Why is it so hard to break out of your old ways and change your life? Perhaps you want to start a new exercise regimen, eat healthier, or be more productive. Maybe you’d even like to further your education and start a new career that will give you better work/life balance, not to mention make you more money! Most of us fail at these goals most of the time, instead taking the most comfortable path that offers the least resistance. There’s always tomorrow, right? The Biggest Obstacle in Your Life Isn’t Time, Money, or Support…It’s You.   The way we think about our goals and even ourselves i ..read more

How are you ever going to achieve your goal of education, a new career, or making more money if you can’t overcome your fears of change or failure? Fear is very powerful. Even if we like to think it doesn’t affect us, its roots reach deep and impact every decision. Even when weighing things that should carry equal weight, fear can move the needle more than it should. In scientific circles, this phenomenon is known as loss aversion, meaning that people usually prefer avoiding losses rather than acquiring an equivalent gain. For example, someone losing $100 will lose more satisfaction than anoth ..read more

There’s an old game out there called “Ratrace”. It’s a (depressing) simulation of the average modern American life, attempting to climb your way to the top of the social ladder. You begin with $200, a credit card, and involvement in a working class business. Throughout the game you’ll run your business, get an education, and climb the ladder to High Society and retiring with $100,000 (lol). Your chances aren’t great at reaching the upper rungs, and failure means declaring bankruptcy and starting once again from the bottom. Sound a little to similar to real life? How do you win the Ratrace in t ..read more

America has become a nation where most families need two incomes just to get by. The “Leave it to Beaver” family of previous generations is no longer the usual circumstance, as 66 percent of households have two or more incomes. If you are a woman in Georgia, you are probably making less than $28,896 (men, $32,307) if you lack a college degree. Without some big changes and potentially massive investments, your income isn’t likely to change much in the future. Whether you’re an independent woman looking for a rewarding career, a stay-at-home mom looking for a change of pace, or you’re just keepi ..read more

Do dental assistants (and dentists for that matter) need to continue learning through their entire career? At what point can you hang up your hat and rest on everything you’ve learned? It used to be that you could learn a profession and not much would change over time. For most of our history, dental care did not change very much, outside of an occasional advancement in materials or machining. That has all changed. Just during my lifetime the field has advanced tremendously. As our technology has opened new options in dentistry, there is a constant need to keep up with the latest tools, resear ..read more

  February was National Children’s Dental Health Month. Last month, everyone in our professional community should have been working to promote good oral hygiene in children. As children rely heavily on their parents, teachers, and caregivers to teach them these habits, our emphasis should actually be on reaching the grownups in a child’s life. The unfortunate truth is that many children are not being well served in this area. This makes the role of a pediatric dental assistant especially vital during this time. You are the front line, the one that will spend the most time with children in ..read more

Consciously create habits, because habits unconsciously control your life. This time of year many people are attempting to change up their routines, hopefully transforming into an ideal version of themselves. Whether it’s diet and exercise or simply reading more, most will fail. Why is keeping a New Year’s resolution so difficult? Have you ever driven home from work, lost in thought, and not even remembered the drive itself? The entire sequence of driving a car requires a complex series of actions and choices that must be executed correctly and precisely, yet most of us can perform these actio ..read more

  The holiday season is the time when the craftiest among us demonstrate their skills and creativity. Perhaps you feel you don’t have the time to pull off a Christmas miracle, but my top five holiday hacks are quick and easy ways to help your family feel the magic. The Custom Cookie Box    Many of us will be delivering cookies to friends, family, and coworkers. Rather than a boring paper plate covered with Saran Wrap, make an impression with your own custom-made cookie box! We’re going to use a Pringles can for our project and a few scraps from our present wrapping. Using double ..read more

Why is it so hard to break out of your old ways and change your life? Perhaps you want to start a new exercise regimen, eat healthier, or be more productive. Maybe you’d even like to further your education and start a new career that will give you better work/life balance, not to mention make you more money! Most of us fail at these goals most of the time, instead taking the most comfortable path that offers the least resistance. There’s always tomorrow, right? The Biggest Obstacle in Your Life Isn’t Time, Money, or Support…It’s You.   The way we think about our goals and even ourselves i ..read more

How are you ever going to achieve your goal of education, a new career, or making more money if you can’t overcome your fears of change or failure? Fear is very powerful. Even if we like to think it doesn’t affect us, its roots reach deep and impact every decision. Even when weighing things that should carry equal weight, fear can move the needle more than it should. In scientific circles, this phenomenon is known as loss aversion, meaning that people usually prefer avoiding losses rather than acquiring an equivalent gain. For example, someone losing $100 will lose more satisfaction than anoth ..read more