The ziplock bag filled with green flossers caught my eye this morning, and reminded me that good intentions aren’t enough. Two weeks ago when I packed for this trip, I deliberately counted out enough flossers for every day I’d be gone. Even though I don’t normally floss everyday.

Oh, I wish I did. But the reality is... I don’t.

Yet I put 19 flossers in a ziplock and tossed them in my toiletry bag. Somehow simply bringing them made me feel better about my oral hygiene habits.

As if the desire alone is enough to get the job done.

But as I repacked my toiletry bag today, I couldn’t escape the truth that I didn’t floss any more than I normally do. And that I was bringing 16 flossers back home with me.

All my good intentions got me was a false sense of accomplishment at the start and a guilty conscience at the end.

Though I started off feeling quite proud of myself, the end result is a sense of failure. Over something silly like flossing.

But that's because this is actually about something far bigger than dental care.

It’s really about self-discipline. And follow-through. And genuinely doing something about those things I want to do something about.

Because good intentions alone won’t get me very far.

So excuse me... I need to go floss...