What are examples of rituals? One of the eight elements of Ideas Marketing is the ritual. Whilst we normally associate rituals with religions, they also work in Ideas Marketing to presence your big idea daily. This is crucial because our ultimate goal is to have our fans and followers live our big idea every day.
What is a Ritual?
Wikipedia defines a ritual as:
A sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence.
I think a simpler definition is:
Any action we repeat often that has a deep meaning or significance for us.
Today I wanted to share seven examples of rituals that you could build:
1 Prayer
In a religious sense prayer is a practice for communicating with your higher power.
TIP: You can create a ‘prayer’ for your big idea by creating a practice for contemplation or simply bringing your idea alive.
2 Shaking Hands
Shaking hands is a welcoming gesture for meeting someone for the first time or upon seeing them again. The origin of the handshake was to create trust by showing that you didn’t have a gun or knife in your hand when you came in close contact with someone. Given most people are right-handed, this is why we shake with our right hands. This could also be a hug or a kiss depending upon the person you are meeting and your relationship with them.
TIP: How do you greet your fans? Is there a secret handshake?
3 Meditation
For many people who meditate their goal is to relax. However, if you go to the core of the practice it is about focus and contemplation – relaxation is simply an enjoyable side effect.
TIP: What are the moods and emotions that you want to spark around your big idea? Meditation is an internal focus.
4 Saying Grace
Typically we say grace before a meal to say thanks. Gratitude is a powerful practice that is acknowledged as being helpful for happiness.
TIP: What are you thankful for? And, when do you want to be thankful? What would be something simple that you could say at this time to be grateful?
5 Singing
Sometimes we sing because we want to… er, sing. Do we need any other reason? Sometimes we sing to presence our big idea. For instance, in church, a hymn is sung to presence God. And, we sing our national anthem to acknowledge our country and our respect for it.
TIP: Do you have a song for your big idea? When would you sing it?
6 Gifts
Giving flowers to someone can have a very different meaning depending upon which type of flowers you gift. For instance, red roses are generally a gift of love and passion. Whilst you love your mum, you don’t usually give red roses to your mum – more likely to your lover or partner.
TIP: What gift could you give to forward your big idea? It could be as simple a printed card, a small coin or a badge. Remember it’s only a gift if you expect nothing in return.
7 Awards
Whilst an award is an artifact, the presentation of it can be a powerful ritual. One of the most powerful presentations is an Olympic Games gold medal and the playing of the national anthem. Alternatively, after 5 years of study at university, all I’ve got to show for it is a bit of paper with the University seal and the words ‘Bachelor of Architecture with Honours’ written on it.
TIP: Awards are all about acknowledgement. What and whom do you want to acknowledge? What will be the award? And, when and how will you present this award?
COMMENT: Which of these rituals do you practice regularly? What other rituals could we add to this list?
More Examples of Rituals
Mason Currey Book Review – Currey has written a great book sharing plenty of examples of the daily rituals of leading authors and thinkers.
