Ritual and Routine: Anchors for a Meaningful Life

“Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.” — Aristotle

Every morning I wake up, let the dogs outside, feed them, then make my double espresso with frothed milk. Same ritual, same routine. It never changes.

I’ve been reflecting on why these patterns matter so much. Why humans, across thousands of years, have built their lives on ritual and routine. Why we keep doing the same thing, at the same time, in the same way. What is it in us that finds these repeated acts so meaningful, so comforting?

At the core of life on this earth is disorder—storms, wars, disease, death. Chaos that is utterly beyond our control. Ritual and routine are how we take some of that power back. They are our counterweights to entropy. They are not just habits, they are existential anchors—small but steady structures we build to withstand the tides.

Examples surround us. Making the bed each morning. Preparing a meal the same way. Gathering in church pews on Sundays. The family traditions that return every holiday. The hours spent practicing a skill until it becomes second nature. At the core of all of them is discipline. And in nearly every spiritual tradition, discipline in daily practice is the foundation of growth. Strong habits are the fruit of disciplined routines.

The philosopher Will Durant once wrote, paraphrasing Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I know this to be true. Everything of value in my life—everything that shaped me—came from ritual and routine. Now in my fifties, I see this more clearly. My days are programmed, more regimented than ever, and when something is missing, I feel it.

Two areas in particular call out for renewal. Reading—real reading, not just listening to audiobooks in the car, but sitting quietly with a book in my hands, absorbing the weight of words in silence. And meditation—once a strong practice for me, now only sporadic. I know what it feels like when meditation is daily, steady, grounding. I want that habit back at the level of my morning coffee: non-negotiable.

The truth is simple. Our efforts to establish meaningful rituals—in work, diet, exercise, spirituality—move the needle of our fulfillment and joy. Almost nothing meaningful in life exists without some rhythm behind it. Ritual and routine hold us steady. They create the space where meaning can grow. And the older I get, the more I see that these daily and weekly anchors are not optional. They are essential.

Meditation: On a slow ten-count breath, ask yourself: What rituals anchor you? Where are the gaps in your routines? And which practices, once strong, can you reclaim to steady yourself again against life’s ups and downs?