Living With A Ravenous Thirst For Life: “Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like”
With Dr. Sarah Jebreil
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them, that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. –Lao Tzu
I love this quote I first heard it doing yoga with Meghan Currie. It reminds me of the ocean that is ever flowing and although the weather can make things choppy and chaotic it is still the ocean and it is still abundant. In my life I dug myself into a hole that felt like a rat race where I had to do good in high school to get into college and I had to do good in college to get into dental school and so on. I got to be in this place of constant competition and feeling of lack which was really unhealthy. I began to forget my purpose and what truly made me happy. When I decided to break out of this hole and focus on my happiness I discovered that the world is an abundant place and that I am enough.
Do you ever wake up in the morning feeling unhappy, unfulfilled, unchallenged, and have nothing to look forward to? It doesn’t have to be that way. One idea that I always advice my clients is the concept of “Finding and Living Life Purpose”
The idea here is that often we pursue in life what the society (or our parents tell us to do). We push hard, get degrees and great jobs… and even if we accomplish all of that we still fill hollow inside.
Instead we need to find and tune it to our soul’s purpose.
Because no matter how many outward achievements we will have if we are not aligned internally we will not be fulfilled.
And when we don’t live our purpose, the universe gets involved. It starts creating circumstances that demand our shrewd actions and a sensible approach. It involves us in relationships, events, and situations that are at times painful, tragic and difficult. It molds our character to be responsive to perilous situations. It is like a wake-up call because we are pushed and made to persevere to conquer our demons. As only when we are in distress, do we learn to grow and become strong and resolute.
When you connect with your life purpose, you get on the right track, the track to self-discovery and self-worth. Your sense of self expands, all of your doubts and criticisms of others do not matter because you are connected to something bigger than you and become larger than life. You have a message to share with the world and that is precisely why your self-esteem grows.
As a part of our series interviewing experts on how to live a “ravenous life” — a life filled with the passion, pleasure, playfulness and abundance that come naturally to those who dare to be authentic, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Sarah Jebreil.
Dr. Sarah Jebreil is an aesthetic dentist practicing in Newport Beach and beauty expert who offers a wide range of cosmetic and restorative dental procedures to her much-valued patients. She has always been intrigued and fascinated with radiance. Dr. Jebreil’s mission is to help beautiful individuals achieve their true radiance. A beautiful and balanced smile can internally attribute to a boost in confidence and vitality. Because Dr. Jebreil has a passion for radiance she has studied in-depth what actually contributes to creating a more beautiful you. She is an advocate of minimally invasive natural-looking dentistry. Dr. Jebreil received her undergraduate degree at the University of California Irvine and then went on to receive her dental degree from the prestigious University of the Pacific School of Dentistry. She has taken numerous courses in aesthetic dentistry and is an Accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD), being one of 350 dentists in the world to hold this status. In addition, Dr. Jebreil has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the AACD. She is also on the Editorial Board for the Dental Products Report and has written numerous articles and has been featured in Modern Luxury magazine multiple times. Dr. Jebreil started practicing in San Diego County alongside her father where she was awarded San Diego’s Top Dentist Award for 5 years in a row. In 2015 she started her boutique dental practice Sarah Jebreil Dental Esthetics in Newport Beach where she focuses on building beautifully radiant smiles. Dr. Jebreil is passionately involved in the community, she donates free dental work to victims of domestic violence through the AACD’s Give back a Smile program as well as volunteers time on the CHOC Glass Slipper Guild helping to raise money for the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Besides working at her dream job, Dr. Jebreil loves spending time with her family, doing yoga and traveling.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
My father is a dentist and my mother is a hygienist, therefore I grew up in a dental office, but I never wanted to be a dentist. As a child loved being creative and doing ballet and art I wanted to do something that ‘uplifted my audience.’ To my parents content, I ended up following my father’s footsteps and became a dentist. As a new dentist I was distraught, I did like the profession and I was drowning in student loan debt. I needed to find my niche and passion, and so I fell in love with esthetic dentistry. I love esthetic dentistry because it is artistic, it is challenging and rewarding and the patients almost always leave uplifted and happier with their new image, unless improving their smile did not really align with their purpose.
What does it mean for you to live “on purpose”? Can you explain? How can one achieve that?
To live on purpose is to be true to yourself and to be present. Its important to have a deep conversation with yourself and define who you are and what is important to you and what you want to achieve to make yourself happy and fulfilled. We live in a society where ‘we should’ do this or we ‘need to’ have that. We often confuse should and need and completely disregard want. From a young age we are influenced by our parents what we should and should not do, but we are not encouraged to do enough of what we want to do. To me living on purpose is being true to yourself and being present. Checking in with yourself regularly and asking yourself, how am I feeling right now? What do I need? It’s as simple as setting and alarm on your phone to check in with yourself. I even have my patients who suffer from muscle pain and jaw pain relate to TMD set alerts on their phones to check-in with themselves during the day to see if they are clenching and to stop and relax. Check in’s are important to ensure you are on your purpose
Do you have an example or story in your own life of how your pain helped to guide you to finding your life’s purpose?
