The dentist's chair - Performing under Pressure
As I lay back in the dentists chair on Tuesday and prepared for a straightforward filling, we went through a familiar routine; the chair went back, Kathy the dentist rubbed numbing cream into the gum and reached for the dreaded syringe. I felt my anxiety levels rise in anticipation, and focused my breathing onto the rise and fall of my stomach. Critically my left hand was held and gently massaged by Dawn the dental nurse.
The simple numbing was achieved in a couple of minutes, and while waiting for it to take effect Kathy said "If only all my patients could do that" and that for many patients any injection is very difficult, involving great muscular tensing which makes the injection far more difficult for the clinician. I was pleasantly surprised that my coping strategy that I regarded with some humour, and some macho bashfulness, was actually a strength.
For me this story illustrates the power of self-awareness and simple emotional management strategies. Archetypically in our society the admission that I hold the dental nurses hand during an injection might be derided, an indication of personal weakness and lack of moral fibre, and yet by doing this I radically improve my experience and that of the the dentist. We all have 'blue touch paper' situations, in which strong emotional responses are triggered which can be very counterpropductive in business, sport, or our personal lives. Knowing about these triggers and finding solutions gives us the power to perform under a range of pressures, and give new possibilities to seemingly intractable situations.
