Warning: this post is about a medical issue. It might be TMI for some of you.
I went to the dermatologist last fall to have her look at a spot on my arm. That spot was fine. As a thorough professional though, she took out her magnifying specs and scrutinized my skin from head to toe. She found something that did not look fine…on my face. I had some AKs on the bridge of my nose. She told me to lie back. I thought she was going to do some closer inspection or lay out the treatment options for me. Nope. She was freezing those suckers off my face before she could finish saying,
It’s going to look worse before it looks better.
Understatement of the year!
Fortunately, I make my living off my brains and not my face.
But this wasn’t a time of year that I could hibernate in my office. Later that week, I was traveling to a conference and fitting in some social visits with old friends. I felt self-conscious about my scabby face. Vain and petty? Yes, I admit it.
I’m all healed now. But I find myself coming back to the warning, “It’s going to look worse before it looks better.” Applicable for many things in life. Sometimes, yes, it will look worse before it looks better. But aren’t there times when that’s a false trade-off?
I am a recovering martyr. In my youth, I was a poster child for delayed gratification. Our local Jimmy John’s has a sign with the refrain of my people:
The most enviable people in my life are the ones who have figured out how to make what they need to do the thing they want to do, too. SOMEDAY.