How Rituals Can Help You Become A Better Parent
Do you want to get more out of life with your performance or happiness level? Do you believe there’s not enough time to get everything done? Are you looking for a new and creative approach to time management?
We all know that as a parent, 24 hours is not enough for everything that we have to do, and it also takes a lot of energy to be the best mom and dad. Fortunately, there is always a way. If you relate to any of these questions, this episode is for you.
Today, I am going to share how rituals can help you improve your performance and productivity as a parent and savor every moment with your kids.
A Holistic Approach To Energy
When we talk about energy, it’s not enough to tackle just one type of energy. To achieve utmost performance and productivity, it’s important to look at the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energies.
In parenting, you need to have all the energy to perform well as a parent. And when you’re lacking one or two of them, you cannot be your best self to your kids.
Rituals
Most of the time, when we say ritual, people think that it has something to do with religion or practice in culture, but that's not true. Rituals are positive and consciously acquired behaviors. And these are powerful tools that can effectively manage our energy capacity.
For example, I wanted my kids to meditate. Initially, it worked. My eldest would do it because he was curious and it was something new for him. However, as he got older, he didn’t want to meditate anymore. Back then, I would end up forcing him to meditate and use all of my energy just to make him do something he doesn’t want to do. I became a controlling mom and it didn’t serve both of us.
I realized this is not the kind of parenting I want to model to my kids. Instead, I want to be a conscious parent and make sure that I remind myself that parenting is not about my child's behavior, rather, It's about me. How I self-regulate and how I transform my energy to be an effective parent.
And what worked for me is practicing rituals. We came up with an evening ritual that we do as a family. After dinner, we pray, do our chanting, and have seven minutes of daily calm meditation. It has been amazing and a game-changer for our family.
Based on research, most of our actions are driven by rituals. They help us perform better and they help us perform more efficiently. It also mentioned that 5 percent of our behaviors are consciously performed. That means 95 percent of our actions occur automatically out of habit. And so, why not make conscious efforts to tie it in the name of ritual.
Design A Positive Ritual
Rituals don't only conserve energy, when you consciously design them, they become positive rituals. It can help you live by your values and help you perform at your best.
So how can we form these rituals, especially around kids? Start with small steps. Focus on one lifestyle change at a time, then build upon that improvement with new rituals. Eventually, you can also incorporate all your values into your daily life with your kids.