How I Overcame my Fear of The Dentist and How it Relates to Business

This is a weird topic. What does sitting in a chair while someone uses power tools in your mouth really have to do with business? When you think like I do, everything relates to business.

For the last few years I have been absolutely petrified of going to the dentist. I would schedule a dentist appointment and start gagging BEFORE I left the house to drive to the dentist office. Just the thought of going to the dentist or even a drive by the office would trigger a full on panic attack!

As I write this now, I am reclined in the dental chair, waiting on the hygienist, watching HGTV and trying to figure out how a professional butterfly catcher is able to afford a $1.2M house off the coast of Saint Lucia. I feel great! (No, the Nitrous gas has not begun....yet) What used to kill me was the long, agonizing wait between X-Rays and when the hygienist walked through the door. My mind would race. What if I choke? What if they drill before I'm numb??? Right now, I am laughing at myself because of how I used to be, how I've grown.

This isn't a big deal. It's THE DENTIST. Most people actually laugh at my horror stories of my irrational phobia and how I've nearly slapped a hygienist in the face out of sheer reflex. But this season in my life has shown me first-hand how a person can grow mentally and move past was seems to be crippling circumstances. Yes, laughing gas helped me get there, that is my training wheels. But I am nowhere near what I used to be. I actually enjoyed this visit to the dentist.

HOW THIS RELATES TO BUSINESS:

I recently read "Capital Gaines" by Chip Gaines from the HGTV hit show, Fixer Upper. In this book was a quote from a movie that Chip watched with his children that not only led me to schedule my first dentist appointment in years, but also to have the courage to reach out to local business leaders and prospective clients that I would NEVER have had the courage to reach out to. The quote goes, "Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just literally 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery and I promise you, something great will come of it."

You can apply this principle to any aspect of your life, whether it's personal or business. I have done both, and you know what? The rush that comes after that 20 seconds of courage, whether it's a call to your dentist or a call to the CEO of a major company is the most exhilarating feeling ever.

I encourage you to do something courageous today. Book that appointment to see the doctor you've been putting off. Make that sales call. Mend a broken relationship. There will be an immediate weight taken off your shoulders and you will feel empowered. You may need training wheels or in my case, Nitrous-Oxide :) but you will be a stronger person than you were before. Like Nike always says, #JUSTDOIT!