People have been studying high performers and achievers for decades. They’ve looked at the top leaders across multiple industries, including business icons, athletes and performers.
Regardless of industry, the research suggests that the most successful people among us have a few things in common. Do you know what keeps showing up over and over again in the research?
Habits and rituals.
These people all have solid habits and rituals that set them up for that level of success. They have morning routines and evening routines. They have habits and rituals around their health, their relationships, and their businesses. They understand that it’s the little things we do each day that impact our lives the most.
For the purpose of this article, I want to focus on rituals because unlike habits, which are things you do without much thought, rituals are something you do with intention. Rituals have meaning. Without meaning and purpose, most of us have trouble sticking with our new habit long enough for it to become a habit in the first place. That’s part of the reason I prefer to create rituals around the important areas of my life, and I think we can agree that your money qualifies as an important area of your life.
Here are a few examples of how you can create rituals around money for your life:
- PLANNING & BILL PAYING RITUALS
I don’t care who you are, we’ve all got bills to pay, and if you haven’t set up autopay you’re most likely paying things as they come in. What is that experience like for you? Do you find yourself paying bills at random times or do you have a specific day and time where you do this? I’ve done both, but having a ritual is much less stressful for me.
If you’re interested, here’s my super-duper, elaborate bill paying ritual- Every Monday morning I light a candle or a stick of incense and I sit down with my laptop and a steamy mug of black coffee. Then I pay my bills, review our accounts and money goals, and do any other money-related things that need done for the week. That’s it, I was just kidding earlier. I’m not sure if you were expecting chanting over crystal grids, but I’m just over here trying to keep it simple. Feel free to create whatever ritual you desire (money mantras and citrine crystals included) around this generally mundane process.
My friend Cristie told me about a money ritual she used to have. As she was writing the checks (back when we still wrote checks to pay for goods and services, lol) she would write the words Thank You on each of her bills. She shared that this was a practice in gratitude for her, something that reminded her to be grateful that she had the money to pay for these things versus grumbling and moaning about having to pay bills. Talk about a mindset shift!
I haven’t gone as far as thanking my bills yet, but hey, would it hurt anything to give it a try?!
- PAYDAY RITUALS
When I was in my early 20’s there was no day I loved more than payday. At that point, I was absolutely living paycheck to paycheck and had zero money skills to speak of! The only ritual I had around money was livin’ it up every other Friday. Not all rituals are good rituals.
I don’t have a ritual around payday now, but maybe that’s because I’m no longer fearful of missing a paycheck (thanks emergency fund). But you could absolutely create a fun and healthy ritual around payday. Let’s say that the goal you’re working on right now is paying off your credit card. You could make payday the day that you make your extra payment and record it on your debt payoff tracker. Or what if you established payday as the day you move all the money that you wanted to spend this week but didn’t to your savings account? I’m just throwing out some ideas for ya!
- MONEY WINS & CELEBRATION RITUALS
Wins should be celebrated, even the little ones. Smaller wins earn smaller rewards, but I want you to take notice every time you achieve one of your money goals. Do you hear me? Every. Single. Time.
- Paid off that first big credit card? Enjoy a night out with your family.
- Kissed your student loan goodbye? Plan that weekend trip to New York you’ve been dreaming about.
- Emergency savings fully funded? Get moving on that remodel project.
- Paid off your mortgage??? Can you say HAWAII?!
However you choose to celebrate, just remember to actually do it as you accomplish each goal. Don’t do what I’ve done in the past which is to reach a goal and immediately set a whole new goal, not giving yourself any time to recognize the goal you just achieved. All work and no play makes us all dull and gray (and kills our motivation).