I knew that the year 2024 would mark a new beginning for me, although I might not fully comprehend the ways it would unfold.
My journey started in early 2023 when I began experiencing a toothache, a completely unfamiliar territory for me. I had often heard rumors that toothaches and tooth extractions are the worst imaginable pains, the kind you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. In 2023, I finally experienced it.
You might be wondering what a toothache has to do with a new beginning. I’ll keep it brief, especially as this is my first post on this blog.
It began as a toothache that progressively worsened, reaching a point where I decided the tooth had to go. It was extracted in February 2023. I underwent sessions with friendly dentists and dental assistants who tried to teach me the right way to brush my teeth, but I seemed to have challenges grasping it. A couple of them gave up on me after I kept showing up with teeth with stuff stuck in between.
Having to extract my premolar was a massive wake-up call for me. After losing one tooth, I resolved that I didn’t want to experience a toothache or have to extract another tooth ever again.
I realized that my nonchalant attitude toward taking care of my teeth had led to the necessity of extracting a tooth.
I turned to YouTube to watch dentists and dental assistants demonstrate the proper way to brush teeth and use dental floss. It took a while before I got the hang of both, until I became proficient in dental hygiene.
The toothache didn’t come alone. It brought along a spike in my blood pressure that rose to unprecedented levels, leading to the prescription of high blood pressure medication. During my research, I discovered a link between dental hygiene, blood pressure, and heart health. A diseased gum can cause an increase in blood pressure.
After the problematic tooth was extracted, my blood pressure returned to normal, and I stopped taking my blood pressure medication. To ensure my blood pressure doesn’t spike again, I decided to lose 20kg and monitor my blood pressure daily.
I resolved not to undergo the pain of having to ‘extract a tooth’ in other areas of my life, as those areas were also showing distress signals. I experienced pain in my business and relationships, prompting me to work on improving myself.
With my background in personal development, I knew that nothing changes until I change.
There are two ways of responding to pain or adversity – become bitter or better. I have experience with both.
With the benefit of hindsight, I prefer getting better, using pain as a motivator to ensure that I don’t find myself in a similar situation again.
This led me on a journey back to my past, getting clear on my identity and what I want to do with my life going forward. It is a lot to unpack, and this post is way longer than I envisaged.
Two months ago, I had no plans to start blogging again. I am unlearning and relearning as I realign with my true self and run my own race, which has nothing to do with what others are doing.
I had to reassess my values and definitions and return to first principles, the way our creator intended things to be.
It has been an interesting ride, and the future looks even more promising. Instead of seeing pain, I viewed 2023 as my year of a mindset reset, an ongoing process as there is still more work to do.
I hope my reflections helped you in some way.
Like moving to a new home, I decided to share this post as I settle down to configure the blog, sort out logos, pictures, etc.
Happy New Year 2024.
May you become more of who you were born to be.
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