It will always get you!

Can you believe Christmas is officially less than one month away?

I for one love Xmas so I'm buzzing about it,

But at the same time,

I'm slightly stressed at how quickly the last few months have gone.

Do you feel the same at all?

Anyway, today I've got a lesson I want to share with you.

One, no less, that I learned at the dentist's...

It will always come back to bite you!

Sorry in advance if you're a dentist,

But like most people,

They're not my favourite people.

In the last few months, I've had more trouble with my teeth than I've had in my entire life.

I had a wisdom tooth taken out in the summer,

Then a few weeks ago I developed a nasty swelling on my gum.

It was that painful it made drinking water a challenge.

I did what any responsible adult would do and took myself to the dentist.

Only to find out that I had a huge infection in my mouth!

They emphasised the word 'big' more than once so I knew it was rough.

Not fun!

The dentist was kinda perplexed at how I even had an infection as she said my teeth were 100% cavity-free.

I won't lie I felt very smug when she said that.

The issue looks to have been caused by the only filling I have which must be easily 10-15 years old, if not older.

It's pushed up onto my nerve and caused an infection.

Talk about a bad break.

They gave me two options.

Option 1: Pull the tooth out and put in a rather expensive implant.

Option 2: Take some antibiotics, do a root canal, pump it with medicine, and try and save the tooth.

Of course, I'm going with option 2.

The second option isn't guaranteed to work so I may have to get the implant regardless.

At 1 pm today I'll be sitting in the dentist's chair going through a rather unpleasant experience.

I had no idea what a root canal even was but every client I've mentioned it to has responded in the same way.

With an expression and gasp that has filled me with nothing but anxiety 😂

You may be sitting there reading this thinking he's an awful whinge bag today.

"Ok, Mark, we get it you've had a bit of a shit time lately,

But what has any of this got to do with health and fitness?"

Well at the start of this email, I said I had a lesson to share with you,

But you needed to hear that story first before I told you what the lesson was.

You see, whether I like to admit it or not,

I'm pretty certain that I could have prevented this whole situation from happening.

About 6 weeks ago I had the same swelling on my gum.

Now granted it wasn't as big and it didn't hurt.

It was just there being a bit of a nuisance.

I knew it was dentist-worthy because why else would a big ass swelling appear on my gum if there wasn't something wrong.

Yet, I didn't make the appointment.

No, I lie.

I did make an appointment.

But I canceled it the day before 🙈

What an absolute dic*head!

I told myself I'd self-medicate with some ibuprofen and it would go away in a few days.

Did it?

Of course not!

I'd say after a week, maybe 10 days, it was gone.

And forgotten about...

Until a few weeks later when it came back.

Only this time it was bigger and bolder than before!

Bing, bang, bosh,

There's your lesson.

When you ignore problems they always come back to haunt you!

This here was a prime example of that in action.

I could be wrong,

But I'm fairly certain that if I went to that original appointment,

That I wouldn't be going in for this root canal today.

Once again...

You absolute dic*head Mark!

I could have saved myself a whole lot of trouble, pain, and money,

By addressing the problem when it first arose.

But instead, I chose the easy way out.

And because I chose the easy way,

Now my life is harder as a result.

When it comes to your health and fitness,

Never ignore problems.

Being 20 pounds overweight might not seem like much of an issue now,

But in 10 years it may be the cause of your hypertension.

That little niggling pain you have in your knee when you run may seem minor now,

But it could result in a new knee replacement in your 60s.

Let me repeat it again.

When you ignore problems they always come back to haunt you!

So, my advice to you is simple.

Please learn from my mistakes.

Take action at the very first sign of a problem arising.

This way you're giving yourself the best possible chance of achieving a positive outcome.

You don't want to feel the guilt that comes along with thinking,

'What if' and 'If only'.

Leave nothing to chance and take immediate action.

Your loved ones, friends, and business will all be extremely grateful.

Right, wish me luck 🍀

Quote for the day

- Nelson Mandela

It's very easy to admit defeat before you've even started,

After all, that's the easier route to go down.

Any worth having in life typically comes with a bit of a challenge.

Otherwise, it would feel kinda meaningless.

Keep working towards your goals even in the face of adversity,

I promise it'll be worth it eventually.