Daily Rituals

​Monday, November 18th, 2019
DAILY RITUALS
This is what gets me through the day, no joke.

A fellow-writer friend sent me a message this morning:

"How do you do it? With just the things I know you've gone through, how do you come out on top? What do you do to motivate yourself every day? I've got so much I want to do, and yet for some reason, still let things not get done. Any suggestions?

"What do I get done??" I asked.

"Come on, you've been knocked down, picked yourself up, and started a business. What do you do to motivate yourself? 

"I don't do anything. I just love what I do." I replied.

"Thought maybe you had some ritual to keep you going."

Immediately, I thought about what I do every morning when I first wake up. And then the list went on from there. This is what has evolved from 10 years of practicing lots of different philosophies, ideas, programs and exercises. This is what I sent to my friend:

Ritual #1:
I make a mental gratitude list in my head every morning. I say it out loud to myself, usually when I'm in the bathtub or shower.

Ritual #2:
Meditate and Visualize.
Create my day.

Ritual #3:
Coffee
Breakfast
Meds

Ritual #4:
Make the bed.
Wash the dishes.
Pick up around me.
Never leave a mess.

Ritual #5:
Take an action.
Put together a project.
Start gathering the pieces.
Let go of all expectations.

Ritual #6:
Keep moving on to the next project without skipping a beat. I don't let things get me down, ever. 

Ritual #7:
Eat well.
Drink lots of water.
Rest.
Walk.

Ritual #8:
Listen to good music all day long.
Limit phone time (I barely ever talk or text.)
Limit social media (use it for work.)
Stay off the computer (unless working.)
No T.V. 
Read articles of interest every day.

Ritual #9:
Be present in every moment.
Make time for my closest relationships.
Schedule self-care days.
Be mindful.

Ritual #10:
I don't do it all. I delegate and empower others.
I pray before every meal, giving gratitude.

That's about it. He asked me what a "self-care day" meant. This is what I said:

My self-care day looks like this:

• Putting my feet in the mud, detoxing my body.
• Long hot bathes, using Himalayan mineral salts and essence oils.
• Be naked as much as possible.
• Turn off all notifications on my phone.
• No looking at emails, messages or texts.
• No social media, no working.
• Gentle stretches, hip-openers and lower back, anything that feels good, opening up my heart, throat and pelvis.
• Eat lots of yummy healthy foods, drink tea and cucumber water.
• Facial, nail and hair treatments, all natural.
• Listen to soothing music.
• Meditation and breathing.
• Alone time, no going out in public or being around people.
• Sleep, relax, rest.
• Sage, sage, sage.

He mentioned that he doesn't do self-care days, but he does some of the things in my rituals list. I think most of us neglect ourselves. Think about it, what do we put first? Our jobs, our families, our houses, our cars. For some, putting ourselves first sounds selfish. For me, I can't do much of anything if I neglect myself. I will crash, and I mean hard. I schedule self-care days on my calendar, but even then sometimes I skip it.

This morning's message chat with my friend sparked this Blog, and it was a good reminder to myself. I guess I do have rituals, and I do know what I'm doing, even though most of the time I don't realize it. By the way, it's not like I have a rituals checklist everyday either. These are the things I do on a daily basis without thinking about it, they just come naturally.

What am I doing today? Well, it's 2:00 in the afternoon, and I'm on Ritual #5. I'm putting together my business's 2020 marketing plan.

Love always,
Zushka