Creating Rituals That Work: Tiny Shifts Equal Big Benefits

We all have good intentions at the start of the New Year and many of us set resolutions to start the year off right. But, it’s no good setting unrealistic goals that we know we will never achieve. Instead, let’s focus on meaningful goals that are simple, easy and satisfying.

The key is to set yourself up for success by starting small. Because, tiny shifts = BIG benefits.

We put ourselves under a lot of pressure to do it all - but the truth is — who wants to burn out doing everything for everyone?

Setting ourselves up for success means taking smaller, bite-sized chunks out of our to-do list, ditching the idea that we want to lose 20 pounds by the summer and then find yourself disappointed because you didn’t achieve your goal. Instead, focus on how you want to feel, what type of person you want to be and the habits or rituals you can build to get yourself there.

Getting clear about who you are and what you want is key to making change. What would a good life look like to you? How would it make you feel? What really matters to you? What are you core values?

In January, I ran a Vision Board workshop and invited everyone to define their values and create a vision of what they want their life to be. From there, we focus on creating daily rituals to make sure those visions come true - simple, daily habits that bring us closer to those goals.

So, how do we build a good habit, or ritual?

I recently listened to the podcast, Dare to Lead, by Brene Brown, where James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, spoke about the 4 laws of behavioural change that make a habit stick. I want to share his thoughts with you.

1. Prompts must be as obvious as possible - so you’ve created a vision board, now place it somewhere you can see it every day - on your wall, on your desktop, on your phone. Every time you walk past it or look at your phone, you see the image you want to visualise.
2. It must be attractive, so you are motivated to do it - well, this is an easy one, you’ve made a beautiful vision board, so it’s only natural that you want to stare at its beauty every day. Maybe you’ve even hung it on your wall?
3. Make it easy and simple to do - Spend a few minutes each day, every day, looking at your vision board and visualising it into reality. What would it really feel like to have what you desire? For example, if your goal is to ”Read 30 books”, break it down to "Read before bed every night" and start by "Reading one page". Reducing a habit into a 2-minute first step means its less daunting and easier to do on a consistent basis.
4. It must be satisfying - If you’re like me, making your vision board was a lovely way to express your creativity and visualise your dreams. Spend two minutes viewing it each day and really soak in your dreams and feel your desires as though they are already true.

Creating a ritual doesn’t have to be big — start small. Maybe it’s spending a few minutes meditating on your vision board. Maybe it’s journaling about what you are grateful for. Maybe it’s a few minutes of breath work or yoga to start the day right.

As James Clear says, ‘Make every action a vote for what kind of person you want to become. Building habits is becoming the version of yourself you want to be.’ And our vision boards allow us to clearly see what it is we want to visualise into our lives.

Dedicate a few minutes daily to create rituals that work for you and see how quickly your life shifts towards your dreams.

Join me all year as I focus on a different topic each month to help you visualise a thriving life in 2022. This year long programme is aimed at giving you tools, support and accountability to care deeply about your own happiness and wellbeing. Check out the topics we’ll cover this year