The Comfort of Pointless Rituals

There are two types of people in this world: those who carefully rotate their favorite coffee mug in their hands before taking the first sip and absolute lunatics.

Rituals are strange things. Not the big ones- weddings, graduations and the annual ritual of pretending you’ll get your life together starting January 1st- but the little, utterly pointless ones. The way you tap your phone three times before putting it on charge. The precise order in which you check your social media apps in the morning. That one hoodie you wear whenever you need to feel like life isn’t spinning off into chaos.

Pointless? Maybe. Necessary? Absolutely.

Why Do We Even Do This?

Let’s get one thing straight: humans are weird. We willingly subject ourselves to horror movies, spicy food that makes us cry and friendships where both parties refuse to text first. But perhaps nothing is weirder than the fact that we take great comfort in doing the same useless thing over and over again. From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes very little sense. Our ancestors weren’t sitting around making sure they blinked exactly seven times before hunting a mammoth. Yet here we are, grown adults, refusing to listen to a song unless we can start it from the beginning.

Some neuroscientists say rituals are our brain’s way of asserting control over a fundamentally chaotic existence. When life gets overwhelming, your brain goes. Alright, champ, things are spiraling, but at least we can still crack open a soda the exact same way every time. It’s a tiny moment of predictability in an otherwise unpredictable world.

The Science-y Bit: Why Rituals Feel Good

Studies have shown that engaging in rituals- even the completely nonsensical ones- lowers stress and anxiety. Why? Because predictability equals safety. It’s why we like rereading books we already know the ending to, why your grandma still insists on using that 40-year-old rolling pin even though it’s one gust of wind away from disintegrating. These things don’t have to be useful; they just have to be familiar.

The brain loves patterns. It loves predictability. And rituals, no matter, how absurd, give us an illusion of control over the uncontrollable mess that is existence.

The Everyday Rituals We Swear By

Some rituals are universal.

1. Making a cup of tea, but waiting precisely three minutes before taking the first step. (Why? Who knows.)
2. Sleeping on the same side of the bed even when you’re the only one on it.
3. That one playlist you always play on long drives because anything else feels wrong.
4. Using the same spoon for the cereal because it’s your cereal spoon and no other spoon will do.

And then there are the deeply personal ones- the things that would sound absolutely unhinged if you had to explain them to someone else.

1. Saying, “Okay, time to exist” under your breath before leaving the house.
2. Pacing in a weirdly specific pattern while talking on the phone.
3. Watching the same comfort tv show again because you need something in your life to make sense.

It’s these little rituals that stitch the fabric of our days together, making life feel like a little less like a random sequences of events and a little more like a story we have some say in.

But Aren’t They…. Kind of Pointless?

Of course they are. But here’s the thing- so is almost everything else.

Think about it. We wake up, go to work, make money to buy things, repeat the cycle and then eventually disappear into the void. If you zoom out too much, everything looks absurd. The only thing that makes life bearable is the meaning we inject into it. And sometimes, that meaning is found in the tiniest, dumbest things. The way you always put on your left sock first. The ten-minute routine of arranging your pillows just right before bed. The exact number of steps you take from your front door to the bus stop.

These things aren’t important in grand scheme of life, but they don’t have to be. Because in a world where everything is constantly changing, sometimes it’s nice to have something- anything- stay the same. Even if it’s just the way you stir your coffee.

When Rituals Become Chains

Now, not all rituals are created equal. There’s a fine line between comforting routine and crippling compulsion. If skipping a ritual makes you feel like the universe is collapsing, it might be less of a cute personality quirk and more of a psychological straitjacket.

This is where rituals turns into superstition. Athletes refusing to play without wearing their lucky socks. Students convinced that using a specific pen is the only way to pass the exam. The belief that not watching Home Alone in December will personally offend the spirit of Christmas. At some point, rituals stop serving us and start controlling us. The trick is knowing when to let them go.

The Beauty of the Pointless

But for the most part, rituals- especially the small, pointless ones- are a quite kind of magic. They remind us that we are human, that we need anchors in our days and that even in the middle of uncertainty, we can create tiny pockets of stability.

Maybe that’s why we hold onto them so tightly. Because at the end of the day, they are not really about the actions themselves. They’re about comfort, continuity and the little things that make life feel a bit more like ours. So, go ahead. Stir your tea the same way every morning. Wear that hoodie whenever you’re sad. Hold onto your silly little habits, not because they make sense, but because they don’t have to.

After all, if life is just a series of moments, we might as well make some of them predictable, even if it’s just the way we open a bag of chips. And if you’re looking for a philosophy that embraces this kind of inner stability, check out my blog on Stoicism for the Modern World: How to Stay Calm Amidst Chaos – because sometimes, even the smallest rituals can help us stay grounded.