My Comments: OK, its Monday and near the end of the year and we’re all tired of politics and conflics involving the Fiscal Cliff. And then that God Awful incident in Connecticut that cries out for someone to show some leadership and force upon us a discussion about guns in this country.

Ritual is apparently ingrained in us. I have a morning ritual, and our dog has a morning ritual that involves coming in the bedroom about dawn and making it known that he’s up and ready for his walk. And while its the middle of December, the sun is shining and it’s 70 degrees outside. And I’m in here putting together a blog post. Talk about ritual.

By Shawn Greene

“Getting a handle on my motivation has been the biggest thing.”
—J. Smith, Independent, Tacoma, WA

The daily Success Ritual has great power. By reverse-engineering the process—by understanding where its power comes from—we can take advantage of that power.

Now, the truth is, rituals can form around anything. Morning coffee, the cool-down lap after a hard run, removing the staples from a bag of Chinese take-out. However, these also exist as banal habits or routines. Besides, how can a ritual associated with morning coffee really compare to things like prayer, examining life-goals, or meditating?

What takes routine from banal habit to powerful ritual are two things: repetition, and mindfulness.

Why Repetition Has Power

When we repeat thoughts and actions we build, strengthen and maintain neural connections in our brain and body. Those neural connections have thought, physical feeling, and emotion linked to them—and vice versa.

We strengthen how we feel and think—strengthen neural connections—through repetition. This process is responsible for everything from being able to tie our shoes without looking, to calculating the Rule of 72, to feeling confident as a public speaker. We also build new connections that can override existing connections in the same way. (This is why new habits are required to get rid of old habits.)

The holistic connection can work for good, or for ill. For example, a high percentage of nerves connect to our abdomen. We do indeed have gut feelings! Feeling nervous happens in our brain and in our belly. On the other hand, with practice we can think ourselves into lowering our blood pressure using biofeedback and/or meditation. We can also think ourselves into feeling upbeat, motivated, organized, grateful, and self-confident. Our thoughts can change routine into powerful ritual, which is where mindfulness comes in.

What is Mindfulness?

The concept of mindfulness covers both thought and action.

Mindfulness is about being aware of how you think and feel. What’s important to you? Are your goals truly meaningful or there because someone said you “should” have them? Are you living the life you want or are you on your way? Are you happy? Angry? Confused? Confident? This aspect of mindfulness is not so much about stopping to smell the roses. It’s more about making the effort to recognize whether you want to do that or not, and how that choice affects you.
Mindfulness is also about taking control of your actions and reactions. This includes controlling how you react your own thoughts and feelings. This aspect of mindfulness is indeed about stopping to smell the roses, but only if you choose to that because it’s important to you.

Mindfulness and Repetition: What They Mean for Your Success Ritual

In order for your routine to be more than that—in order to have a powerful Ritual driving and supporting internal incentives—you need to apply mindfulness. Though you may find the best practices in this report inspiring, simply copying them will not provide that power. You will have to determine which elements very specifically endorse your mission as an Advisor. You will also have to determine which elements endorse your personal missions as parent, partner, volunteer, artist—whichever hats you also wear.

For many Advisors, this requirement means developing or strengthening the ability to apply mindfulness. Ritual: How the Magic of Habit Fuels Daily Success, and the process described in the included Ritual Builder, will help you succeed with this.

As for repetition: In order for your Ritual to have full power, you need to come up with something that can and will fit into your life on a frequent basis. Daily, if possible. To get a sense of which elements work sustainably for a variety of Advisors all over the country, we surveyed hundreds of these individuals.

Survey Results

Our comprehensive survey asked Advisors which elements they include in their Success Ritual. Below are the results, most of which come from Advisors who have been using a Ritual for more than three years:
• Statements of gratitude / blessings 77%
• Specific prayers that are part of one’s faith 56%
• Meditation or visualization 54%
• Affirmations* 49%
• Exercise 54%
• Reading 54%
• Writing 46%
• Listen to motivational audio programs* 20%
• Certain food, drink, vitamins 33%
• Mission Statement 32%
Effective Success Rituals are personal and unique to each person. What one person does may not work well for another: it’s best to design your own to fit your life and goals.

Effective Success Rituals are systematic. Though you may need to experiment and revise, you don’t want to do that for long. The goal is a routine you can do every day.

Many of those who use Success Rituals to a very high degree of efficacy (Success Ritual Masters) say they had to push their personal envelope. You, too, may benefit from trying new things.