You Only Live Once... So Smile
You only live once. More on this later. The Holidays have arrived! Tis the season of giving thanks and having good-cheer. If I may, I would like to express my gratitude to the wonderful citizens of Flathead County and wish you a very merry Christmas. Every day I am humbled by the new faces that appear in my office who have chosen to place their dental care in my hands. My staff and I are truly thankful for the many relationships that we have made this past year, and I already know that 2019 is just going to be the best...I can feel it! (I say this about every new year, and every year it’s true. Attitude is everything.)
The phrase, “you only live once” has gained traction with the younger generation most often said as the acronym YOLO as an excuse to do something crazy, if maybe even stupid. This YOLO movement really resonated with me surprisingly, but not in the same context as everyone else. I thought to myself, I should do really smart things because I’m only going to live once. Instead of using it as an excuse I used it as motivation. In other words, this phrase can be used as justification for complete opposite scenarios.
For instance, Johnny Fraternity might blow-off studying for finals for a party because he will only live once, when he should be hitting the books for the exact same reason: he will only live once. By all means Johnny, have a blast once finals are over because you earned it. Another individual might "just put it on the credit card and I'll worry about paying it off later” because YOLO, when really they should should wait until they can buy it outright and avoid paying interest because YOLO. Am I making sense Montana? Let’s flip the lid on this thing and let it inspire us to live our best lives.
Let’s pay off a nagging debt. Let’s drink that green smoothie thingy. Let’s spend time with our children and not the T.V. Let’s take our spouses out on the town. Let’s call an old friend and send flowers to our mothers for no good reason. Let’s build that snowman. Let’s tell Dad that he is still our hero. Let’s volunteer and help those in need. Let’s brush, floss, and smile everyday. Let’s make pancakes every saturday. Let’s create memories because we are only going to live once, and let’s make a positive impact.
It should be obvious that in addition to being a Dentist, I also enjoy being a musician. I imagine that just to your right is a likeness of myself doing my best Eddie Van Halen impression. Yes, the younger John Miller wanted nothing more than to be a rockstar; and I was for a short time. In the early 2000’s I spent my days at Arizona State University earning my Biology degree in preparation for Dental School. I spent my nights performing with my band, most of whom were dear childhood friends, all over the Phoenix Metro area. We were doing everything right, we played only original songs, we had a manager, a booking agent, a lawyer for pete’s sake. We were having the time of our lives and had secured some high profile weekly gigs including the saturday night headliner at Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Phoenix.
Then came the inevitable YOLO dilemma, I was informed that the band needed me full time for a small southwestern states tour. Initially I was beside myself with excitement, “a tour, no way!!” Now, I’m a math nerd and the son of an accountant so I can crunch the numbers, and it didn’t take long for the initial wave of excitement and invincibility to wear off being replaced by reality and my plan, which up to that point had been executed with military precision. I informed my good friends that I needed to continue my schooling efforts and could not commit to the tour at the expense of taking any time off from school. I could have just as easily explained that, “hey fellas, I’m only going to live once and I need to do this for myself and my wife.” I chose becoming a boring old dentist because it was the smartest decision. Now don’t feel bad for me, I still play in bands and still “get the rock out,” but nothings gets in the way of Plan A.
This is my New Year’s call to action. Let’s make smarter decisions in 2015 that will allow us to look back a year from now from a position of greater health, being more financially secure, having achieved our goals and had our adventures, with stronger and more meaningful relationships, happier, wearing a big genuine Montana smile because we’re super-stoked for 2016. See you out there!
Read You Only Live Once… So Smile from Dr. John F. Miller in 406 Woman.