Day 2: Do One Thing Everyday that Scares You

The Drill:  (This really isn't about teeth)

Today, I went under the drill.  A routine dentist check-up turned into a two-hour excavation.  What appeared to be small fractures revealed a deep 'mess' underneath.  I made the decision to go through with the fillings on the spot instead of putting off the pain and expense like I wanted to at the moment.  My new dentist (also former dentist to Tommy Lee from Motley Crew during his Heather Locklear days) used the special "bumpy drill," a slower, more exaggerated drill that cleans out the worst cavities. Excellent.

With plenty of time to think under the drill, I noticed how my dental demeanor can look a lot like my life demeanor under stress:

A.  I usually feel a lot less pain than I fear I will.
B.  In an effort to control or ward off pain, I hold my breath until the discomfort is over.  It only creates needless, PacMan-paced worry.
C.  After the drilling and healing, I'm grateful the mess is clean, realize it really wasn't that bad, and feel healthier.  What was I so afraid of?  Atta girl.

Recently, I was over-extended with great people and passions I love.  The stress to stay on the tracks escalated my fears of failing, and that fear drove me to over-exert control on some situations and even people I care about.  I had no idea; in my mind, I was just being solution-seeking, practical and efficient...you know, Type A.  But it had some negative effects, and several loved ones let me know in a real "bumpy drill" sort of way.  Right or wrong, my fear of is a root I've need to dig out.  Like a cavity, it's ugly, destructive and expensive.  It was hiding under a seemingly healthy surface.  I realized this week I needed to deal with what I could control (my fear) on the spot.  There's no use letting good things spoil.

And so, for Day 2....

Scary thing I did today:  Accepted invasive dental work on the spot.  Survived.
Really scary thing I did today:  Said "I'm sorry" to a friend affected by a fear-based control act.  Experienced A and C because I didn't do B.
Awesome thing today:  Post-dentist smoothie and yoga.  Delighted.

You know the drill.  What's yours?

(Confession: I've been catching up on few awesome episodes of Glee and think it's affected my writing style today.  My apologies if this post seems a bit high-school campey...I'm off to croon a Broadway ballad in my mirror.... )