You really should floss your teeth every day, you know

Really? A post about flossing?

We’ve all been told that our dental health will be better if we floss. You likely have had the experience of being reminded this at an appointment and either immediately dismissing it or—what the hell, you know they’re right—giving it a try for a week, then realizing it’s been months and the habit never stuck. We know better, but the impact isn’t deep so long as our faces don’t literally hurt.

I became a consistent flosser with a single passing sentence from a dental assistant:

“Just remember to only floss the teeth you want to keep!”

Oooof. That landed heavy: the flipped framing cut through years of semiconsciously shrugging off similar but ultimately ineffective advice.

Why? What’s so much more effective in this structure and framing?

• There’s no “should”. No blame, no shame, no judgment
• The consequences are clearly laid out—not to induce fear, but not avoided, either
• There’s a little bit of cheek

You’ve probably long since guessed this isn’t just about flossing.

In your day-to-day, where are all the shoulds? Where are outcomes implied and danced around for comfort instead of being directly named?

Honestly, you can just steal my dental assistant’s exact structure and apply it directly to great effect:

“Remember to only grow and promote the employees you want to retain!” “Remember to only secure the data you don’t want sold on the dark web!”

I’d love to hear what your reframe looks like, and if it’s got more punch than what preceded it.