Rituals and habits have a lot in common, they may even look the same to an outsider. But there's one big difference. A habit is something you do, in pretty much the same way and at the same time. A ritual is all that but with the idea that it influences our world.
A ritual is a set sequence of activities to cultivate something. But sometimes the meaning is so old, it's forgotten and just the activities remain. It's why we blow out birthday candles or take a tree into our home at Christmas. We all participate in rituals; may it be for cultural or religious reasons or because we arranged them ourselves.
Rituals give us a sense of control. It gives us something to do in hard times or a way to control the future. But it also takes us to the here and now. We pay attention while engaging in that set of activities. We focus on what we're doing, how we're doing it and why. It gets us out of our heads and into our bodies.
This all makes for more emotional stability, improving confidence and enhancing experiences. Reason enough to create our own small rituals. For ourselves or with our family and friends. They can be little traditions around the holidays to prepare for the new year, or an evening ritual to ensure a good night sleep.
Find out what it is you want to pay more attention to in life, a pain you'd like to fix or an experience you'd like to enhance. Think about how you want to influence and in what specific moments. Try out your newly made ritual and change where needed until it fits your vision. After that you'll just need to be consistent, take time and pay attention. And you may have created a ritual for you or even future generations.