Dogs Don't Know They Can't (Part 2 of 3)

Step 2: Establish your rituals.

A ritual can be defined as a solemn ceremony consisting of actions that are performed in a specific, predetermined order. Why do you need to establish rituals in order to develop habitual sustainability? The reason is chaos.

The world’s natural state is chaos! We spend billions upon billions of dollars in order to bring order to chaos. Infrastructure, public schools, local, state, and federal government, etc. We don’t spend all that money because it is fun, we do it because it is necessary to eliminate the chaos at the macro level so that we can enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness at the micro level. In our personal lives (the micro level) chaos abounds (if it didn’t we would be having this conversation), though it looks a little different than it does at the macro level. Here chaos thrives under the guise of poor time management, clutter, the distraction of social media, a 24 hours news cycle and being plugged in from morning until night, kids to feed, a house to clean, a work project (school project?) to complete, a pet to walk, a lawn to mow, and an easy chair in front of the TV that is far too comfortable. All of it conspires to prevent you from accomplishing that which you set out to do. A ritual will help you bring order to the chaos so that you can accomplish what you want.

Let’s revisit my shoulder, post-surgery. Step 1 was complete. It was time to build a framework of therapy and exercises that required little thought, had zero set up time, used minimal gear, could be done before every workout, and would help me improve my shoulder health and function. That framework became (and remains) my daily pre-workout ritual. If the shoulder therapy doesn’t get done I can’t workout; no exceptions. I need 24 minutes to complete it which requires me getting to the gym a minimum of 30 minutes before the start of class. That means I grab my cup of covfefe and leave the house 45 min early. It is all part of the ritual.

You will find rituals particularly effective at getting you moving and out of the house on time.

I WANT YOU TO COMPLETE STEP 2 and I WANT TO HELP YOU. Let’s build a ritual that will support you accomplishing what you want. It doesn't matter what it is that you want to do. Eat better, get into the gym more often, start a new chapter in your life; it doesn't matter. Email me the details, or we can chat it up on the phone. Either way, we will develop a ritual guaranteed to move you closer to habitual sustainability.

Semper Fi,

Coach Robby