It's time for a new interview! Next up: Chase Jarvis, founder of CreativeLive and author of the new book "Never Play It Safe: A Practical Guide to Freedom, Creativity, and a Life You Love."
I had a little lesson on the topic of āplaying it safe is about fearā today.
I was dreading going to the dentist to get a cavity filled. I hate the novocaine shot! Because I chose an alternative dentist, an outcome of that choice was, the dentist said to me, āIf you would prefer not to have the novocaine, and you think you can get through the filling without it, let me know.ā I didnāt even know that was an option! I jumped at the chance!
Yes, I was afraid of the pain. But I would rather risk some pain, than get a shot I know I hate! She said we could stop and I could get the shot any time, so what did I have to lose?
No shot. She started drilling. I wonāt lie ā yes, there was a high-pitched needle of pain that sometimes rang right up into the top of my skull. It passed pretty quickly though. When it arose, I did two things.
First, I tried to be curious about it. I asked myself, āWhat is the quality of this sensation?ā Although I wasnāt completely successful in being 100% curious as opposed to simply thinking, āThis is a needle of sharp pain,ā particularly when they were blowing some kind of air on what felt like the nerve of my tooth, I was able to maintain a mental stance of somewhat inquiring about the pain instead of being reactive to the pain and that helped.
Second, and more helpfully, when I felt a needle of pain arising, I brought my consciousness down to my hands. I tried to relax and focus on them, and feel them being warm, not tense. This really, really helped! By keeping my arms, wrists, fingers and hands gentle, I was able to get my consciousness down away from the pain and into my palms. I created a distance between where the sharpness was happening in my mouth, and where the relaxation was arising in my hands. Because Iāve been practicing bringing my consciousness down into the lower areas of my body, this wasnāt too difficult. By the time the sharpness abated, it was like I had crossed a little patch of pain, and gotten to the other side by remaining firmly rooted in my fingers.
And in this way, I got through the entire appointment with no novocaine!
Novocaine would have been a way for me to play it safe and avoid all those little patches of pain. But I wanted to take the risk and see if I could handle it, and I did.
It feels good to have taken the risk and to show myself that Iām able to do this hard thing.
Iām not advocating this for everyone. But I do think if you have a strong meditation practice, one of the side benefits is the possibility of not having to use novocaine at the dentist!
So for us meditators out there ā whatever form of meditation we practice (I use Internal Family Systems) ā life can be ever so slightly more of a playground where itās possible to test ourselves against the things weāre afraid of. With strong inner practices, there is less to fear in the external world.
Exactly!
I had a little lesson on the topic of āplaying it safe is about fearā today.
I was dreading going to the dentist to get a cavity filled. I hate the novocaine shot! Because I chose an alternative dentist, an outcome of that choice was, the dentist said to me, āIf you would prefer not to have the novocaine, and you think you can get through the filling without it, let me know.ā I didnāt even know that was an option! I jumped at the chance!
Yes, I was afraid of the pain. But I would rather risk some pain, than get a shot I know I hate! She said we could stop and I could get the shot any time, so what did I have to lose?
No shot. She started drilling. I wonāt lie ā yes, there was a high-pitched needle of pain that sometimes rang right up into the top of my skull. It passed pretty quickly though. When it arose, I did two things.
First, I tried to be curious about it. I asked myself, āWhat is the quality of this sensation?ā Although I wasnāt completely successful in being 100% curious as opposed to simply thinking, āThis is a needle of sharp pain,ā particularly when they were blowing some kind of air on what felt like the nerve of my tooth, I was able to maintain a mental stance of somewhat inquiring about the pain instead of being reactive to the pain and that helped.
Second, and more helpfully, when I felt a needle of pain arising, I brought my consciousness down to my hands. I tried to relax and focus on them, and feel them being warm, not tense. This really, really helped! By keeping my arms, wrists, fingers and hands gentle, I was able to get my consciousness down away from the pain and into my palms. I created a distance between where the sharpness was happening in my mouth, and where the relaxation was arising in my hands. Because Iāve been practicing bringing my consciousness down into the lower areas of my body, this wasnāt too difficult. By the time the sharpness abated, it was like I had crossed a little patch of pain, and gotten to the other side by remaining firmly rooted in my fingers.
And in this way, I got through the entire appointment with no novocaine!
Novocaine would have been a way for me to play it safe and avoid all those little patches of pain. But I wanted to take the risk and see if I could handle it, and I did.
It feels good to have taken the risk and to show myself that Iām able to do this hard thing.
Iām not advocating this for everyone. But I do think if you have a strong meditation practice, one of the side benefits is the possibility of not having to use novocaine at the dentist!
So for us meditators out there ā whatever form of meditation we practice (I use Internal Family Systems) ā life can be ever so slightly more of a playground where itās possible to test ourselves against the things weāre afraid of. With strong inner practices, there is less to fear in the external world.