Earlier this week I invited you to take part in The Change Agent Challenge, a learning experience in which you try to change yourself and see what happens.  This post is Part 2 of my own personal Challenge.

In Part 1 of My Change Agent Challenge, I discussed the ways that I increased my motivation to start and continue flossing.

Even though it’s something that I want to do, I still have a hard time remembering to do it.  Since flossing is not part of the daily routine, once the autopilot is on, the new step is easily skipped.

Realizing this was happening, I started by paying attention to the autopilot itself.  And when I thought about how it worked, it turns out it was counting.  That’s right.  Each night my brain would do a mental checklist to make sure I had done all the required activities before going to sleep.  If I had forgotten to wash my face, for example, there would be a disconnect.

So, to integrate flossing into the routine, I had to consciously add a +1 to the activity count.  I wrote the new number on a Post-It and put it on the mirror to try to retrain my brain on the new count.

I still found myself reaching for the toothbrush first when the new step before brushing is now supposed to be flossing.  The next step in my analysis was to look at the physical environment. There were two problems.

The first was that the counter was too cluttered so I had to look for the floss each time. That’s an obvious fix.  Clear off the counter so only the necessary tools are available.

The second was that the toothbrush holder was far from the rest of the floss and toothpaste.  If my first instinct was to reach for the toothbrush, then the floss should be right there so I grab it instead.  So, I bought a new toothbrush holder so now my husband and I don’t share one across our long counter.  Now my toothbrush is right next to the sink.  And the floss is right there next to it.

It takes time to retrain your autopilot, but if you pay attention to what it’s doing, you can find ways to stop and integrate new activities.

My Change Agent Challenge:

Part 1:  Motivation

Part 3:  Identity

Yesterday I posted an invitation to The Change Agent Challenge, to try to change something about yourself and take notes.  This is the series of posts on my own observations in taking on the Challenge.

“People who smoke cigarettes, they say ‘You don’t know how hard it is to quit smoking.’ Yes I do. It’s as hard as it is to start flossing.” – Mitch Hedberg

After a dentist appointment two weeks ago, I decided that I needed to start flossing.  Neither the dentist nor the hygienist gave me a guilt trip about it.  They obviously know that doesn’t work, and don’t bother trying.

No, I just know that I need to do it if I’m going to have my own teeth when I’m 80.  Plus, it occurred to me that as a change practitioner, I should be able to figure out how to make myself start flossing!  And so began the challenge.

Let’s talk motivation.

By the time you have a burning platform with flossing, it’s too late.  The effects of not flossing are long-term, or at least not immediate.  The risk of getting cavities or gum disease are not enough to have made me floss in the past.  In fact, they found a cavity that needed filling at that appointment, and it was nowhere near the part affected by floss.  So how is that for mismatched consequences!

The feeling that made me start flossing was a combination of embarrassment and a little paranoia.  It was obvious in the cleaning appointment that I hadn’t been flossing, and in the middle of it I thought, “I should have remembered to floss for the last 2 weeks before this appointment so it wouldn’t be so obvious that I don’t floss.”  Also, there were 5 days between the cleaning and the filling appointments, and I was sure that if I didn’t floss in between that somehow they would know and would somehow judge me.  Really, I was just judging myself.  Why can’t I do something that takes just moments and is so simple?

So I had successfully started flossing, but the next dentist appointment isn’t for 6 months.  I had to come up with more reasons to continue flossing after the second appointment.

And really, this is it.  I decided that I would blog about it in the context of The Change Agent Challenge.  And if I was going to do that, I would have to keep flossing.  Knowing that I would be making my intention to keep flossing public gave me a reason to continue the effort.

The primary motivator at work here is commitment.  When someone makes a commitment to someone else they are more likely to meet that commitment.  And so here it is:  “I’m going to keep flossing.”

I’m also linking the activity to something that is more interesting to me than the activity itself.  By making it a challenge about change, I’ve raised the importance level of flossing in my mind.  It’s not just about my teeth any more.  It’s about my ability to implement change.

My Change Agent Challenge:

Part 2:  Integration

Part 3:  Identity