The famous tennis player, Serena Williams, must hit the ball five times before the first game, but twice before the second game. Singer Beyoncé listens to only one song before a concert, prays with a member of her team, and meditates for about an hour. Polish anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski observed that in the early 20th century, the fishermen of Melanesian islands performed obligatory prayers before going out to sea to fish, but did not perform this ritual when going to familiar places. , and wrote that it helps. Psychologist Alison Wood-Brooks says ritual prayer is an effective way to overcome anxiety and self-doubt during major life transitions such as people, illness, death, birth, marriage, and before any major event. considered that. This method is especially popular among athletes. Before a race, they regularly practice many rituals, such as eating the same type of food, walking the same number of times over and over again, and throwing a ball. According to research, athletes who regularly perform such rituals are more successful, and rituals and prayers are in a certain order of magnitude, it helps to control the state of mind, blocks negative thoughts and anxiety, and makes one feel the meaning of one's actions. By believing that it will help people and behavior, the psychological conditions that lead to success are created by getting rid of fear, calming the mind. Wood-Brooks and Schroeder, in a study of 400 athletes, found that athletes who performed non-religious, ritualistic activities such as hitting a ball, walking, praying with a team, and throwing objects performed better. Researchers at the University of Madrid conducted a large-scale experiment in which people were tasked with writing down behaviorally similar fears on paper and throwing them in a trash can, which they called the "instant entry" method. . Richard Petty, the leader of the study, wrote in the conclusion of the study, "We always take our thoughts as reality, so we should discard them as reality."