I expect without thinking you get up washed and dressed in the same way each day. You possibly eat the same breakfast each day, sit in the same chair to eat and watch the same programmes.
These habits or routines are great in allowing us to do them automatically so we can think of something else at the same time.
However we lose being in the present moment, being conscious of what we are choosing to do. Auto-pilot kicks in and before we know it we are out of the house and in work or coming back from the school run.
What have we missed seeing? What have we not heard because we have been too much in our heads thinking ahead and doing things automatically? Have we considered what we need today?
Habits are often easy to create – as a saying goes “bad habits are like a comfy bed easy to fall into and hard to get out of”. Only you judge whether habits are bad or good – they are just ways of behaving.
What can get lost in our daily habits is the conscious choice to bring in ways that support our health for that day.
If a daily way of being brings in meditation or exercise then we are consciously choosing to do this, for me this is more of a chosen routine or ritual rather than a habit.
When we choose a ritual for our wellbeing then it strengthens our resolve and creates a value about ourselves. When we value ourselves our attitude, our perception, our mood enhances which then ripples out to others throughout the day.
Chosen routines need not be time consuming – 5 minutes in the morning or 15 minutes in the evening is great. The activity or exercise you do will have some value and meaning for you – it is something that you believe in that will support you as a person.
Here are some of the routines I do. Some days I may only do one, on other days I may combine a few. It does depend upon time but I am consciously making the decisions what I need and able to do for that day.
- Drink a couple of mugs of hot water in the morning before I eat breakfast.
- If possible I eat breakfast after 8.30am so I have had about 14 hours of fasting over night.
- I go through Donna Eden’s daily energy routine.
- I sit quietly for 5- 15 minutes giving myself Reiki.
- If possible go out for a walk before lunch.
- Towards the end of the day I spend just 5 minutes in meditation or Ho’oponopono chants.
- Complete the day by naming what has gone well and what I am grateful for.
It seems a lot to fit in especially during a busy day but doing just one or two of these routines, really helps me get through that day. In fact the busier I am the more I would benefit from partaking in all these rituals.
So in essence the biggest difference is that when you embark on a ritual, instead of a habit, you are mindfully choosing to do this for yourself – you are looking after yourself rather than operating on auto-pilot.
Start to create your specific chosen routines!