In early 2017 I had nasal surgery to remove a golf ball sized polyp from my sinuses.  From now on I have to irrigate my nasal passages once per day, everyday.  Being forced to be consistent in this routine has taught me many valuable life lessons.  Here are the 5 most important lessons I’ve learned shooting water up my nose.

First, a little backstory.

In 2016 I was working for a homebuilder finishing houses.  One of my responsibilities was to make sure each crawlspace was completely cleaned of debris.  This meant that almost everyday for an entire year I was breathing in small dust particles that made their way down to the crawlspace where they remained until some poor sap sucker was tasked with cleaning them out.  Because of this I was constantly stuffed up.

The daily dust resulted in a sinus blockage didn’t go away. In fact, it kept getting worse. After about 6 months we went to the doctor.

“OMG, WTF!? LOL.” – My Doctor

It turns out I did not have allergies.  Instead, I had a polyp the size of a golf ball growing in my nasal cavity.  Super not fun.  To be fair there’s no way of knowing whether or not cleaning out these crawlspaces is what caused the polyp to grow or if it was just a coincidence.  At the very least, it provided a viable reason why I was stuffed up, which caused us to put off going to the doctor.

We scheduled surgery for a early 2017.  We had a honeymoon in Thailand coming up at the end of 2016 and I didn’t want to be recovering from surgery on our honeymoon. Plus, it made getting my underwater diving certificate more interesting having a blockage that made it impossible for me to equalize my ears. Also super not fun, albeit more scenic.

Several months later, and countless panic attacks during the night, I had the polyp removed.  Now, once per day, I have to shoot salt water and a medication up my nose to make sure the polyp doesn’t grow back.

Being forced to consistently do this uncomfortable ritual has taught me a few lessons that translate into life in general and our journey to reach financial independence.

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1st Life Lesson: Consistency is Key

Consistency is the key to not having to go through that f**king surgery again.  I can’t just shoot a bunch of water up my nose one day and then nothing else the rest of the week.  You can’t just eat healthy for one day, or go to the gym once a month.  You have to be consistent if you want to see positive results. The same goes with managing our money.  It’s an everyday occurrence.  We can’t just be really good about packing a lunch one day and then eating out every other day.  If you want to reach your goals, whether they are physical, mental, or financial, you need to be consistent.

2nd Life Lesson: An Ounce of Prevention is Better than a Golf Ball Sized Polyp

Going through the post-surgery recovery was one of the worst experiences of my life.  It felt like there was a hole in the middle of my head that I couldn’t reach.  I felt like slamming my face into the counter just so I could feel the sensation of pain somewhere that I could touch.  I tried to think back on my childhood to see if any of the lessons I learned from The Ninja Turtles could help me deal with the pain.  They could not.

Irrigating my nasal passages everyday is annoying but not nearly as annoying as having to go through that surgery and recovery again.  The same is true with finances.  You can prevent a lot of future discomfort by getting your finances in order now.  It’s tedious to set up retirement accounts, transfer over an old 401k, or consistently save part of your paycheck. None of these are nearly as inconvenient as ignoring it and finding out too late in the game that you aren’t prepared for retirement.

3rd Life Lesson: Don’t Wait to Fix Small Problems

I knew something was up with my nasal cavity but I was busy at work and didn’t want to make an appointment.  What was once a small polyp grew into a huge polyp.  I suffered through months of waking up panicking in the night because I couldn’t breath.  My mouth would be dry and I felt like I was suffocating. Don’t wait to fix small problems in your life.

Maybe you’re paying for a few subscriptions that you no longer use but haven’t bothered to cancel.  Maybe you’re paying high fees to an advisor to watch over something you could easily do yourself.  Fix the problem now while it’s manageable.  Don’t wait until you’ve wasted decades of investment returns being eaten up by fees or bad investments.  Maybe the fix for you is as simple as calling up HR and changing your 401k contributions.  Don’t let small problems grow into big polyps.

4th Life Lesson: The More You do Something Uncomfortable the Easier it Becomes

When I irrigate my nose every day it only takes a few minutes.  It isn’t painful and I hardly mind the sensation of water shooting up and around my nasal passages.  When I don’t do it for a few days it becomes much harder to start again.  My passages get a little clogged and the sensation of water feels a little more foreign.  Once you start doing something difficult like getting in shape, eating out less, or picking up more hours at work, it’s hard at first.

The more you do something hard the more you get used to doing it and the easier it becomes.  Start now.  Find a few easy ways you can improve your health, finances or happiness and start doing them consistently.  If you fall off the horse, don’t bemoan the fact that you messed up, just get back on the horse.

5th Life Lesson: Don’t Waste Time Regretting Your Situation

I could spend my days wallowing in self-pity that I have to irrigate my nose.  It feels weird.  None of my friends irrigate their noses.  Where are all the celebrities doing nose irrigation endorsements anyway?  I could be mad at myself for not going to the doctor sooner.  I could blame my former employer for sending me down those crawl spaces.  Maybe this irrigation situation could have been avoided.  Don’t beat yourself up regretting a situation.  Instead, find a bright side.

Maybe you have a debt situation you have to deal with.  Don’t beat yourself up about it. It is what it is.  Learn from your past mistakes and move on. Be proud of yourself for attacking the situation now, rather than being disappointed with yourself for being in this spot to begin with.

Those are 5 most important lessons I’ve learned by shooting water up my nose.  I hope my misfortune can be your gain.

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