September 26 2016

Continuing with our topic of how rituals can help us move on when seasons change and life changes, Michael I. Norton and Francesca Gino of the Harvard Business School conducted more research.  In another study, a hundred participants were divided into groups of 9 to 15 people and told that one person in their group would be randomly chosen to win $200.  Before the winner’s name was chosen each person wrote an essay explaining why they wanted the money and what they would do with it if they won.  Next, the winner left the room and those remaining either drew how they felt, or participated in a ritual with a random combination of acts - drawing how they felt for two minutes, sprinkling salt over the drawing, ripping it into pieces and silently counting to 10 five times. The study found that those who performed the ritual reported less grief than those who didn’t.  In addition, even people who didn’t think rituals work benefitted from participating in one.  Imagine the benefits of participating in meaningful rituals.  I encourage you to find ways to bring more rituals into your life.