[cprncus]

Flossing religiously. I used to be Bleeding Gums Murphy, but no more. A dental hygienist showed me the proper way to floss and now I will get up at 4am if I somehow forgot to floss before bedtime, go into the bathroom, and floss. I've only missed once in 7+ years. Bad gums are associated with heart disease, tooth loss, and other nasty effects. No thanks.

Quitting, after 30+ years, saying, "God bless you" (or really, "Gahblessyou") automatically after someone sneezes. If you stop and think about how dumb this is, it feels really good to break this ridiculous cultural habit. I've been "clean" from this for 2+ years now.

[read]

Seemingly small things like flossing and using your non-dominant hand to open doors improve self control. Deceptively small things like that lead into bigger things.

[hansy]

Whoa can you explain what you mean by using your non-dominant hand to improve self-control?

[read]

Using your non-dominant hand challenges the brain to coordinate a new movement. The brain is not an expert in this new movement. It has to work hard to get it right and does a bad job initially. Since it's bad at it, you have to stick with it to complete the movement. It takes longer, and during the process you have an urge to drop it and continue with the dominant hand.

Fighting off this urge and continuing to use the non-dominand hand at something you are bad at improves self-control. You put yourself in a position where you don't quit when something works poorly for you. You make a habit of sticking with things to get better. It's worth cultivating habits that get you exploring things you're bad at.

I admit shaving with the non-dominand hand gets dangerous. But you can witness this effect by trying something simpler like stirring a glass of milk or brushing your teeth.

[hansy]

I guess I never thought about it this way. The only time I ever did anything significant with my non-dominant hand was when I used to play lacrosse, and I had to shoot and throw the ball using both my left and right hands. Of course the purpose of this was trite; become harder to defend.

Anyway, using my non-dominant hand for trivial activities sounds fun. At the very least, should I lose my dominant hand in a light saber duel in the future with a man who claims to be my father, I'll know I've got an adequate backup.

[yalestar]

+1 to your quitting acknowledging sneezes. That has always seemed to me like a pointless injection of politeness that continues only because of cultural inertia. Not sure how much it has improved my life, but it sure feels nice to be one less person doing it.

I'll say it loud and proud: "Bless yourself. I am no longer a sneeze acknowledger." I think I'll get that printed on a t-shirt

[elwell]

I've never adopted the "bless you" sneeze habit, but people think I'm being impolite. In fact, every time someone sneezes I feel the pressure to say it, but refuse to (it's just too meaningless / weird).

[thevdude]

I say "You're welcome" or "Stop!" when people sneeze, and everyone seems to get a kick out of it.

[mike_le]

I realized that I could just floss in the shower to save myself time. Now it feels weird if I don't.