The Power of Ritual to Create Positive Change & Transformation

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I thought I would touch on the subject of rituals and the power they hold to help us create positive change and transformation in our lives. Ritual, by definition as to what I am referring to is:  a formal ceremony or series of acts that is always performed in the same way or an act or series of acts done in a particular situation and in the same way each time. An old saying in the martial arts is that ‘repetition is the mother of all skill’.  Performing a daily ritual is in a sense the best illustration of this and it need not be formal by any means.

So where am I going with this and what does this have to do with enhancing your health and wellness? Well to start, if you perform a healthy daily ritual or series of healthy rituals such as a particular workout regimen or healthy eating and drinking habits you can dramatically impact your life in positive way. Rituals can be very powerful because they in a sense force us to be consistent, and with consistency comes results.

I touched upon this subject in an earlier post I wrote back in late July of last year – 5 Daily Rituals to Have More Energy, Promote Lean Muscle Mass & Muscle Recovery. There I gave examples of some simple rituals you can incorporate into your daily life to achieve a certain result.  Most people go through their daily routines (or rituals as I like to call them) without really giving what they do much thought.  You can use these routines as a springboard to transform your life and make positive change.

How? Well I am glad you asked… through simple substitution. For example, something so simple as to how you wake up in the morning. Instead of hitting the snooze button a few times and dreading getting up for work (like many people do), you can start with the habit of reciting a positive mantra to yourself on how you are looking forward to your day and how much you are grateful to be alive another day on this planet and then hopping right out of bed.

sunburstdarkThis will help energize you and get you started for the day on the right foot. They say that it takes about 21 days to create a new healthy habit where you just do it automatically and it is ingrained. Doing something new like this, or anything else worthwhile may be tough at first, but if you stick it out for 21 days to about a month or so, before you know it you will be doing it automatically and it will be second nature.

In the case of this example, you will actually wake up more energized as time goes on. A quick tip if you want to try this, is to tell yourself how great you will feel in the morning right before you go to bed at night as it will help prepare and program your mind.

I encourage you to examine what you do on a consistent basis everyday that is not very productive or the healthiest of habits and how you can substitute in a healthy habit or ritual to create positive change in your life. What I will also say is not to go overboard at first and try to change everything you do and flip your life upside down right off the bat… even if it’s in the name of making positive change in your life. The reason being is that you won’t stick with it because it will be too drastic and it’s a recipe for failure.

Go gradual, pick one thing you are doing now that you can substitute in something more healthy and positive and get that down before adding in anything else.  Another example that I incorporated into my life was swapping watching tv for meditation right when I got home from work – a much more effective and healthy way to decompress I must say.

This idea can also be done on a smaller scale with the little things in your life, such as having green tea –  instead of coffee, slowing down – instead of rushing, being grateful for the little things – instead of focusing on what you don’t have, letting someone else speak instead of talking over them… are just a few things that come to mind. Granted, these aren’t really rituals, but you can see how this idea can really make you examine yourself deeper and be more mindful.

This can really build on itself over time if you stick with it and gain momentum like a snow ball effect. It is really the little things in life that together over time have the biggest impact on us.  The next thing you know you are a completely different, more positive and healthy person with a new perspective on life!  I encourage you again to experiment with this and see what kind of positive changes you can make in your life.