I once heard a story about a strange way that a woman prepared her pot roast.

And within this story is hidden the problem that we all have these days.

It's a problem that can keep you from ever seeing new results.

Listen to the story first and then I'll explain to you what I mean.

Why Do You Do It That Way?

One day a woman was preparing a pot roast while her friend was there watching.

The woman making the pot roast prepared it with spices and then cut off both ends and put it in the pot. Her friend was curious about the reason she cut off both ends so she asked, "Why do you cut off both ends?"

The woman answered, "That's the way my mother did it and she taught me." The friend answered, "Hmm. That's interesting. I've never seen anyone cut off the ends like that."

That simple question made the woman begin to question the process herself.

During her next trip home, she decided to ask her mother. She said, "Hey Mom. I have a question. How do you cook a pot roast?" Her Mom told her that she first needed to add the spices, then she needed to cut off both ends, and finally she needed to put it in the pot and into the oven.

Her daughter then asked, "But why do we cut off both ends?" With a confused look on her face, the mother answered, "Well, that's the way my Mom did it and she taught me."

Her daughter's question now made the mother question the process too.

One day when she went to visit her mother in the nursing home she asked her, "Mom, how do you cook a pot roast?" The grandmother answered, "Well, first you add the spices. Then you cut off the ends. And then you put it in the pot..."

The mother stopped her and then asked, "But, why do you cut off both ends?"

The grandmother thought for a second. Then she said with a smile, "The pot roast was always bigger than the old pot I had back then. I had to cut off the ends, so that it would fit in the pot!"

A useless ritual had been passed down for two generations until someone had finally asked, "Why?"

Before you judge this mom and daughter too quickly, let me ask you, "Why do YOU do what you do?"

All Around the World, Same Song

There's a book called, "Buy-Ology: Truth and Lies about why We Buy" by Martin Lindstrom that reveals how you and I are not so different from these ladies making the pot roast.

In the book, Lindstrom reveals something surprising.

He says, "A 2007 study carried out by global advertising giant BBDO Worldwide showed that across 26 countries around the world, most of us perform a common, predictable series of rituals from the moment we get up in the morning to the moment we pull down our covers at night."

Lindstrom then gives some examples of these rituals.

The first is what he calls "preparing for battle". These are the rituals that we perform when we get up in the morning and get ready for our day.

He says, "This can include everything from brushing our teeth, to taking a bath or shower, to checking our email, to shaving - whatever helps us feel a sense of control over whatever the upcoming day may bring."

Other rituals include: the way that we eat and socialize with others and the way we make ourselves attractive-looking in order to attract the opposite sex.

What I want you to realize is this.

In 26 countries around the world, most people's rituals are the same. And don't be fooled. Just because these rituals are common doesn't mean that they're best ways to do things.

We're all like the young woman doing things just because that's how someone showed us to do it. How many of us ever stop and ask the question, "Why do I do it this way?"

Doing the Same Things, But Wanting Different Results

Most people are getting the same results, because they're performing the same rituals. If you want the same results - average results - then keep doing what everyone else is doing.

But if you want different results, then you need to begin doing different daily rituals.

7 Questions to Ask About Your Rituals

You need to begin to ask yourself "Why?," in every area of your life. In each area you need to ask yourself these 7 questions:

1. What are my current rituals in this area of my life?
2. How are they working for me?
3. If they're not working, or you think you could improve that area, then ask: Why am I doing this in this way?
4. What are some other rituals that others use in this area?
5. Should I try one of their rituals instead?
6. If I don't think it's wise to use their ritual, what can I learn from them?
7. Is there a new ritual I can come up with in this area?

Where to Get Started

You can't suddenly change all of your rituals. It's not practical or even realistic.

Instead, I'd encourage you to focus on these three basic areas:

1. How you begin your day. How you begin your day sets the tone for the day, influences your attitude and impacts your mindset. Is the way you begin your day really working for you? If not, you need to come up with some new morning rituals.

2. What you spend the majority of your time doing. What you give your most time to will have the most influence on your results. How productive is your day? Are you getting everything done that you need and want to? If not, you need to come up with some new rituals to put into place with how you use your time.

3. How you end your day. How you end your day will impact how well you rest and how prepared you are for the next day. How are you ending your day? Is it preparing you well enough for the next day? Are you getting enough sleep? If not, it's time to get some new rituals in this area too.

There are plenty of other daily rituals that you need to consider, but these three core areas are a good place to start, because these three area have such a big impact in our lives.

You can't expect to get different results by doing the same rituals as everyone else.

The only way to experience new results is to begin to do new rituals in your life. Choose one of these areas and begin now.

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I've recently discovered something I call The 3 Keys to Increased Focus, Efficiency, and Creativity. They are 3 new "rituals" that I've been adding to my life that have been having a big impact on getting things done and improving my ability to focus on the right things.

1. The first key is something that many of the “Greats” from the past implemented daily in their lives.

2. The second key is based on an ancient concept which was unknowingly implementedby one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century.

3. The third key is based on a mindset that both modern productivity experts and an ancient group of people agree upon.

NOTE: At the link above you’ll find:

• A video describing who the “3 keys” can help the most
• 2 testimonials from people who have tried them
• What Henry Ford said is the weakness of us all
• And more

If you're feeling like your life is so busy that it's hard for you to focus on the things that matter, get the things you really want done finished, etc., then check out the link to see if the recording might be a help to you.

NOTE: These recordings will be available until August 30th at 12 pm PST. Then I will take them down and probably offer then again in the new year.

P.S. If you haven't seen my first two LinkedIn posts, then you can see them here:

A 213 Year Old Business Reveals Two Content Marketing Secrets of Today's Publishing Empires

A Branding Revelation From The Movie Braveheart

Photo by visualpanic

Scott Aughtmon is the person behind the popular infographic "21 Types of Content We Crave". He is a regular contributor to ContentMarketingInstitute.com and he has also written for other sites such as 12Most.com and Problogger.net. You can read more of his unique insights at his site RecessionSolution.com. TWITTER: @rampbusinesses