remember a time when I hated cleaning my teeth. I think it was from age 4 to age 8. My parents tried every last trick in the book to make me cooperate. They started with good-tasting kid-safe toothpaste, but, after I started eating it instead of brushing with it, they had to adopt a more aggressive strategy. There was scolding, there was privilege revoking, there was even this mouthwash that we had that would stain the areas of your teeth that you missed. Nothing seemed to work, until....
I went in to see the dentist for a regular checkup at around age 8. I had never had a cavity in my whole (short) life--not even on my baby teeth. The dentist took some x rays and came back into the room with them. "Blake, have you been flossing?" The classic dentist question. "Yes, sometimes." The classic reply. "It looks like you have a CAVITY developing on one of your front PERMANENT incisors. Now, we aren't going to do anything today, but we will have to DRILL it out if you don't start flossing EVERY DAY." And from that day on I never had a problem with either brushing or flossing.
Learn to love the hard things in life. Learn to love the things you hate. Learn to love the things that make you a better human.
These were my lessons that day. Sure, I had had this instilled in me by my parents, who were adamant that I eat my vegetables before I had dessert, and who taught the importance of playing outside instead of watching T.V., etc. But, there was something about discovering it on my own that made it really resonate. There have been many other times when the lessons came just a little too late as well. When I found out some truth only after a lot of damage had already been done.
My intent behind writing today is to get you to look at the things that you value and want to preserve. Health, relationships, careers, skills, etc. They all need continual, dedicated practice to flourish. You can use my mantra of "don't be lazy" anytime you feel resistance to do the thing that will create more good.
I want to know what you all value and try to preserve in your lives. How do you overcome the resistance of taking action? Any good stories?