Rituals rejuvenate me. They are practices I chose to have in my life to create a healthy rhythm no matter what is going on around and outside of me. To me, a religion is just a package of rituals that have emerged from a particular belief system. Rituals are often only associated with communities, but they can also be habits that individuals adopt to sustain themselves. Your own collection of rituals essentially becomes your own religion or way of life whether all of your rituals come from your religion or not.

The difference between rituals and routines lie in the intention for doing it. Rituals are something you want to do whereas routines are things you feel you have to do. In addition, routines usually have an end goal in mind defined by an output or what you get at the end, whereas with rituals the goal is presence in the moment which is determined by your input. Two people can approach the same activity and for one person it is a ritual and for another it is a routine. For instance, for someone who goes to dance class to become a better dancer, dance class may be a routine. But for someone who goes to dance class for what it does for them in the moment, it is a ritual. If it’s still unclear or unsure, rituals tend to lead to a state of meditation and inner peace, whereas routines usually don’t.

Rituals can be small or big, daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. They don’t have to be religious though they are sacred. Here is a list of rituals my friends have shared with me:

• Eating dessert or at least one sweet a day
• Cleansing my home with sage and watering my plants twice a week
• Eating cereal with my best friend after school and the type of cereal is determined by how the day went
• Meeting up with my Sister Circle every 3 weeks
• Drinking coffee or tea in the morning slowly
• Watching a TV show with my roommate
• Boxing class
• Having lunch with my brother three times a week and coming home at the same time our dad gets off of work
• Washing the dishes

Anything can become a ritual depending on your intention. To the extent that you can find the ritual within your routines, the more full I think you’ll find your life to be.

You’ll also find that many of the world’s greatest thinkers have daily rituals that prepare them to receive inspiration and wisdom. Here’s a list of 25 famous thinkers and their inspiring daily rituals. For example, Buckminster Fuller, one of the world’s great inventors best known for the geodesic dome, documented his life, philosophy and ideas scrupulously by a daily  diary called the Dymaxion Chronofile. You can find a list of other famous diarist here. Of course all diarist don’t become famous, but that may not be their goal. But for some reason, writing in a diary daily has sustained them over the years. We also see it in sports. Michael Jordan’s favorite pre-game meal was steak and potatos which he ate 4 hours before the game for nutrition.

Below are some rituals that have been working for me. You probably already have rituals, but you never used this language. They are things you choose to do—rather than have to do or should do—consistently that sustain you.

My Daily Rituals

Gratitude Journal: Since April 2011, I’ve been keeping a daily gratitude journal. It’s nothing new, but instead of writing in it at the end of the day, I write in it throughout the day capturing amazing moments that I’m grateful for as they occur. I keep it in my back pocket so that every time I sit down, I’m reminded to document something I’m grateful for. It can be as small as someone’s smile in the elevator to as big as closing a new speaking contract. It has helped move me from a competitive mindset of scarcity to a collaborative mindset of abundance. I’m grateful for my gratitude journal for helping me celebrate all of the small graduations, weddings, and births happening in my life every day.

glADS: Living in New York, I am bombarded with advertisements. Every street feels like Time Square. Instead of railing at something I can’t avoid, I’ve taken my passion for collaging and finding the beauty in everything and applied it to advertising and graffiti. Whenever I’m inspired by a message I find on an advertisement or wall, I take a picture of it with my iPhone. It’s amazing how timely some of the messages are. I believe the Universe is always speaking to us through various languages and mediums. You can see some of my photos here.

First Period: After Home Room is First Period. Home Room is time with my lady in the bed just chilling and talking after we wake up. That’s not every day though. First Period is daily, even on weekends. This is what I do for myself, first, period. I give my first hour to myself. It’s like tithing my time. I may meditate, read a book, read random articles, journal, or blog. Whatever I want. It has been a powerful experience and set the tone for the rest of my day knowing that I paid myself first.

My Weekly Rituals

Give something away: I serve as a writer for a group of people that gather money to give away daily to people and organizations that are doing inspiring work. They have selected me to select an organization once a week and write why I chose it. The practice of giving has helped me see how connected everyone’s stories are connected to my story or should I say how my story is to everyone’s stories. I like the seeking process of looking for inspiration in an individual or an organization, but more than often it finds me. It’s so beautiful to see someone receive a gift they didn’t expect but that they deserve just for being who they are and doing what they do.

My Monthly Rituals

Potluck: I love potlucks. They remind me of a principle I believe that life is better when you seek to give more than you take. I’ve met over 300 beautiful people through potluck. Every month it moves to a different person’s home. The host’s guest in addition to existing potluckers makes for a great time. There is always more than enough food and it tastes great because a lot of people make their best dish. When you bring it all together you have a feast. In addition to being fed physically, potluck also feeds me mentally and spiritually. After everyone gets their food, we circle up and have a conversation. Each person puts an anonymous question in a bowl—the question can be about live, love, money, careers…anything. And then the hat is passed around and the person who draws the question attempts to answer first and then the rest of the group chimes in until we think we’ve settled on an insight. It’s always magical and it’s something I look forward to every month. Read more here.

30 Day Do Its: I have a goal setting group called the Successaholics. We meet every month to set one goal that is going to push us outside of our comfort zone. When we set a goal, we also create a cost for not achieving the goal—the cost can be time, money, or embarrassment. By creating a cost, we are essentially betting on ourselves. The positive peer pressure and support helps. Every month isn’t a success, but either way I continue to learn about who I am and what I’m capable of. Learn more here or visit www.30daydoit.com.

My Annual Rituals

Birthday: I don’t party too hard on my birthdays. Instead I do a ritual with close friends because it’s more meaningful for me. Depending on the year, I’ll choose from one of three rituals:
1. Each member of the community affirms me and shares how I’ve inspired them. This is overwhelming and has brought me to tears. I can’t do this one every year. It’s so powerful.
2. I affirm each member of the community for who they are and their contribution to my life. I love this one because people are coming to my birthday and I get to send them off with the best party favor ever. I usually start with who I’ve known longest and go through everyone until I reach my most recent friend. I love this one.
3. Claim that it’s the “Year of _____________” and the community shares it’s wisdom on the topic. This year is the Year of Ritual for me and I’m looking forward to hearing what my community has to say about rituals in general and their own personal rituals that I had no clue about. I want to strengthen my rituals and help others do so as well by learning and sharing the various types of rituals out there so that people can choose or create their own.

MVMT Brunch: Every year my MVMT crew hosts a brunch on the first or second Saturday to bring in the New Year. We created the MVMT New Year’s Guide to help ourselves and others reflect on the past year and create a vision for the upcoming year. Brunch has been our practice for the past 3 years now. We essentially spend a full day together cooking waffles, breaking bread, and sharing what we’ve achieved and hope to achieve.