Habits, practices and rituals... how to bring your magic into your everyday!
We all have habits, rituals and practices in our every day lives, whether we realise it or not. We may not necessarily label them as such and therefore miss the opportunity to support our wellbeing in the most simple of ways.
In this blog, I hope to assist you in bringing awareness to mindless actions that may be transformed into powerful rituals for transformation or discarded as no longer serving your highest potential.
“We are what we repeatedly do” - Aristotle
So what’s the difference between habits, rituals and practices? Let’s have a closer look…
What is a habit?
Habits are behaviours and actions that we have repeated so often that they become automatic. This is a clever function of the mind to conserve energy by reducing our cognitive load so that we do them practically without noticing.
Some common habits are flossing before brushing your teeth, flicking the light on as you enter a room, crawling out of bed and going straight to the coffee machine. You don’t think before doing these things, they are habitual… for most people, around half of daily actions are habitual.
What this means is that most of what you do, how we behave, what we think is the product of an automated system… the good news is that it can be updated. A lot of my work consists of doing this on the subconscious level, it’s fast and effective this way… but there are lots of ways we can create big change by simply questioning our habits and deciding to let go of what does not support our wellbeing.
Ask yourself, what habits serve me? What habits are detrimental to my wellbeing? How can I be more intentional about creating small habits that will have a big positive effect of my overall health and wellbeing? It’s all about starting small and building up…
Healthy habits may be tiny actions but they add up over time. A great way to support yourself in building up healthy habits to support your wellbeing is to have reminders in your line of sight (on the fridge, in the car, on your desk).
I highly recommend my friend Dr Amee Brown’s Health and Wellness cards, a deck of 50 beautiful cards to remind you of the simple things that will add up to create big changes.
You can find them here.
What is a practice?
A practice is an intentional set of actions taken to develop a skill. Through practice, we establish connections in the brain and strengthen pathways to support new habits. It’s the process of building the muscle to support our intention.
Mindfulness is a practice, it’s an intentional habit that supports our wellbeing. It is a learned skill. It takes time for this practice to become second nature but the more we practice, the easier it gets.
Mindfulness is a life-changing practice, that will increase wellbeing in all areas of your life. To support you in getting started living intentionally, I have created a 4 week training where I guide you step by step… You can find more info here
What is a ritual?
Rituals are a series of intentional habits and practices that are heart-led. By connecting inwards to your intention, you charge the action with your own blend of magic!
Rituals are incredibly powerful because they provide some of our most basic needs as human beings: comfort and connection, within ourselves and with others.
COMFORT
Our minds love the familiar. When we feel like we are floating around in a sea of overwhelm, the comfort of familiarity is like raft that anchors us back to a feeling of safety and calm amongst the chaos.
Think about the bedtime routine of reading a story to little children, this is a daily ritual that provides certainty and reassurance. No matter what happens during the day, this is how it will end, with comfort and a sense of calm… this is what rituals provide for children of any age!
In my own life, a simple yet powerful ritual I do every day is to take a candle-lit shower. Once the kids are in bed and the house is (finally!) quiet, it helps me reset, clear my energy, let go of the day and relax. This is a simple example of how we can turn a daily occurrence into a nourishing experience. It doesn’t take up a lot of time or cost a lot of money, it’s a simple and easy ritual. I am going too take a shower anyway… so why not make it an enriching experience?
CONNECTION
Through ritual, we become purposeful and enhance our connection with ourselves and others, we invite in a sense of belonging and commnunity. I believe this is the antidote to one of the most soul-destroying issues of our time: loneliness.
Through the The Soul Strategy women’s circles that I hold fortnightly, even though the attendees and themes vary, one thing that remains the same is this deep craving for connection, to ourselves and others.
Connecting to Self through a daily ritual is a powerful self-healing tool. You may consider a daily journalling exercise or a creative challenge to tune inwards and take time out of your day to nurture yourself.
Sharing rituals with a group is a deeply nourishing process as we come together to support one another, we find meaning in the mundane. The simple act of sharing stories in circle or around the dinner table brings us home to a sense of belonging.
Calm & Connected is my 4 week signature course to help you get out of your head and into your heart, learn all the practical tools to live intentionally and develop rituals that match your lifestyle.
More info on Calm + Connected
With love, always,
Cha, The Soul Strategist
