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My Braces are Off...Not!

Do your best to rein in your desire. For if you desire something that isn’t within your own control, disappointment will surely follow; meanwhile, you will be neglecting the very things that are within your control that are worthy of desire. -Epictetus, Stoic philosopher, and Sharon Lebell, author(1)

All week, people have kept asking me if I'm looking forward to getting my braces off. I haven't been anticipating it at all: when I build something up in my mind, the reality hardly ever matches my expectations. Today was a perfect example of why anticipation is a bad habit.

I thought I was going to get my braces off today, but all my orthodontist took off was the wire on the brackets, which his assistant replaced with different wire on some of my teeth. Tomorrow, after the second part of my implant is put in, a different wire is going back on. In a few weeks, I'm going to have to get my braces off for my dentist to take a mold for a crown. I don't know what my dentists are going to do after that--I just show up when they tell me to. That, and my own thinking, are all I have any control over.

I'm not disappointed, though, because I wasn't looking forward to getting my braces off.

1. Epictetus; Lebell, Sharon (2013-02-05). The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness (Kindle Locations 135-137). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
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Unknown said…
Thanks so much for sharing your braces story with the world! I think what you've managed to do is to present both the positive and negative sides, and it's clear that the positive far outweighs the negative. The pain is temporary, of course. Once the braces have done their job, that's when we see that it's all been worth it. Just remember not to lose your retainers! You don't want your teeth to have a relapse, after all!

- Patty Gurrola
April 17, 2013
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