Aristotle said 'you are what you repeatedly do'. Most of us have no idea that what we repeatedly do creates our lives, we think our future is shaped by big events, the decisions we make, the thoughts we have but, this book will show you that it is your daily actions that are the key. Over the last few decades neuroscientists and psychologists have discovered that there is more power in 'I do' than 'I think'. However, if an action is repeated enough times it becomes habit but habits lack thought, consideration and presence. To effect long-lasting meaningful change our actions need to be filled with a sense of personal meaning and power – they need to be ritualized. Creating personal ritual in our lives allows us to bring the presence of the sacred into the everyday. The rituals in this book have been designed as symbolic acts providing a framework for anyone to use to create positive change in their lives. The 7 morning rituals are designed to help you 'wake with determination', the 7 afternoon rituals focus on 'living on purpose', and the 7 evening rituals are about 'retiring with satisfaction'.
at least 2 problems with this Now from a lot of the books I've read recently on improving my life, I've noticed that they suggest trying one new thing at a time. Theresa Cheung suggests doing all 21 of these at a time. And if you fail to do them for the 21 days straight you have to start again. I believe this is what is called setting someone up to fail.
Secondly; getting out of bed earlier isn't a ritual, nor is taking a selfie to me a ritual. These are just two of the HABITS she suggests trying, some are a bit more ritualistic but to me a ritual style bath, for example, involves laying out the soft robes for afterwards, selecting a candle and bath smells, picking the book(s) and drink and music and turning off notifications before slipping into the warm water and r e l a x. That's more of a ritual and what I kinda expected out of this book. How to make the experiences of your life more special.
I also spotted that one of the cititations was from the Daily Fail. Really?
It might suit someone looking to inject a little something more into their lives but, and it's a big but, I would do a few at a time, they're split into morning, evening and night and I'd pick one from each to try for 21 days and then maybe add more, but it's very prescriptive and not everyone functions the same. We are not all interchangeable and ritual should exhalt that not swallow it.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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7 June, 2018:
Finished reading
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7 June, 2018:
Reviewed