Self-Discipline Isnât Always the Answer
So I wasnât really taught to brush my teeth every day as a kid. So I didnât. I got to be an adult and realized âhmm teeth are expensive I need to start brushing themâ and brushing my teeth twice a day has been on my actual to do list every single day of my college career. Itâs a habit I needed to build.
Have I successfully done it? Absolutely not. Iâm pretty good about doing it at least once a day, but some days it just doesnât happen. Itâs not that I forget usually, I just had some aversion I couldnât figure out, until last week.
Iâm at the grocery store, in the toothpaste aisle with my roommate, and I complain about how much I hate mint. I FUCKING HATE THE TASTE OF MINT. The taste and the smell, any kind of minty thing in any form, I HATE IT. But literally every âadultâ toothpaste in the aisle was some type of minty disgusting nonsense. And my roommate was like âyou know you could like get kidsâ toothpaste? You like bubblegum right?â
And yâall, it was like the clouds parted. I got some strawberry bubblegum kidsâ toothpaste. I brushed my teeth with it and it was a whole new experience. I have successfully brushed twice a day every day since, because the mental block I had towards it is gone!Â
I thought my lack of brushing was just a moral failing on my part; I was too lazy, too undisciplined, to build a good habit. But really? I just hate the taste of mint so much I didnât want to brush my teeth.
This made me realize that when presented with a change you want to make, a habit you want to build, if youâre encountering resistance in yourself, you should lean into that resistance and really investigate whatâs causing it, then work on accommodating that.Â
Say you hate washing dishes so they pile up and then youâre overwhelmed by how many you have to do. Why do you hate it? Deep down, what about it do you dislike? Is touching wet food super gross for you? Try thick rubber gloves while youâre washing. Does the sound of dishing clanking together grate your nerves? Do them with headphones in and turned up loud. Do you hate the smell? Light some candles, spray some air freshener.Â
Do these things instead of gritting your teeth and forcing yourself, then ultimately failing and getting discouraged by your âlack of self-disciplineâ
TL;DR: When a task is consistently hard for you, relying on self-discipline, forcing yourself, and gritting through doesnât always work. Lean in and listen to your discomfort, and find what makes the task hard, then try to accommodate that. Also, mint toothpaste is gross.
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