Rituals Can Help You Create Change in Your Life

Simple rituals that we craft for ourselves can be transformative.

We humans are meaning making creatures.  And one of the ways that we work with the meaning we make—especially when we’re moving from one thing to another—is through rituals.  Now, I’m not talking about anything religious, although I guess it could be if you wanted.  And I’m not talking about anything huge like a wedding.  I am talking about little things that you can do to help you mindfully transition from one thing to another and to help you create good meaning in your day or week or whatever. Stay with me here, because you can create little rituals that have a big impact on your life—especially when you need to unwind.

For example, once upon a time I had an office job.  And at my office job we had lanyards—little strap / necklace things with an id badge at the end.  We had to wear them at all times while working, and at the end of each day, I’d get in my car, and I’d take off my badge, and I’d wrap it up in a very certain way, and then I’d put it face down in this little spot in my car’s dashboard, and I’d put my two hands on the steering wheel, and I’d take a big deep breath.  In my mind’s eye, I’d purposefully exhale the day, and then I’d drive home.  By the time I got home, my work day was safely in the rearview mirror and I could enjoy my evening unfettered by work and put my stress to rest.

Rituals don’t need to be grandiose religious affairs, they can actually be simple, personal, and brief—and overtime, can powerfully shift the way you live.

Essentially rituals are actions you take that are structured, purposeful, and time-bound in some way. And also, they essentially work to help us move from one state of being to another.  Like from single to married, or from a student to a graduate, or like in my case (and perhaps soon yours) shifting from a stressful work day to a more relaxed and restorative evening. Rituals are also things that you tend to miss if you don’t do them—because they are points in time that we attach meaning to.  Since, we are indeed meaning making creatures, rituals are magnets for meaning.  And they help us shepherd or cultivate meaning to a good purpose.

The options are really endless for what you could do.  And its absolutely worth a try. You can start with something small—a little intention setting each morning to start the day off right.  Or you could do something at the end of the week to help yourself more fully enjoy the weekend.  Or something for Sunday evening to offer gratitude for a few days off and help you mentally prepare for the new work week.

Whatever you choose to focus on, make sure your ritual has 1) intention, 2) structure, and 3) regularity.  Bonus points for something that involves some kind of physical movement of some sort—whether its a stretch, or drinking a coffee, or a full on choreographed dance.  Essentially, it is what you make of it, and it really can be a game changer.

Rituals can ultimately help us to process our stress to let us relax and make the most of our lives.

So, take a just a little slice of time out of your day or your week and make a little ritual for yourself.  Use it to cultivate a little bit of meaning and then watch as your life improves over time. Let me know what you think about this and especially let me know about the kinds of rituals you do for yourself and of course, be well.