I live with regret every time I go to the dentist, but not for the reasons you would think.
About ten years ago, I was driving home from work. It was a sunny day, nothing too out of the ordinary was going on. That said, I was working at a particularly dysfunctional startup. Sprint planning sessions would break out into constant fights, and physical threats between team members very very common. They were not only very common, but the office was just redesigned so that all cubicle walls were removed, so that everyone on every product team could hear which teams almost came to blows. None of the ire was directed at me, but I could hear what was happening just like everyone else.
That day when I was driving home, on a myriad network of in-town roads so that I could avoid the everyday horror of the interstate, I could feel the teeth in my mouth move. They felt like they were about to fall out of my mouth, but they miraculously stayed in. This was happening because over the years after my wisdom teeth were removed, little by little my teeth were moving. This time though, I could feel what was going on in real time. And it freaked me out.
A couple of weeks later I would go to the dentist and start a very long journey of getting my teeth fixed. While many of my colleagues working at local startups were spending money on fancy cars, I put an equivalent amount of my paychecks into fixing my teeth. My teeth which over the years had gotten so bad from years of clenching my teeth from stress that I had multiple gaps, multiple cracks, and my bite had changed so that I had constant headaches that would radiate into my upper back.
Several dentists have filled in the multiple cracks in my teeth. I have had two gum grafts. After all those fixes, only then was I able to wear Invisaligns for two years to close the gaps in my teeth. My headaches disappeared relatively quickly after that as my bite got adjusted, but it took years to get there.
I remember when I was growing up that my elders would say that desk jobs were healthier than physical labor, as you werenβt straining your back. After years of working as a digital designer, I would beg to differ.
All of that sitting and stewing and going through one anxiety attack after another so after I thought it was normal is going to wreck your back, probably even worse than physical labor. Even though it has been more than a decade since I started to fix my teeth which were the root of my pack pain issues, I am still working on improving my mobility.
A big reason why I am doing what I am doing now is that after years of struggle in the product design space, I found a technique that sharply reduced stress on myself, my teammates, and my customers. I found a way to create innovative solutions to everyday problems in a way that kept me sane and healthy.
Innovation is a messy process no doubt, but it should not have to come anywhere near a physical fight to build something new. Let me know if you want to learn more.
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