When Does A Routine Become Superstition?

This week I am spending time talking about rituals; what I like to call routines. We have routines everywhere in our daily life. For example, most of us have a routine in the morning: make coffee (drink coffee), iron shirt, shower, get dressed, etc. This is one example, but I guarantee for much that you do throughout your day, you have a routine: putting a project together, studying for a big exam, getting ready for practice and getting ready to go out with friends. Our daily routines are so ingrained in us we probably don’t even recognize that they exist but they do and for all of us.

Why are routines important? They help us make of and organize mentally, emotionally and physically what we do. Yesterday I shared the basic 3’s of performing so today I am going to share some further reasons why routines are so great:

1. Provides structure – Routine provides a sense of structure and familiarity. Structure is a way of organizing your life so that it makes sense to you. You wake up with a sense of ownership, order, and organization of your life.One of the more convenient reasons why structure is important is because it negates the need to regularly schedule your days ahead of time. You already know what you are doing each and every day.
2. Builds good habits – A routine is something that you do over and over again, eventually making it a habit. Once it is a habit, you do not need to think about it to act. The act of automation increases efficiency in your life, by enabling you to do things without consciously thinking about it. You will automatically get things done, without having to remind yourself to get things done.
3. Negates the need for willpower and motivation – A routine negates the act of having to will or motivate yourself to do something. Willpower is finite and motivation is not constant. That is why relying on routine to accomplish tasks is a lot easier than relying on willpower and motivation. Yes, when establishing a routine, you do have to will and motivate yourself to get stick the the routine.
4. Builds momentum – Routinely doing something every day, even if it is just a little bit, builds big momentum in the long run. Although the benefits of doing something every day are small, the payoff is huge after awhile. For example, saving $10 by bringing your lunch means you save an extra $3,650 a year.  Running a mile a day means you will have ran 365 miles in a year, the distance of almost 14 marathons.
5. It helps you become good at things – Developing a routine will help you become faster and more adept at what you do each and every day.  For example, if you are constantly writing each and every day, you will become a better writer. (taken from: http://examinedexistence.com/why-having-a-daily-routine-is-important/)

Here’s the irony: we have routines everywhere else in our world except during sports competitions, music auditions or big work presentations. Huh? Why not?

On the flip side of healthy routines there are superstitions. Superstitions are defined as an irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious. Many athletes rituals or routines have been said to turn into superstitions. Rafa has been called into question because of his extensive use of routines. The media has gone so far as to suggest that Rafa is OCD (aren’t we all) yet he’s won 14 grand slams.

Here are my questions to you. When does a routine become superstition? If you are an athlete, musician or leader, why don’t you have a routine for those big moments?

Dr. Michelle