Whether you decide to adopt an everyday ritual from here or here, or you decide to create your own, there is a final, important step to take – making everyday rituals stick. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to make everyday rituals stick, so you can start living a healthier, more productive life.
Making a change or starting a new ritual isn’t too difficult, but actually sticking to it and making it a habit? Now that’s the real challenge. Coming up with the idea is the easy part, but making it a regular part of your life? That’s where you have to put in the effort. It’s not enough to do it once, or even a few times. You have to keep at it until it becomes second nature. So that not doing it feels uncomfortable. That’s the only way to make it a true ritual.
There’s no secret here, folks – just good old-fashioned repetition. Do something enough times and it becomes hardwired into the mind and turns into a habit. That’s all there is to it. The word “all” is doing a lot of work in that sentence, of course, because sticking to a new habit is hard.
Here are a few tips to make it easier.
Keep It Simple
Rituals don’t have to be complicated to be effective. Simple rituals are easier to keep. They take less time, focus, and preparation, which means that you are more likely to follow through with them. The more complicated you make things, the less likely you are to follow through.
Work To Your Strengths
Don’t try to force yourself to become something you’re not or aim for a routine that won’t fit in with the rest of the family. That’ll only lead to failure. If you’re a night owl, don’t expect to suddenly become a morning person by deciding to go for a run every morning. A smarter move would be to switch up your routine and go for a run after lunch or after work.
If you want to stick with a new routine, work with yourself instead of against yourself – it’ll be much easier to stay consistent.
Schedule It
If you want to make sure something gets done, put it on your schedule. Treat your new ritual like any other important appointment – like a doctor’s visit or a vacation – and pencil it in for multiple weeks ahead. That way, you won’t be able to use the “I ran out of time” excuse.
Use Reminders
Even if you’ve scheduled it (see above), it can be easy to overlook things when life gets busy. Try setting up reminders on your phone or calendar to help keep you on track.
Reevaluate
If you’re having difficulty sticking to your routine, it’s time to take a second look at it. Maybe the ritual you created isn’t quite right for you. See if you can tweak it to make it more manageable. If it’s still not getting done then maybe it’s because you aren’t giving it a high enough priority. Do you really want this ritual or are you doing it to please someone else. We’re all short of time but we make time for the things that really matter to us. Does this matter to you? If not, then adopt or create a new ritual that better serves you.
By implementing these tips, you can succeed at making everyday rituals stick. Whether it’s a morning routine, a self-care routine, or something else, having a set of rituals in your life can bring you a sense of peace and stability.