On daily rituals
What you repeatedly do on daily basis will gradually accumulate momentum that can empower you to complete the biggest projects and accomplish such goals that are usually perceived impossible. Daily rituals appear to be too simple to pay attention to but have such an immense power that can uplift the most gigantic obstacles. “A solid routine fosters a well-worn groove for one’s mental energies and helps stave off the tyranny of moods.” Mason Currey “A day is too short and nothing much can be done and it’s ok to lose a day or two”. So we often think. We continue to lose many of such days in unplanned activities and half-done and half-hearted projects. “One day I will start all over and will work hard on my big project”, so we dream. Building a house starts with one brick at a time. If we don’t care about one brick, we don’t care about the whole house. In order to build your life, one should focus on building his or her day first. If you build one day, there is a chance that you continue such a day and build your entire life. We all love the freedom of doing whatever we like in a day, but submitting to such a craving would cost us our own success in life. Alternatively, we should submit to a list of things that we commit to doing on daily basis, and stay patient until we see the fruit of our consistency. Keeping a list of daily rituals is a common habit of successful people. Whether you like to be a successful entrepreneur, a CEO of a public company, a director of a multinational non-for-profit organization, a writer, or a reward-winning movie producer, you need to know what the most important thing is for you to do to get there and then decide to work on it every day. A writer might commit to a daily few hours of writing, a politician might commit to reading while a businessman might commit to meeting with his key staff every morning. You may have one or multiple daily rituals, but you need to have daily rituals in order to bring success into your life. Daily rituals are not just for big goals but for keeping us healthy and prepared. There are few daily rituals that we all can share, regardless of what our professions are. Here is the list of some of the most common daily rituals practiced by highly effective people around the world. You may already have one or more of them. Meditation Most people prefer to do meditation in the early morning when it’s calm and peaceful, the air is fresh and they can prepare themselves for a good day. But you can do it at any time that works best for you and your schedule. Visualization This is an amazing technique to see the future you are going toward and prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for any challenge that might come that day for the sake of the future you envision in the morning. Planning and reviewing It’s obvious that a day that starts with a good plan works much better for you and a review at the end of the day will tell you what you can learn for the next day to improve. Reading You can read every day or every other day but as long as you keep a habit of reading regularly, you are feeding your mind proactively in order to improve your thoughts and therefore to improve your life. Exercise You can exercise as little as twenty minutes or as long as two hours depending on what is your goal for the exercise but not having the habit of exercising at least three times per week is not an option. Journaling Journaling is not for children only who would write about their days. Many great adult leaders in the past and present have had the habit of journaling. Write about your day, write about what’s in your mind and keep them for yourself, it frees your mind, clears your thoughts, and gives you a better perspective about your life. Do you have any daily ritual(s)? If yes, tell us about them and tell us what has been their impact on your life. If the answer is no, think about it and see what keeps you from not building some.
Systems and standards
It’s fun to have the freedom of working however you like to work. Being free from rules, standards and procedures give you a sense of being limitless and open. But building standards and systems improve efficiency and speed up your growth. It’s good to have a balance of both to enhance both efficiencies as well as effectiveness.