Two men face each other in the center of a 42 foot circle in front of 20,000 people in a packed arena. After a lifetime of hard work, in seven minutes or less one man's hand will be raised and he will be declared a national wrestling champion.
On March 10th of this year, I was able to attend the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland. Ohio State qualified all ten of their wrestlers to Cleveland and the team's goal was simple: to bring home a national team championship. After three days of grueling competition, eight of the Ohio State wrestlers earned All-American status. Although you could consider this year's team one of the best in Ohio State history, they were one match short of earning the team title. I know some of the coaching staff and spoke with them the next week. I could see the devastation in their faces when we talked later about the tournament results. Everyone associated with the program put in thousands of hours to reach the pinnacle of their sport and they ended just short of their expectations.
Coach Tom Ryan and his staff aimed for nothing short of a national championship. They strove for perfection and reached incredible goals in winning the Big Ten Championship as a team and their Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder added a third heavyweight championship. Their journey this season reminded me of the importance of striving for perfection, but setting realistic goals.
The practice of dentistry naturally attracts perfectionists, but is also a field that involves results that are not always perfect and often out of the control of the provider. I often remind my team that we need to strive for perfection, but set realistic goals. In a perfect world, every restoration lasts forever, every phone call is stress free and every patient understands their insurance. Realistically, we aim to treat patients as we would like to be treated, strive for perfection and handle those instances where things don't go perfectly. By doing this, we will continue to grow and support this community for decades to come.
Cheers to dental health,
Dr. Cliff Moore
