How to Build Empowering Daily Ritual that Fuel Your Goals
Creating a proper daily ritual is the key to keep yourself productive and organized. According to Marshall Goldsmith: “in every waking hour we are being triggered by people, events, and circumstances that have the potential to change us”. The daily ritual provides an antidote to that constant distraction by helping you concentrate on what matters the most to you and do your best work. In other words, rituals help translate your values into actions.
Why does this process work so well? To start with, it forces us to shine a light of truth and see if what we do in our life is aligned with the values we choose to live by. If we believe something matters, we can set goals congruent with our values and start taking action in that direction. Many people give voice to their values but it is important to work them, not just say them. Character is built by actioning values. It is witnessed in the way you will present yourself to the world, what is important to you and how you live your life. Each moment you can choose to act on the value or not.
Below are 6 questions that have been proven to lead to higher satisfaction in life
1.Did I do my best to be happy?
2.Did I do my best to find meaning?
3.Did I do my best to be engaged?
4.Did I do my best to build positive relationships?
5.Did I do my best to set clear goals?
6.Did I do my best to make progress towards my goals?
STEP 1. Use the template at the end of this document to write the 6 core questions mentioned above and then add some additional questions for other matters you really want to work on and convert these into a series of Did I do my best to…questions. These questions could be anything… something work-related – to listen more attentively, to find more opportunities to give positive feedback, to empower your staff more. They could also be something a lot more personal – to exercise more, to drink less, to spend more time with your family. Even the process of writing questions will help you better understand your own values and whether you live in alignment with what matters most to you.
STEP 2. Rate yourself each day on a 1 – 10 scale. Over the course of a few weeks, you may find yourself giving low ratings for the first few days, but over time as you become more conscious of it you may start to see a gradual or even sudden upwards shift – you may really start to make progress and feel good about it as a new habit is being formed. Of course, if you just find yourself continuing to rate yourself lowly on some questions, it provides you with some really useful data. Ask yourself what is going on, why is it not shifting, is it really important to me?
STEP 3. If you are willing to take on an extra challenge, have your Coach or a trusted friend listen to your answers every day. I promise, your quality of life and levels of happiness will improve significantly!