Hiya, friend -

Like most non-psychopaths, I loathe going to the dentist.

Still, I'm dutiful with my cleanings. I open wide. I don't whimper. I apologize to the hygienist when she hits that one sensitive spot on the upper right. Because #peoplepleaser.

I've been seeing my current hygienist, Liz, every six months for nearly 20 years. We've been together through her husband's death and then my dad's. Through kids' graduations and then grandchildren's arrivals.

If I ran into Liz in the real world it would feel like bumping into my elementary school teacher at Walmart. You mean you don't live at the clinic?

Anyhoo... Liz is brutally thorough with the scaler. I always, always bleed, and I skulk away from my cleanings feeling like my bottom front teeth might just fall out of my head.

It's my fault. Although I brush religiously, I'm a lapsed flosser. So of course cleanings feel awful.

But then... Julie.

Last Monday, the clinic scheduler let me know Liz was out at at training. "You OK to see Julie instead?" I thought, "How can you ask me that?!" but—of course—said, "Oh sure. No problem."

Friend, I wasn't even halfway through my cleaning before I decided I had to break up with Liz.

Julie was amazing. She told me what she was doing. She was thorough and gentle. There was no bloodshed. No hitting of the sensitive spot on the upper right.

But how could I leave Liz for Julie? What if it hurt Liz's feelings? What if she demanded an explanation?

In the end, when Julie asked about scheduling my next cleaning, I said—shyly—"Could I schedule with you, please?"

And here's why...

Pep Talk #015: If it's good for you, you get to choose it.
Even if it might hurt someone's feelings.
Even if it's "not the way we usually do things."
Even if it's completely "out of character."

You get to choose you life, and it's OK if other people don't love your choices.

Looking forward to my cleaning in October,
Kelley

P.S. What's one thing you would do today if you weren't so worried about how someone might react? Tell me.