Since [[we are all 'ritualistic' people]], it's impossible to prevent our habits ('what we do') from shaping our personhood ('who we are'). Thus, we need to be hyper vigilant about our daily rituals.

For example, I bear some semblance of a disciplined person because of the ritual of [[making my bed is my most important morning habit | I make my bed every morning]]. I've cultivated my curiosity because of the habit of actively ask questions when I'm conversing. I've become more open-minded because of the pursued diverse friendships across ethnicity & class.

At the same time, I can have a short attention span / be irritable because of the ritual of reaching for my phone first thing in the morning ([[digital caffeine is a real, serious drug]]). I can sometimes forget important details about my friends because of habits of introspecting rather than outward thinking.

Both positives and negatives of my character are shaped by micro-rituals that, over time, have formational impacts on my deeper personhood. I use the word personhood because the above examples may start as temporal traits, but progress into character formation, turning into virtues such as discipline, curiosity, patience, and loyalty (or lack thereof for deformational habits).

This is hopeful to me - I care about 'who I'm becoming', and don't want that task to be carelessly entrusted to the winds of cultural influence/pressures.

Other examples for future thinking: -Psychology of brain development supports this (habits affect our neural wiring because of neuroplasticity) -We learn language not by doing 'thinking drills' but by habitual immersion. -Thinking our way to reformation is less effective than doing. -Our passions (what we love) usually are grown 'on the job', rather than the other way around