First steps can be hard. We have the best intentions to make time for a new project or an assignment or exercise, and we don’t begin!
Creating a simple ritual can help you get started. It can offer you an entry point. It can transform your experience of beginnings – giving you space from fear, doubt and overwhelm, for example, and supporting an experience of intentionality, ease, or playfulness.
All of us have habitual rituals. We might make coffee before reading the newspaper. We create a to-do list before beginning work. We read before going to sleep. We have a moment of silence before saying a prayer. Ironically, we also have unintentional rituals that get in the way of taking first steps. Perhaps you surf the internet when you think of working on your marketing plan, or get a snack when you might be exercising. Sabotaging rituals take over, and keep you from stepping in and beginning.
A ritual can be a kind and gentle way to begin something challenging. It can also take away the mystery about what comes next. You’re on the yoga mat, you say OM, and you begin your practice. You make a cup of tea and open your journal. You put on Beethoven and begin to stretch. As you repeat the ritual day-to-day, your fears and doubts may become replaced with comfort and routine. You don’t have to think, you gently glide into the water.
While planning my wedding, I created a ritual to counter my fears and the overwhelm associated with planning an event for 170 people. Every time I began working on logistics, I put on the “thai buddha” tiara that friends had made as an engagement gift. It was a reminder not to take myself seriously and that it was okay to be a bit of a princess! When I was done with event planning, I took the tiara off. Back to the Laura who finds logistics and catering overwhelming tasks.
The Oxford English Dictionary says a ritual is a “prescribed order of performing a religious or other devotional service.”
By creating a ritual to enter your work-space or a project that’s been eluding you, you can make that time sacred. You can honor yourself for choosing to begin. The ritual doesn’t need to be elaborate. It can be a making a cup of tea, turning on music you enjoy, or taking a brisk walk to get your energy flowing. And, when you’re done, you can also choose a closing ritual. You can wash the tea cup, put the record away, or take a big stretch.
Creating a ritual is a deliberate and affirmative act. Affirm what is important to you by developing a simple routine to get started. Take the first step and set your course! And have a little fun with your easing in rituals. Replace fears with humor, replace doubt with kindness.
Feel free to share rituals that are working for you. We all want to learn ways to support taking steps toward our goals.
