The secret to long-lasting connection? Shared rituals

The secret to long-lasting connection? Emmanuel Lafont Some people who go through traumatic loss honour loved ones by maintaining their rituals even things as simple as washing a car on a certain day Why did we evolve this behaviour? But there's a tiny camp of people who say, if the new person found out it was recycled, it really shows that your partner is completely over their ex. What they report are ones they came up with themselves, like rituals around lunch, rituals around people's birthdays and things like that. * Michael Norton's new book The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions is published by Scribner /Penguin Life * David Robson is an award-winning science writer and author.