No matter who you are, it is never too late to become who you want to be.
Life is a constant journey of evolution. You are either growing or you are dying.
Last week I posted on the Sleekgeek Facebook Group and my personal feeds that I had my braces removed after 19 months. Something rare for a 44 year old to post.
The reaction was incredible. Over 3,000 reactions and messages from people who said they had been inspired to do something about their dental health.
Why did I choose to invest and ‘fix’ my teeth at such a late stage in my life?
It is because I was not being who I wanted to be in the world:
1) My health: Oral health is important and because my teeth were skew I had a lot of ‘food traps’ that were very hard to keep clean.
2) Shame: I realised I did not smile much in my adult life because I was ashamed of my teeth. I hated smiling. Which is crazy. When I did it was an awkward half smile.
This really bugged me and I wanted people to meet the warm, friendly me with a big smile. This shame was causing me to hide my gifts from the world. It was not fair to me or the people I serve.
3) Growth: My dental hygiene routine pre-braces was questionable and by investing in this project I have made massive improvements in that area that I am proud of.
4) Pride and self love: Before my health journey I had little pride in my physical appearance. I did not dress as well. I was not interested in how the world met me. I did not love myself enough to care too much. Fixing my teeth was a natural progression in my self improvement journey.
5) Leadership: As the founder of Sleekgeek my brand is to represent health and walk the talk. I want to be healthy and embody that as much as is in my control.
Like with diets I am never in favour of a ‘quick fix’ mentality – it would have been quicker to paper over the cracks with veneers or similar solutions. The type where people have a Hollywood smile overnight. In my case my dentist advised that would have been a superficial change not addressing the root problem – coming back to bite me in the future.
I need to deal with the foundational issue rather than just the aesthetics if I wanted to have a healthy mouth into my old age. I decided to take the time and do it right.
My questions to leave you with are:
1) What do you wish you could change about your life?
2) What do you think you have to do to make it happen?
3) If you broke it down, what simple and doable action can you take this week in the direction of that dream?
Keep growing! Never settle.
