The mental game of English

I just got back from the dentist

This was a return visit.

Two weeks ago I went for a checkup and I heard the words you don’t want to hear when you’re sitting in the chair.

“You have a cavity.”

But it wasn’t so bad.

Of course, I got an injection.

And that didn’t feel good.

But I didn’t experience any pain during those two weeks.

And it could have been so easy to do that.

All I had to do was remind myself, “Uh, I have to go back to the dentist. He’s going to stick a big needle into my mouth. It’s going to hurt…”

But when you do that, you suffer every day instead of for the few seconds when the needle goes in.

How did I achieve this miracle?

Simple — I just didn’t think about it.

We have a saying in English, It’s all in your head.

Or as Shakespeare said, “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

A lot of students suffer because of English.

But it’s not physical pain.

It’s just in their head.

I think that’s fascinating (translation: very, very interesting)

So let’s talk about that.

Starting tomorrow I’ll share some stories of how I beat fear in my own life.