Resident’s Corner: Give Me Five
By Dr. Austyn Grissom
Does this turkey look familiar? I vividly remember drawing these at school in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and having to write five things I am thankful for on each of the fingers. There are many days where I am staring at a tooth wishing that I was still drawing turkeys, however, I know deep down that’s not really the case. Regardless, I believe that counting our blessings is something that we all need to be reminded to do every once and a while.
I am a huge fan of Brené Brown. If you are not familiar with her, Brené is a social work researcher, best-selling author, podcast host, wife, mom, and in her free time.. a Professor at the University of Houston. For the Netflix fans, check out her special The Call to Courage. If books are more your style, I highly recommend Brené’s book Dare to Lead. Though most of her work focuses on courage and vulnerability, I could not pass up the chance to share this three-minute clip on the relationship between joy and gratitude:
Now, I will not ask you to draw your own turkey, but I will challenge you to give me five. Grab a Post-it or scrap piece of paper and write down five things that you are grateful for today. No matter how big or how small, we can all find a few things in our life that we have to be grateful for at this moment. I am with Brené as a firm believer that when we tangibly practice gratitude, we welcome joy into our lives. As we approach the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it is safe to say that a little extra joy could never be a bad idea, right?
“It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” – David Steindl-Rast
Dr. Austyn Grissom is a second-year endodontic resident at the University of Texas School of Dentistry in Houston, Texas. He currently serves on the Resident and New Practitioner Committee.