Have you ever had that one thing that you have wanted to do for a long time? Or that one dream that you have always wanted to make a reality? When you always have the opportunity to do it every day, and you always have a reason for putting it off? Me too…
For being seventeen, it is very embarrassing to say this, and my girlfriend may be more careful the next time I try to kiss her, but I am just going to give it as an example anyway.
When I was in my worst depression period about two years ago, I was just lying in bed all day and didn’t really see the purpose of brushing my teeth’s. Eventually I just gave it entirely up. For six months I didn’t brush my teeth’s once, and the thought of doing it didn’t even occur to me anymore. After becoming more socially and active, readapting the habit and everyday routine was very hard. The first year of trials and failures of investing this habit, barely any progress was made.
However, in the last month I have gotten the necessary mentality. I figured, if I didn’t brush my teeth’s today, I am taking a larger risk of not doing it tomorrow, and the risk will just get greater and greater the more days I don’t brush my teeth’s. The same with the days that I brush my teeth’s; if I brush my teeth’s today, it will a higher probability that I will do so tomorrow to.
It was still very hard making this a permanent habit. Only once a in the morning and once in the evening would my mind remind me to brush my teeth’s, and my mind often did it at unconvinced times. I often thought thoughts like; “Oh, well I don’t want to go to bed just yet”, “I am too tired”, “Now it is too late because I am already in bed, I guess I will just have to do it tomorrow instead”.
This kept me from reestablishing the habit because it made me put it off until the next day. However, once I started doing it anyway, even though it was five hours before I was planning on going to bed, and dinner was in the oven – I still did it, just to make the action a habit. I thought, if I am always waiting for the perfect moments, I will never achieve this habit.
And one month later I still cannot miss a single day of brushing my teeth’s without taking a huge risk. Every day I hesitate, I consciously think “it is now or never”.
© All rights reserved Steffen Read
For being seventeen, it is very embarrassing to say this, and my girlfriend may be more careful the next time I try to kiss her, but I am just going to give it as an example anyway.
When I was in my worst depression period about two years ago, I was just lying in bed all day and didn’t really see the purpose of brushing my teeth’s. Eventually I just gave it entirely up. For six months I didn’t brush my teeth’s once, and the thought of doing it didn’t even occur to me anymore. After becoming more socially and active, readapting the habit and everyday routine was very hard. The first year of trials and failures of investing this habit, barely any progress was made.
However, in the last month I have gotten the necessary mentality. I figured, if I didn’t brush my teeth’s today, I am taking a larger risk of not doing it tomorrow, and the risk will just get greater and greater the more days I don’t brush my teeth’s. The same with the days that I brush my teeth’s; if I brush my teeth’s today, it will a higher probability that I will do so tomorrow to.
It was still very hard making this a permanent habit. Only once a in the morning and once in the evening would my mind remind me to brush my teeth’s, and my mind often did it at unconvinced times. I often thought thoughts like; “Oh, well I don’t want to go to bed just yet”, “I am too tired”, “Now it is too late because I am already in bed, I guess I will just have to do it tomorrow instead”.
This kept me from reestablishing the habit because it made me put it off until the next day. However, once I started doing it anyway, even though it was five hours before I was planning on going to bed, and dinner was in the oven – I still did it, just to make the action a habit. I thought, if I am always waiting for the perfect moments, I will never achieve this habit.
And one month later I still cannot miss a single day of brushing my teeth’s without taking a huge risk. Every day I hesitate, I consciously think “it is now or never”.
© All rights reserved Steffen Read
