The word 'ritual' is rarely used in modernity - it has this traditional connotation, that is associated almost exclusively to religious practices.

But we are all 'ritualistic' - I wake up at a 6.45am, have a particular type of coffee (medium roasted beans with an aeropress), make my bed ([[making my bed is my most important morning habit]]), and have breakfast each day before work.

We are ritualistic because our brains need it to function day-to-day. Psychologists refer to this as System 1 thinking and System 2 thinking. System 1 thinking, which is fast, instinctive, and emotional - used for quick decision making, while System 2 thinking, is slow, deliberate, and logical - used for higher order thinking tasks, and (See Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow).

System 1 thinking is our habitual, ritualistic brain function. We use it to quicken our thinking - which is useful if we are met with a truck hurling down towards us and we need to think, but also dangerous as it makes us susceptible to doomscrolling on Tiktok.

Why do I want to be reflective about this? Our rituals shape us into who we are. We often think we are 'thinking things', but we are really actually creatures of habit. [[we are shaped less by how we think, but what we do]].