How often do you brush your teeth? It sounds like a silly question, and your answer is, of course: every day. You don’t even think about it anymore. It just happens like clockwork. As a result, you have a prettier smile, less tooth decay or gum disease, and far fewer dental bills. In other words, this simple daily ritual is perpetually transformative.
Why You Need Daily Rituals
In an overstimulating and stressful world, our minds have been spun into a tizzy. We feel powerless to control what’s going on in our heads, much less be focused and disciplined enough to change our lives.
Mass media plants slick mantras of advertising in our minds, seducing us into believing we can be happier, more successful, and sexier without making any changes—all we have to do is consume an endless array of products. As a result, we’ve been disenfranchised from our inherent power to heal, grow, and manifest our fullest potential, and despite all the material abundance in our lives, we suffer.
The key to unlocking the power inherent within us is sustained and devoted daily rituals. As the ancient texts of yoga remind us, our thoughts lead to our actions. Our actions become our habits. Our habits form our character, and our character determines our destiny.
Daily rituals are the act of taking positive thoughts and putting them into action. We are what we think because what we think determines what we do. And once a positive ritual takes hold in our lives, we don’t even need to think about it anymore. It’s like brushing our teeth. It just happens.
You can connect with and reclaim your power starting right now, and if you stick with it, you can transform your life. Here are five keys to support you on your journey.
Five Keys to Daily Rituals
1. Set an Intention
Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and ask your deeper self, “What would I most like to shift or manifest in my life right now?” Form the answer into a very simple, positive statement of intention.
Related: Set Your Goals – The First Step to Success
2. Create Small Victories
Now ask yourself, “What is one small, doable step I can take in this direction?” All too often we try to make massive changes in our lives all at once and set ourselves up for defeat. Create a small victory instead. It will soon lead to bigger victories.
3. Have a Power Symbol
Who deeply touches and inspires you? Perhaps it’s a loved one, a dear friend, or a great teacher. Make them your power symbol, and visualize your commitment to them every time you need a boost.
4. Honor the Daily Rituals
Just as you brush your teeth every day, remind yourself of your intention first thing every morning. Take your small, gentle steps in that direction with confidence and conviction. Don’t let anything get in your way. Reaffirm the positive habit every day until it becomes your nature.
Related: How to Stay Motivated and Achieve Your Goal
5. Release the Outcome
We have been conditioned to want and expect it all now, effortlessly. True transformation takes time. As you honor your ritual every day, release your need for a quick outcome. Just do it because you know in your heart it’s good for you. The outcome will present itself when it, and you, are ready.
Remember, you created the positive habit of daily brushing even though you hated it as a kid when your parents made you do it. Your oral hygiene is important but pales in comparison to your spiritual well-being and the fullest expression of the amazing person you truly are.
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Brad Willis a.k.a. Bhava Ram is a former NBC war correspondent and recipient of the prestigious Alfred I. DuPont Award for his work inside Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. Self-healed from a broken back, failed surgery, and stage four cancer, he is now devoted to teaching yoga and Ayurveda. In his book Warrior Pose: A War Correspondent’s Memoir, he tells the story of his transformational journey of radical self-healing.
Featured photo by Rodrigo_Amorim