Your routine cleaning

By Daniel Francis

At the beginning of this year, as I have mentioned in my previous articles, I took my goal planning and setting more seriously. I did not necessarily change the process of how I set my goals, but I made one major change to help me be more accountable for achieving said goals. I found myself an accountability partner.

We both set our goals, and we meet weekly to make sure that we are progressing with these goals. This one adjustment had a dramatic effect on my results.

Just knowing that I have to provide feedback on my goals each month created urgency in me each week to always have something new and positive to announce.

There was one problem. For each area of my life, there were one or two goals that regardless of how many months passed, I just saw zero progress towards getting them done.

At the mid-year point, I did a review and highlighted these ‘zero progress’ goals in red. I needed to send up a flair signalling that it was time to get these done as soon as possible.

Two of these goals I can happily say I completed last week, and though they may seem unrelated, I saw some interesting alignments. One was that I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned, and the other was that I finally attended a faith-based conference or retreat for the year: Jesus Explosion.

How are these two possibly related, you might be asking? Through writing these articles, I always tell people that I am forced to look for God in everyday activities. That’s how I keep coming up with ideas, and it’s truly a blessing in disguise because it has brought me closer to God. So, my mind is always asking, ‘What’s the link to God?’.

While sitting in the dentist’s chair having my teeth uncomfortably scraped, I was thinking to myself, “Wow, I thought this would be a quick, simple procedure, but he is really going at my teeth.” The dentist explained that I had some tartar building up at the base of my teeth.

From what I understood from his explanation, tartar is a calcified buildup that forms a solid crust on your teeth. It’s securely bonded to your teeth and can’t be removed at home with brushing and flossing. It tends to build up over time if you aren’t brushing and flossing after every meal.

He had to use a special instrument to scrape it away, hence my discomfort, but it was essential to remove it as bacteria can hide in its porous surface and lead to bad breath, cavities, or gum disease. Once he was done cleaning my teeth, they felt noticeably cleaner, almost lighter.

What does this have to do with growing closer to God? Well, while at Jesus Explosion, which I had not attended since I was a teenager, my mind kept running on my teeth cleaning.

The deep spiritual impact I was experiencing from the day’s activities like Holy Mass, Confession, praise and worship, Adoration, and the very insightful talks felt like my soul was being deep cleaned.

I felt like with each talk, and with each experience, someone was scraping away at the hidden gunk that was attached deep within my soul. Some portions of the conference felt uncomfortable because I was not accustomed, similar to the dental instrument scraping away at my teeth, but when it was all said and done, I felt lighter. I felt like my soul had been refreshed and my faith had been renewed.

I now had a solid foundation to stand on with all the cracks patched up.

Days later, and I still feel covered in the love of God. I am practising daily spiritual mindfulness, and the theme of the conference, to proclaim the Gospel to every creature, is still ringing in my head, guiding my actions.

Was this conference the deep cleaning that I needed? It seems so. I learned two things: sometimes the breakthrough you are looking for is hidden in the things you’ve been avoiding, and the physical, mental, and spiritual checkups in whatever form they take are important.

Don’t overlook them because they may be just what the doctor or priest ordered. Special shoutout to Fr Ian Taylor, Aunty Lesley, and the whole Jesus Explosion team for doing God’s work. Take this as a sign to sign up for a retreat or conference.

Daniel Francis is a book publisher, leadership development coach, entrepreneur, and author of The Millennial Mind, The Millennial Experience, and How to Write and Self-Publish Your Book.

As the founder of One Momentum Publishing, he helps Caribbean authors move from manuscript to publication, guiding them through editing, design, and global distribution on platforms like Amazon, positioning them as authorities in their fields.

Through his work, Daniel equips individuals with the mindset and structure needed to turn ideas into impact.

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