Today, we’re talking about the things we do every day. You can call them rituals if you do them every single day without even thinking about it. For instance, you wake up in the morning and what’s the first thing you do? Do you brush your teeth, wash your face and then empty your bladder? Or do you empty your bladder, wash your face and then brush your teeth? Everybody has a morning ritual that you perform the same way every single day. I want you to keep that in mind.There are many benefits in doing these little rituals. They bring us a sense of certainty and safety. And they lower our stress levels. What’s more important than that? You want to lower your stress level and feel peaceful. They also save us time. We don’t have to spend precious minutes considering our alternatives.
Many of our rituals involve our interactions with other people. Maybe you meet the same people every morning when you pick up your latte at Starbucks. Or you call your mom when you get home to make sure she’s ok. Balancing those things so that they come together in an easy way helps us feel better.
Maybe you’ve developed some new rituals during these uncertain times that we’ve been having perhaps because you were not able to follow your pre-pandemic routines. Maybe you’ve taken up a new hobby or a particular practice. We’ll talk about that in a little bit but think about that.
Every day you have challenges that you have to face. So when you have a way of handling these things in a ritualized way, it makes it that much easier. Getting out of bed or driving to work are activities you do without thinking twice about it.
There are all kinds of rituals. I’ve just mentioned some daily rituals that you may have. But of course, we have religious rituals. We pray certain prayers depending on our faith. There are fasting rituals in some religions. We have religious holidays. For instance, we’ve got Passover and Easter coming up very soon.
And then we have life event rituals like when there’s the birth of a baby in the family. Everybody gets together for a big party. We do something to celebrate that momentous event. And often when children reach so-called adulthood (which at 13 probably isn’t really adult yet.) People had to grow up faster in the old days, right? Today they don’t have to grow up so fast. There certainly are religious rituals to cover that!
Marriage, of course, is a ritual. You want to spend your life with someone and make a commitment. And when someone dies, we have prescribed ways of handling death in our society.And, as I mentioned earlier, we all have personal rituals. Those are things like
1. having an exercise routine that you do every day, (That’s great!)
2. taking up healthy eating now that you have more time at home. Yay for the joy of cooking!
3. doing visualizations, or you’re saying affirmations every morning. Maybe that’s the way you start your day, which is again wonderful.
4. keeping a gratitude journal or some other kind of journal. Excellent!
These are very personal rituals that many of us practice. Of course, my favorite ritual is my ‘morning pause,’ my modern meditation practice that I’ve been doing for years, and teaching people. In my opinion, it’s the most important ritual you can adopt. (I’ll be holding a masterclass on it on May 4th, so save the date on your calendar
Now that I’ve mentioned all these different types of rituals and ways that we ritualize everyday activities, every day to think about what kinds of rituals you have in your life. What do you do on a daily basis?
Because the ritual, as I said, is something you don’t even think about. The good thing about your ritual is that it’s automatic, right? You don’t even have to think about how or when to do it. You just know, “Oh, now it’s time to do this.” And you do it.
The bad thing about your ritual is that it’s automatic. Why? Because some of your rituals may not be in your best interest. I think you see what I’m getting at.
For instance, if after dinner you’re sitting down in front of the TV for three hours and drinking a 6 pack of beer or eating chips and ice cream every night… Wow, that may not be such a good ritual. It’s automatic but destructive.
I asked you to think about your daily rituals, habits, routines, and call them what you will, because some of them may not be in your own best interest.
Rituals are powerful and can be very beneficial. But, by the same token, they can also be detrimental to you. That’s why it is always, as I often say, so important to look at your thoughts.Because we’ve ritualized so much of our daily actions, we don’t think about their effects. And we don’t decide “is this good for me or not.”
So here’s your homework, should you elect to take up this assignment, to pay attention to your rituals and determine which ones are good for you and which ones aren’t. Then maybe start to think about how you can change those things.
You may be surprised at the new level of joy and creativity you experience as a result of letting go of limiting daily rituals!
Love and Peace Always,
MarciaGrace
And remember,
MarciaGrace
And remember,
Everything Begins with a Thought,
So monitor your thoughts and eliminate the ones that hurt
I’m here for you and I want you to know that you have all the answers you need within you, even if the answer you get is, “Go get help from so and so.” That answer will send you in the right direction so you can be the calm, creative, joyful, and successful entrepreneur you are meant to be!
By now I hope you know that I teach busy entrepreneurs how to start the day with intention and an Abundance Mentality. If you would like to have a 30-minute chat with me about the stress that is keeping you from the success that an abundant and calm mentality will offer you, you will find my calendar here to set up a time: www.calendly.com/MarciaGrace
Come join my Facebook group for instant support in chaotic times: It’s a place where we can talk to each other; we can express our feelings and our thoughts about any issue.
You’ll find a weekly affirmation, a guided meditation, and my Friday FB Live on topics to nurture your business and personal life. I hope you will take advantage!
Calm, Creative, Joyful for The Busy Entrepreneur
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