You don’t realize how much you don’t know until you try to do what you think you know how to do and fail horribly. A year out of dental school I decided to take on a complex rehab case on a distant family member, a double no-no. I did not realize how complex the case was because you don’t know what you don’t know. When I finished the case I was horrified and stumped with the end result, I had no idea what when wrong or what I could have done better. It was gut wrenching because it was also a relative. That was definitely my lowest point in my career. At that moment I vowed to never let that happen again and to learn everything I needed to become the best esthetic dentist. I took as many courses as I could with the little money I had. My classmates were all making loads of money and building their equity while I was spending all my money building myself. This was very challenging because many times I thought what am I doing? But when you have a vision that is connected to a feeling it is your purpose and as long as you focus on that feeling you will get where you want to go.
The United States is currently rated at #18 in the World Happiness Report. Can you share a few reasons why you think the ranking is so low?
Working in the beauty/health industry there is an overwhelming presence of body dysmorphia and shame around self-improvement. People are unhappy with their image they give off or see in photos. The people I see usually have been contemplating doing something for a very long time but haven’t had the courage to take the initiative. These people are often reserved when it comes to smiling so they are getting the positive energy loop from a full broad authentic smile. Every client I transform is much more vivacious and confident because they have been able to overcome some of their insecurities and they feel better about themselves. With Instagram, people are constantly coming in asking to look like someone they saw. The problem with this is that this person isn’t asking to be a better version of themselves, but they are asking to look like a highly edited version of someone else on their best day ever. Social media is giving society unrealistic expectations and causing us to stray from our purpose.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
As a member and Accredited member of the AACD I have participated in the AACD’S Give Back a Smile Program that pairs up local dentists with victims of domestic violence. I have had the opportunity to help multiple women who have had broken teeth and teeth knocked out from domestic violence. These women are wanting to put their lives back together and move on but every time they look in the mirror they are reminded of the past. Restoring their smiles has been a truly rewarding experience. It is amazing how just improving one’s smile gives them the confidence and courage to face the world again.
What are your 6 strategies to help you face your day with exuberance, “Joie De Vivre” and a “ravenous thirst for life”? Can you please give a story or example for each?
Every morning I wake up early before anyone else in the house and I get some private time to myself. I do a short yoga routine to greet the sun and then I do a short meditation. I then write in my journal all the feelings and aspects of myself I want to exude that day. I then go over each one slowly and focus on each feeling. Lastly I do a visualization of a day in my ideal life and what everything looks like and feels like as if I am actually living it. Then I grab my coffee and start my day. I feel like this morning routine really helps me stay grounded and on purpose throught the day. I used to so easily get derailed when I would look at my Instagram feed. Having this routine really makes me fall in-love with my own life.
Do you have any favorite books, podcasts, or resources that most inspired you to live with a thirst for life?
I love Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and Jen Sincero’s You are a Badass. For podcasts I love The Angie Lee Show and How I built this. I also have to thank my life coach Laurel House for always keeping me thirsty when I question myself.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote” that relates to having a Joie De Vivre? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them, that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. –Lao Tzu
I love this quote I first heard it doing yoga with Meghan Currie. It reminds me of the ocean that is ever flowing and although the weather can make things choppy and chaotic it is still the ocean and it is still abundant. In my life I dug myself into a hole that felt like a rat race where I had to do good in high school to get into college and I had to do good in college to get into dental school and so on. I got to be in this place of constant competition and feeling of lack which was really unhealthy. I began to forget my purpose and what truly made me happy. When I decided to break out of this hole and focus on my happiness I discovered that the world is an abundant place and that I am enough.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I started a Blog called Flossyoc.com where I discuss the smile, self-image and life-force. I hope for it to be a resource for those who are thinking of improving their self-image and life-force. The world as we know is changing due to the strong pressure from social media to act and look a certain way. People I see are coming in with more and more insecurities and it’s not just the millennials I see it in the baby boomers too. I hope this site becomes a resource for those looking to improve their self-image and confidence but also keep them grounded and present as well.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I would love to see meditation taught in schools. I struggle with it but I have only been doing it for 5 years or so, I can’t imagine how much better I would be if I learned as a child. Just picture how much calmer and more on purpose our children will be if they begin meditating in grade school. I think society as a whole is getting pretty exhausted from the constant violence and disease we are inundated with in our communities, there definitely needs to be a rebirth to a more happier future considering how advanced we are in comparison to our ancestors.
Thank you so much for these fantastic insights!
Dr. Marina Kostina is a life and business fulfillment coach. She uses research and energy work to help professional women find their purpose and turn it into a profitable business. Dr. Kostina incorporates innovative marketing strategies and the creation of engaging, lucrative online courses to scale their businesses. As a result they enjoy what she describes as a “ravenous life” — a life filled with the passion, pleasure, playfulness and abundance that come naturally to those who dare to be authentic. Her book “Find the G-Spot of Your Soul” is available January 2018. Download a free gift from Dr. Kostina- an MP3 Meditation Album “Find The G –Spot Of Your Soul” and get unstuck.
