This post is by Anthony Savage of Sparta Health
- Why daily rituals matter
- How to make your day more structured
- The importance of having a morning routine
- Practicing gratitude and living in the moment
We live in a world that is constantly changing. This obvious statement couldn’t be more relevant in 2021 where we are often surprised by new rules and regulations that alter our daily lives and interfere with the way we always used to do things: go to work, run our business, spend our free time or simply interact with friends and family.
Some people are naturally more inclined to accept change and embrace the new reality, while others struggle with the lack of stability and uncertain future. And that’s where daily rituals come extremely useful.
By developing certain habits and sticking to a couple of activities repeated on regular basis, we not only introduce a structure and order into our lives, but also maintain much-needed feelings of balance and stability.
What are daily rituals and how they can help with our overall mental health and wellbeing? Let’s have a closer look at some examples.
How to make your day more structured
Daily rituals are simple actions repeated on regular basis that help you be more present and introduce more structure into your life. They allow you live a more balanced life and focus on simple yet important moments that otherwise would go unnoticed.
Having a daily/weekly/monthly routine gives us a much-needed sense of security and keeps us more grounded.
A simple way to get started is to create a weekly schedule of activities and keep repeating them until they become a habit. Every single one should be cultivated for at least 3 weeks as that’s the approximate amount of time that is needed to develop a new habit.
Set certain times throughout your day to incorporate all the important things into your daily routine: a meeting with a friend, daily walk, weekly hiking trip, etc. You will be surprised how repeating the activities that you enjoy will introduce more peace and security into your life and help you deal with occasional feelings of fear on anxiety.
“The key to forming good habits is to make them part of your 'rituals.' I have a morning ritual, afternoon ritual, and Sunday ritual. It's one way to bundle good habits into regular times that you set aside to prepare yourself for the life you want. Rituals help you form habits.” - Lewis Howes
The importance of having a morning routine
Ask any successful person or a busy entrepreneur and they will all give you the same answer: the way you start your day has a significant impact on your overall mood, efficiency and productivity.
While many people like to start their morning with meditation or a quick workout, others focus on planning out their day and keeping their body in top condition by having a nutritious breakfast and taking time to get ready for the challenges ahead of them.
One of the best habits you can develop is waking up at the same time every morning (the earlier, the better!) and making sure that you have enough time for all the little rituals that you choose to incorporate into your life.
It’s important to start your day with a positive and balanced mindset that sets the tone for the rest of your day. Consider listening to a powerful, uplifting podcast every single morning (such as Les Brown or Tony Robbins) so you can develop a winning mindset and stay calm when faced with stressful situations throughout the day.
All negative news, work emails, and distracting social media updates should wait for a later time of the day. Don’t check your phone first thing in the morning as it’s the easiest way to lose control and balance being dragged in a different direction that you wouldn’t like to go.
Daily exercise is one of the most important elements of a healthy lifestyle. Starting your day with a couple of stretching exercises, a short yoga practice, jogging or a swimming session will make a huge difference in maintaining a positive mindset, releasing stress, and keeping you young and healthy for longer.
Early morning is the best time of the day to handle all the difficult tasks that require special attention and significant amount of energy. Our brain is fresh and works better after waking up. The ability to focus and stay creative is much higher than later on in the day. Use it to your advantage!
Practicing gratitude and living in the moment
The importance of slowing down and appreciating everything we already have in our lives should never be underestimated. Gratitude is one of the most powerful tools to achieve satisfaction and happiness in our daily lives. Every evening take time to reflect on all the good things that happened to you that day and focus on everything that brings you joy. Learn to appreciate little things and find joy in simple moments. Train yourself to concentrate on your achievements and positive aspects of your life instead of worrying about things you don’t have.
If you practice this type of thinking for a while, it will became a habit and will totally change the way you look at the reality around you. It’s probably one of the most simple yet often neglected steps to achieve more joy and fulfilment in your life.
And here we reach another important subject which is being present and living in the moment as opposed to staying in the past or focusing too much on the future. Once you understand a simple yet powerful concept that what we really have is NOW, everything else will be put into perspective and your life will automatically become more simple.
Let’s do a simple task. Think about the last time you were really happy. What were you doing? How did you feel? What brought those intense feelings of joy and satisfaction?
We are most happy when we are truly immersed in something. Be it an activity, a new experience, a daily ritual that we enjoy doing. In those rare moments we tend to forget about the whole world and fully focus our attention on just one action without going back to the past and craving for the future. It’s an ability that we can all learn through daily meditation and mastering certain mental techniques. Our mind is like a muscle that can be trained and adjusted. It is possible to achieve a balanced, happy mindset without any artificial sources such as drugs or alcohol. The joy is already inside us.
One of the biggest traps of the happiness concept is the common belief that in order to be satisfied with our lives we need to posses certain things or qualities. Nothing could be further from the truth. By cultivating daily rituals, developing good habits, and appreciating small moments throughout your day, you will be able to create a more balanced life that will eventually allow you to feel happier in the long term.
Good luck with your journey!
About Anthony Savage
Anthony Savage is the Medical Services Manager at Sparta Health, having joined the team in 2017 and is responsible for the overall operational delivery of our high quality services to our clients. He has a solid background in workplace physiology, health and safety, as well over 12 years of delivering, and holding senior management positions, for leading injury and condition management providers.
He is known for his innovative approach in his design and execution of services and his ability to build enduring relationships.