Change Comes When We Are Ready

I went to the dentist for a cleaning, and I could tell that I had a recently graduated dental hygienist.  The tell-tale signs were the length of time that she took to clean my teeth and the length of the flossing lecture. I am not complaining, I deserve the flossing lecture, I am not a thorough and dedicated flosser.  There is a wisdom that comes with experience that would say that if someone my age is in the chair and I reflect that I floss three times a week, that is a pretty well engrained habit.  At this stage, the length of the lecture is probably not going to make an impact, something may happen to shake me up to get in line or more probably I will just continue with my dedication as it is.  So, while I do agree in theory with daily flossing that includes all the teeth and not just the front ones in a rush,  a simple reminder would suit the purpose.   It’s a truth that we all eventually learn, we are not that effective in any arena of life trying to change the behaviour, attitude, habits or mindset of those around us.  It is a long lesson, where we try and try again to have people change to have a happier life, but the student must be ready for the teacher to have any impact.  We learn as adults through our experiences, our shake ups and near misses.  We can learn from a bit of good advice from a friend, but it is still a completely inside job to have that information get through to us.  The dental hygienist will probably shorten her advice lecture over time, as she will learn that a patient at peace with the plaque is not ready to change just yet.  When I get the urge to tell people how to change, I too must know that its their own plaque to have or to floss away at their own pace, in their own time.  The only person’s habits that I can influence are mine,  now perhaps I will go floss an extra time.