The difference between a habit and ritual is intention. Base definition. Habits are formed, according to the Google machine, between 18 and 264 days. The average time for an action to become automatic is 66 days.
Rituals tend to have two purposes: celebration and thanksgiving or purposely asking/focusing on a wanted outcome. Whatever the intention, it can be done in a group or individually in a religious/spiritual setting or in one’s own home.
So how then can one move a habit from automatic behavior to ritual? Is there a need for props and incantations? I would argue no.
While those things may help in the end they are tools for focus of intent.
When I get up in the morning the first thing I do (besides the physical need to use the bathroom) is play my logic puzzle on my phone. It is habit. However, it serves an intentional purpose. I use it to gage how awake or focused my brain is, to judge how I disoriented I might feel after a rough night’s sleep.
Beyond the logic puzzle, which one might not see the ritualistic nature in, I have a morning routine that for the most part is intentional and if I don’t do it I feel “off” all day. For most people if they don’t get their daily morning cup of coffee this is the case. The question is it purely a psychological or physical response.
For me messing up my routine causes a Spiritual or Emotional response as well. I find I am more irritable and snappy. My anxiety level is higher and I have a harder time focus in general all day.
One of the rituals which most might agree that in the traditional sense is ritual is the writing of what I am grateful for in my gratitude journal. More on that later. This along with the logic puzzle and drinking a cup of coffee, listening to the news, and eating breakfast make up what I am calling a habitual-ritual. Things that while mostly automatic have the element of intention needed to form a ritual.
Not only do I have a morning habitual-ritual I have a night one as well. If there are dirty dishes in the sink and I did not set up the coffee pot to brew in the morning I feel “off” when I go to bed which in turn effects my sleep which in turn effects how I approach the next day.
Habitual-rituals are important and can be changed to suite one’s needs. In fact, taking notice of what habits one does through out the day may help to figure out what does not serve a purpose anymore. The first step being present quickly shows in awareness of habits.