Quality

Quality is the New Luxury

This was an ad that I saw in a magazine recently.  My first reaction was:  how sad!  So, essentially they are saying that you have to have the money to get the quality.  It used to be that quality was the standard, what was to be expected.

Have you ever been surprised out how good a quality you were getting?  Once I bought a piece of furniture, and I shopped for months to get something that would hold up to four children.  I got good quality, and the table and chairs are still in one piece, though a little worse for the wear.  But I'm talking about something unexpected.  Like, buying a TV that has lasted us eight years, still has crisp picture, and was purchased at Wal-mart when they first started to carry flat-screens.

What it Really Means...

Now, we are bound to get some 'duds', items that cause more trouble than they are worth.  Doesn't it feel great when you realize you are getting a lot of value for your money?  Kind of like a vending machine that gives you two artery-clogging danishes instead of just the one you paid for!

Doesn't it stress you out when you realize you are going to have to demand quality?  Most of us avoid the confrontation and just disappear, vowing never to use that company again.  Well, maybe the ad is right:  maybe today we should treat quality like a luxury.  Then, why not be luxurious?!  We should demand a high standard of ourselves first.

How to Begin: On Purpose

In the movie "Hitch", Hitch's first piece of advice for the men he helps is to "begin each day as if it were on purpose."  If you do that, you are setting up for a quality day.  Now imagine what would change if we gave quality time to our loved ones?  Giving quality is the first step to demanding quality.  This might seem counter-intuitive because we've all seen a 'diva', or a self-centered person who is definitely demanding.  But they can't demand quality and never give it without it becoming really obvious they are phonies.  It's not about how much money we have, it's about the quality of our lives.  We should demand quality of ourselves and those around us.

The Best Way to Lift Your Spirit!

Whole body health includes mind, body, and spirit.  A healthy spirit can bring a vitality to our minds and bodies that we cannot get any other way.  On the other hand, an unhealthy spirit is associated with poor mental and physical health.

You Are Not an Island

Behind the scenes is a fascinating place!  Have you ever considered all of the unseen people that make life pleasant for you?  There are garbage collectors, maintenance workers, cleaners, landscapers, the list goes on and on.  Like the saying goes, "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone"...and it's true that many times we learn to appreciate some people only once they are gone.

After letting your garbage pile up for a month, a person learns to appreciate the weekly collector.  In medicine, all of the cleanliness, disinfection, and sterilization goes unappreciated until someone doesn't do their job, and people get infected wrongfully.

Creating Something Lifts You

We find that what we really want is for the unseen people who keep us safe and clean to do their jobs with passion, not just the bare minimum, right?  If you see your landscaper trimming a bush too fast, just to get it done, without care to make it look pleasing, it's tempting to just say "what an idiot!" and complain or get a new landscaper.

But, what makes him or her want to do their job well, above and beyond the expected?  It could be fear of losing their job, but nobody stays in a job long if they are afraid all the time.  There are many reasons people do a good job, however we are talking about someone who strives for excellence in their job, someone who is generous, giving more than expected.

It All Begins with You

Striving for excellence begins with yourself, with myself.  Two things happen once we begin:  first, we see how hard it is; and second, we begin to see that the reward for excellence comes from within.  Our confidence and self-esteem grow as we practice reaching for excellence.

This isn't to say that we will always be successful, on the contrary!  Producing excellent work is a great way to learn how to fail well.  To fail well, a person just needs to learn from the failure and not feel sorry for themselves.  Once we learn to fail and get back up, we discover the key to successful people everywhere.  Then we can lift and inspire other people to reach for excellence, because we are familiar with the process.  We will be able to encourage others to produce quality work, whatever it is, and to continue to reach despite any failure.

Drum Roll: What Our Logo Means!

(Obviously NOT our logo)
http://machsabre.deviantart.com/art/Batman-Logo-264015635

A logo is a symbol of something greater.  Although, we would love to tell you that our email has been overwhelmed with requests for the meaning behind our mysterious logo, that we've had to establish a P.O. box just to handle the mountains of snail mail we've received...

...alas, no, but it is important to explain what the logo for Bradshaw Dental means.  It is a tree, for those of you who think it's an abstract.  But 'why a tree?' you ask?  Because our core philosophy is to help families get better oral health.  Kind of like a family tree.

Much of the bad stuff that happens in our mouths is from bacteria:  bacteria that we inherited from whoever raised us.  So oral health is a family affair!  Even if you have pristine pearly whites, you will want to understand how stuff like cavities and gum disease happen.  Then, with this understanding, you help not only yourself, but your family.

Be an Expert on You!

Too bad we don't have a manual for our bodies like we do for our cars! Especially when we hear conflicting messages like "don't eat fat" and "don't eat sugar". And you know these experts aren't talking to each other: nobody is saying "become a meat eater" because they know that really means "become gassy and ruin your skin". On the other hand, anybody that jumps into eating carrots and celery immediately notices that drastically increasing your fiber has consequences involving being close to a 'jon'.

It's kind of like your car. Now, I know enough to change my own oil and tires and recognize whether the alternator has a problem. I also know that I can learn more, and that I can find an expert when I need one.

Our bodies seem more complicated, especially when we are taught that it's too complex and you have to pay a lot of money to go to school to learn the mysteries of the body. We can just go to the doctor and let them 'fix' us, like we go to the mechanic and let them fix our car: mysteriously. Good mechanics that I've known explain how things were fixed, and you can tell they would teach you everything if you let them. Doctors are no different.

What to do about all of this? I believe the key is to follow what I was told by a doctor of mine: you are the expert of your own body. Be an expert about you. What you will discover is that experts depend on other experts to help t
hem understand. As a professional, I rely on the expert diagnoses of specialists in my field of medicine. When I can't make sense of the data, I refer my patients to a specialist to aid in the diagnosis. Experts ask questions of other experts!

One thing is certain: if you are an expert who tries to cram yourself into the latest new thing, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the mystery of your own body and at least less happy. You need to practice stepping back and asking yourself, "Does this help me long-term? Is this a temporary fix? What can I expect if I follow this medical advice?". Unfortunately, the goal of being healthy overall is sometimes lost in the fixes, the medicines, the diets.

Therefore! Be an expert on your own body! You can learn to manage your own health, relying on other experts like your physician, your dentist, your chiropractor, etc., to help you. Ask lots of questions, put the pieces together, and you will become the expert you were meant to be.