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  • 2024
  • Book

The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions

By: Michael Norton
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:288
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Abstract

Our lives are filled with repetitive tasks meant to keep us on track—what we come to know as habits. Over time, these routines (for example, brushing your teeth or putting on your right sock first) tend to be performed automatically. But when we’re more mindful about these actions—when we focus on the precise way they are performed—they can instead become rituals. Shifting from a “habitual” mindset to a “ritual” mindset can convert ordinary acts from black and white to technicolor.

Think of the way you savor a certain beverage, the care you take with a particular outfit that gets worn only on special occasions, the unique way that your family gathers around the table during holidays, or the secret language you enjoy with your significant other. To some, these behaviors may seem quirky, but because rituals matter so deeply to us on a personal level, they imbue our lives with purpose and meaning. Drawing on a decade of original research, Norton shows that rituals play a role in healing communities experiencing a great loss, marking life’s major transitions, driving a stadium of sports fans to ecstasy, and helping us rise to challenges and realize opportunities.

Compelling, insightful, and practical, The Ritual Effect reminds us of the intention-filled acts that drive human behavior and create surprising satisfaction and enjoyment.

Keywords

Behavior; Happiness; Performance Productivity; Attitudes

Citation

Norton, Michael. The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions. New York: Scribner, 2024.
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About The Author

Michael I. Norton

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

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More from the Author
  • Irrationality in Action: Decision-Making Exercise By: Alison Wood Brooks, Michael I. Norton and Oliver Hauser
  • Laughter on Call: Injecting Conversational Levity By: Alison Wood Brooks, Michael Norton and F Katelynn Boland
  • Reaching for Rigor and Relevance: Better Marketing Research for a Better World By: Shilpa Madan, Gita Venkataramani Johar, Jonah Berger, Pierre Chandon, Rajesh Chandy, Rebecca Hamilton, Leslie John, Aparna Labroo, Peggy J. Liu, John G. Lynch, Nina Mazar, Nicole Mead, Vikas Mittal, Christine Moorman, Michael I. Norton, John Roberts, Dilip Soman, Madhu Viswanathan and Katherine White
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