Mar 9, 2020
Daily Rituals for Success
Last week I gave you some of my recommendations for daily
rituals like books, podcasts, and mobile app. But this
week I’d like to dig a bit deeper into daily rituals and give
you some ideas and thoughts that might help you to create
a winning formula for success on a daily basis. I hope you
will take these tips and ideas and make them your own.
Find a way to spend time planning out your daily
rituals, because you can really level up with the right plan for
your day.
Setup Yourself Up for Success
The most important thing you need to realize with daily
rituals is that you must set yourself up for success, or your
rituals will become a source of frustration and disappointment.
We have all had big aspirations when we set a new goal or new
years resolution. We have also experienced the disappointment
when we dont follow through due to circumstances outside our
control of due to a lack of motivation or will power. So, its
critically important that you set yourself up “in advance of each
day” to make it easy to follow through on your rituals.
Alexander Graham Bell Said, “Before
anything else,
Preparation is the key to
success.”
You can set yourself up for success by preparing the night
before, scheduling your rituals into your day, and even making sure
the time of day is the most likely time to eliminate distractions.
Also, keep in mind that starting your day with rituals is
preferred in order to get you moving on the right path, but you
should schedule time for your rituals when you are at your “best”
in order to be most effective. Many times you will have
routines and ritual that you do throughout the day.
I personally begin my day with morning rituals and end my day
with a different set of evening rituals. This helps me to
start my day out right and also end my day by winding down.
The I do this, it allows me to create more energy in the
morning and relax for better sleep in the evening.
Choose the Right Rituals
The next thing you will want to do is choose the rituals that
are best for you. Each of us struggle with different things
in our lives, and I always try to create daily rituals that will
help me to overcome challenges I have, as well as build up my
strengths and motivation in key areas of my life. You can
create daily rituals in all areas of your life, including but not
limited to your Mind, Body, Spirit, Relationships, Finances,
Business, Investing, or Lifestyle. Create rituals in areas of
your life you feel you might need the most help in or will help
benefit you the most. Ultimately I feel your Daily Rituals
should Motivate, Inspire or Educate you so that you can Create a
Better Life.
Here are just a few example of Daily Rituals you could choose
that I have personally benefited from over the years….
-
Prayer
-
Meditation
-
Affirmations
-
Workouts
-
Reading eBooks
-
Listening to Audiobooks
-
Listening to Podcasts
-
Nutrition & Supplements
-
Family Time
-
Gratitude Practice
-
Journaling
-
Studying or Education
-
Date Night
-
Music
-
Sleep
One more important thing I want to mention. Try to
create a short list of rituals that align with your goals and
objectives in your life. If you need to acquire a new skill
maybe add that to your day. Or, if you are like me and
don't enjoy getting up in the morning, then an early morning
workout is exactly what you need to get your body moving each
day.
Quality and Consistency over Quantity
Remember the goal is to create rituals that help you
in your life to stay on track and create healthy
habits. Its more important to have just a few key rituals
that you do consistently, than to have big list of rituals that you
never seem to get done. I used to make a list to accomplish a
ton of items each day. I wanted to make sure I
crossed off the boxes in every single area of my life. But, I
found that having a short list of 3-5 rituals in the morning
and 3-5 rituals in the evening is the best for me. I have stayed
far more consistent with a couple of core things to focus
on and stay consistent with.
I like what Tim Ferris say when he said that he has 3-5
rituals on his list, but considers it a “win” if he just
a few of them done. Don’t overwhelm yourself with a long list
of items.
Remember, Consist Effort is the Key to Success in
Life…
So many people start out trying to do anything
and everything they can do to make change in their
lives. But, they dont stay consistent. They don't stay
consistent because they burn out and they don't find a way to
make their goals and desires a part of their everyday life.
You need to create ritual that are part of your lifestyle and
then you will be far more consistent for the long term.
Make it a Routine
If you make your rituals part of your daily routine, you
will create strong habits that will last a lifetime. Plus,
you will also have a structure to guide you through your day.
Let me give you some examples of what I mean…
I always workout first in the morning in order to get the
blood flowing and get my mind awake. I’ve tried to study or
meditate first in the morning, but I just think better (therefore
more productive) when I meditate after a workout. Also, I
always find that I can get far more accomplished (in less
time) if I get my blood flowing first and then move on to other
items on my list.
Another example is that I like to journal and read at
night, because it helps me to wind down my mind for
better sleep. Now this doesnt always
work cause my mind almost never shuts off. But, when I
journal at night, I can recognize my accomplishment or reflect
on what I am grateful for and it helps me to acknowledge that I am
moving forward and I can relax more. So, find ways to place
your rituals in your “daily routine” so that you accomplish
more and it also helps guide you through your day better.
Create Accountability
I want to talk with you about creating more accountability in
your daily rituals for a few different reasons. First, having
some accountability will help you maintain your consistent until it
becomes a habit. Second, having accountability will help to
motivate you when you are not “feeling it”. Finally, having
accountability is a way for you to openly commit to yoru rituals
rather than keep them to yourself. You see, many of us don’t
want people to know that we are committed to our goals and dreams
of creating success, losing weight, learning a new skill, because
we are afraid of what people will say if we fail.
Guess what? Who cares what other people think.
Having daily rituals if for YOUR benefit, so find a way to
hold yourself accountable so that you WILL follow through and you
WILL have more success in your life. Rituals are not a
contest and there is no such thing as Success or Failure with your
rituals. Its only about creating habits for success while
Living Your Best Life…Period
Track Your Rituals
With that said, I do feel it can be important to track your
daily rituals. You’ve heard it before and I’ll continue to
say it…
What you focus on Grows. And what you Track
you will Focus On.
So, grab yourself a planner or a notebook, and start to record
your rituals. You can even use your Mobile Device by
just keeping track in your NOTES app. There are also plenty
of mobile apps you can use like the Strides App for setting
goals and lists each day. Most of the mobile apps I use for
rituals also send me reminders and track my progress
or “streaks” for how many days in a row I’ve been consistent.
Apps like I mentioned last week are great for that.
(Calm meditation, Day One journal, Daily Mastermind, Audible,
etc.)
Make Adjustments
Also, do your best to create a routine but not get to a point
where you are on autopilot. Take time once per week to
identify if you are making progress toward your goals or if maybe
you are hitting a plateau with your workouts and learning.
Always make sure to create adjustments in your rituals, your
routine, and your daily activities if you are not making the
progress you desire. It's great to create, track and maintain
daily rituals, but you want to make sure that they are helping you
to accomplish your goals and desires.
Create a Win
I have one last thing that I want to talk to you
about with this topic of daily rituals, and that is this…
Have patience with yourself. It's not a contest.
Don’t let your rituals become a source of frustration or
disappointment. I used to really get down on myself when I
didn't make it to the gym or forgot to write in my journal.
Rituals are there to help you to become the best version of
yourself, not to help you become more critical of yourself.
This is HUGE.
Ultimately, if you are able to do even a couple of your
rituals each day I encourage you to Mark it a Win in the Win Column
of Your life. Your Goal each day is to Create a Win for
yourself. The more wins you create the better you will feel,
The more confidence and self esteem you will have, and The more you
will Develop into the BEST VERSION of YOU.
George Wright III