Live Like You Are at a Dentist Appointment

Why is this woman smiling?! She’s at the dentist!

There isn’t much to do while at the dentist office besides nervously flipping through magazines and hoping there will be a good report and not much pain this time.

Why do we still go? I think it’s like the process of self-evaluation and growth in our lives:

1. To spot decay. Since usually we don’t have the expertise to know how bad that sensitive spot is, we depend on an expert and their tools to give us the news. Coaches, counselors, and friends also can do this for us if we’ll allow them to process life with us.

2. To remove decay. Ouch! I can hear the sound of the drill right now, and visualize the “needle that numbs” that precedes it. If it doesn’t come out, it will fester and get worse. At some point in our lives, we must decide/commit to root out bad habits that are putting us in downward spirals.

3. To replace/crown the decay. So then the dentist fills the spot where the cavity was, with material that will allow for health to return to your teeth. In life, it’s cool to get rid of the bad stuff, but if you don’t put good stuff in its place (new habits, new friends, better use of time), the bad stuff just comes back with a vengeance. (ever fallen off the wagon?)

4. Then, Get back on track with good hygiene.  You survived the ordeal. With a smile, they hand you a little toolkit of floss and brush and advertisements for whitening. It’s as if they are saying, “Now get back on it, or else!”  Job security because they know we’ll be back.  Like when you must grind down on the cement of a new crown so that it adheres and becomes permanent, in life, we must daily change our behavior to make that healthy habit adhere to our lives.  Hmmm, Only 500 less calories a day to lose weight….