Goal: Dental Work

Goal + Action = Reward

That’s what I kept telling myself two weeks ago as I tried to movitiate myself to go get some dental work that I’ve been needing to get done. I always made an excuse for why I couldn’t get it done: too expensive.

After many many visits to a ton of different dentist, my stars aligned and I came across the best dentist who I liked, wasn’t overcharging me, and was relatively close to where I lived so visits wouldn’t be too out of my way.

I put it off and telling myself I didn’t have the money or time to do it right now.

But since 2021 is the year of taking action, and I’ve decided that I’m going to be unstoppable…I made adjustments and decided that until I paid for my dental work, the iPad I dreamed of on my vision board would remain there.

It’s funny how the brain works when you give it something to look forward too. Suddenly, I found the money and the time to get it done.

I knew that getting a dental implant was something I wanted, I wanted to deal with this issue and be done with it, and I wanted something permanent and I did my research on getting an implant but didn’t research the post op procedures.

By the time the post op was explained to me, my mouth was numb and there was no going back.

In retrospect this was divine intervention because when the news of not being able to lift more than 35lbs for 3 weeks came, I wanted to dart out of the dentist chair so fast and never looked back. iPad or not, going to the gym is my happy place, and not being able to do the things I loved in my happy place was a very disappointing thought.

3 weeks?! 3 weeks?! I kept asking. She asked me if I worked out for a living….no but 3 weeks?!

As much as I didn’t like the thought of not working out, having to come back and have another massive needle poked into my cheek and gums AGAIN when I was “ready” seemed way more painful and so reluctantly I settled down in my chair and gave in to the inevitable.

Tooth pulled, dental implant placed…the procedure didn’t take longer then 30 minutes.

I got my boyfriend to get me my painkillers when I got home, and napped the rest of the afternoon. Dental surgery is tiring.

They don’t lie when they say that it’s serious surgery and the last two weeks has bought on another level of awareness for me.

It’s so strange to me how when there’s discomfort in my mouth, it’s sometimes all I can think about. Even when I’m trying not to think about it, it’s there in the back of my brain, throbbing,

This healing process has brought me to another level of mindfulness and awareness. Not just because I have to slowly work out and figure out how to maintain while lifting no more than 35lbs, but in my normal life I can now feel my blood pressures rising.

The dental implant throbs with pain when I’m stressed or upset. Basic yoga moves make my whole mouth hurt. I have to rest longer between work out sets and I am more mindful of what I am doing with my mouth when I’m working out. It’s made me become so present and so aware of everything that is going on in my body.

Life seems to have a way of reinforcing what I know I need in my life in the current moment. Slowing down, being present, being aware, noticing how I’m feeling, and paying attention to the now. That’s where I am right now.

Learning to choose between what I want now and what I want most, knowing that with every sacrifice there’s a reward, and maybe it’s not really a sacrifice because I’m gaining a perspective I would not have achieved otherwise.

Life is not about the destination, it’s about the journey and it’s taken me awhile, but I’m learning to let go of trying to reach my destination so fast and appreciate the journey that I’m on right now.

You’ll find me in the present moment, ever aware and with my long awaited iPad in hand. ❤️ She’s a beauty.

One more goal checked off the vision board and one step closer to the person I want to become. ✅

Until next time…

A.A.