make sure that you are out there with your team. That means so much to your team members.

The seventh thing is to comment and praise those actions that you see bring joy. I get a chuckle when I hear the team out front laughing with the patients or saying, “We can’t wait to be a part of your weight loss journey!” when they’re talking to them on the phone. I like to go out and recognize that quickly in the moment if I can. The more you praise, the more that behavior is repeated. They don’t necessarily want the praise for that reason, but it makes them feel good. So recognize when good things are happening and recognize it right at the moment that it’s happening and be fair to everybody.

Those are my top tips for a more joyful practice and life. I hope you find them helpful. If you have others that you utilize in your practice, please share them below. If you ever want to talk about anything going on in your practice or I have a complementary Opportunity Audit for how you might be able to enhance the operations of your office, please reach out to me at [email protected] . If you’re not a member of Bariatric Business Boss, visit www.BariatricBusinessBoss.com and check it out. I’d love to work one-on-one with you and provide you and your team with many valuable resources every single month!