Success and Dental Floss

My mouth is expensive.

I am not speaking metaphorically in terms of what I charge for speaking engagements. My mouth is expensive, because of the amount spent in the past 6 years to fix dental problems that were my own doing.

Many of my dental problems came from poor dental hygiene habits.  I am not saying that I didn’t brush my teeth. I brush my teeth at least twice a day, but I was not vigilant about flossing, rinsing, or making sure that my brushing was effective. I also avoided the dentist for a few years, which lead to some cavities that required extensive work.

I am not alone.

Surveys done by the ADA have shown that only between 11 and 51 percent of persons in developed countries floss daily (Barnett 2006 – Accessed August 26th, 2009).  If we arbitrary choose the middle of the reported flossing range, then we can reasonably say that two-thirds of people in developed countries don’t floss daily. Two-thirds of people don’t take part in an activity that could drastically improve their oral health.

Is that surprising?

With the issues we have with obesity, literacy, and twitter spam, no, it is not surprising that people are unwilling to perform a small task like flossing to improve some aspect of their lives. Not flossing is as common as not exercising, overspending, and overeating in the developed world.

Why do we not do what we know is right when it comes to self improvement?

A simple answer is discipline.

Excluding having a mental or physical disability, most people aren’t successful with flossing, saving, and eating less due to a lack of discipline. Our society makes it easy for you to cheat, so you cheat on that diet, spend too much on items you don’t need, or don’t floss away the gunk between your teeth.

Being disciplined is not easy, so you have to constantly reinforce the positive outcome of uncomfortable tasks. For example, I used to have a script set up on my computer to remind me to blink. All the script did was create a pop up that said, “BLINK.” After a week, I disabled it. However, if I had created a message that said, “Blink . . . it could keep you from going blind,” I would have been reminded that not fixating on the computer for long stretches helps improve eye health.

Discipline Requires Focus on Long Term Outcomes

To develop a successful discipline, one practice is to focus on the long term outcome of the practice you need to develop. For example, if I can write at least a page a day, then I can develop 365 pages of new material every year for my blogs, video newsletter, or personal newsletter. Focusing on the outcome allows you to reinforce the mindset that what you are doing might be painful now, will be beneficial to your future.

That is why I am forcing myself to floss, because it will benefit me in the future with healthier teeth and a lower dental bill.

I want to know, where do you need more discipline in your life?

Let us know in the comments.

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If you liked this post, then you should also check out:

1. Habits
2. The Reason for Success
3. That is Not How This Business Works
4. Are You Looking at the Giant Leap When You Should Focus on the Little Steps?
5. How to be a Superhero – Part 3: Developing Your Superpowers