I can do hard things

Today at work my first patient was a 17 year old who whined and fretted. I don't get too many of these, but invariably their self talk sounds something like this...I hate shots, just a second, I can't do this, this will hurt, I don't want to do this, are you sure I have to do this, this is too hard. I reassure them that the only bad thing that could happen is if they were to stop breathing, so please take a deep breath, you are going to be alright, just hold still. Just a note, if you want to really injure yourself and upset the dentist try and grab the hand with the needle, bad idea. I know from the shaking hands and sweaty brow when patients are really nervous, I see it all the time, and I always try to be gentle, regardless of how the patient is acting, or overreacting.
This is what really bothered me today, so I am going to share. It was the dialogue. I started to wonder, at what point in this girls life is she going to realize that sometimes you have to endure undesireable situations, and you just have to tell yourself, I can do this. It is hard, it hurts, it is not fun, but it will be over quickly and I can do this.
As a juxtaposition, my last patient of the day was a 4 year old who didn't flinch. He had his fair share of wiggles and curiousity but at no point was there a fret that this was too hard.
Sis. Dalton, who is the young women's general president had a little bio in the church news a while back and it said that she has on her desk a plaque that says "I can do hard things. " It has stuck with me. It is classy, it has backbone, it is all about facing trials head on and and not getting caught up in negative dialogue.
I can do hard things. I also get to do a lot of boring things, like the dishes, but hey, it is all a package deal.