For as long as I can remember, the tooth just off to the right of my two front teeth has been dark and discolored. In every photo of myself (that’s not magically retouched) it’s always been the very first thing I see if I’ve somehow forgotten to smile with my mouth closed. I’ve received plenty of commentary from others over the years–ranging from “the imperfection of it makes you more human, more beautiful” to “you’re too beautiful to have an ugly tooth.” And of course my dentist had urged me to let her make me color-matched composite crown. The truth is that while I was self-conscious about it, I’d basically just gotten used to it and couldn’t be bothered to be so vain to do anything about it.

Until now. 

In July I’d made a commitment to myself to get some outstanding necessary dental work done before the end of August. So, as long as I was at it, I decided to go for that crown. At first I was totally turned off by how labor-intensive the process was for a low-maintenance girl like me. But just a few weeks and several appointments later I walked out of there with a brand new smile that I couldn’t have possibly imagined the impact of.

This summer I’ve spent a lot of time out on the trails by my home in Boulder. I’m someone who says “Hi!” to everyone I see while I’m hiking or running. Until I had my new tooth, I hadn’t even consciously realized that I’d long adapted to a default move immediately after smiling–close my lips as quickly as possible to hide that tooth! But now, I find myself looking for opportunities to flash my wide toothy grin and let it stay out in the open.

Fixing my tooth was a transcen-dental lesson in self-care, self-love, self-esteem and liberation!

I refuse to waste a moment beating myself up for not doing this any sooner, instead I’m looking at the other things in my life that I’ve tolerated out of fear or laziness or lack of believing the change would actually be worth it, or that I’m worth it!

I wonder if there’s something you’ve been putting off that would make you feel better about yourself. It’s time now to stop hiding and take action!

Tell me, what’s the one change you’re ready to make? I want to know and would love for you to join the conversation with me on Facebook!

xo