Optimized Rituals - Setting Up Yourself To Win
It is natural for us to develop rituals around our daily activities – getting ready for the morning, regular exercise, grocery shopping, starting the work week and so on. The problem is we’re not always aware that we have created a ritual. When you experience that thrill of accomplishment when you solve a word puzzle, it can give you a good feeling for the rest of the day. That’s a ritual worth having!
A worldwide sports psychology study found that “a function of rituals might be preparing mentally for each performance. In that sense, rituals seem to serve a rational and useful purpose.”
Team Solve thinks that is true across many areas of life.
Once we’re aware that we’ve created a ritual, we can optimize them and take advantage of the benefits. Here are some benefits you might experience when you start or maintain your Solve puzzle ritual:
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Your Solve puzzle ritual helps put you in a mental and physical groove for high performance (whatever you’re doing). Maybe you enjoy golf and you want to improve. You approach the tee in a certain way and work through a series of checks and adjustments each time. The ritual is as much mental as physical. You are fine-tuning your stroke and setting your mind for the best possible shot.
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Your Solve puzzle ritual allows you to perform at a predictably high level. The routine leaves less to chance, so you can focus on performing your best. When students first learn to play the piano, teachers have them practice scales to develop confidence and mastery. The scales are the prerequisite for peak performance. Even accomplished pianists will run through the scales before a performance.
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Don’t overthink it! Optimized rituals stop you from overthinking so that you’re not constantly engineering and re-engineering your entire day. Just like a morning swim, walk or bike ride fulfills your exercise ritual for the day, doing your Solve puzzles (wherever and whenever you do them) fulfills the mental exercise rituals you want to achieve.
Optimized rituals give you a sense of purpose and confidence. By working your ritual, you set your mind and body at ease and take control of what you can control. Team Solve believes that a daily puzzle ritual is part of a healthy lifestyle.
