Peace is the result of retraining
your mind to process life as it is,
rather than as you think it should be.
...Wayne W. Dyer
In today's fast-paced world, it seems a bit difficult to attain peace of mind while carrying out day-to-day tasks and fulfilling the demands of modern high-tech life, but the truth is that having a peaceful mind is not rocket science, an attitude towards life, the way one responds to different circumstances of life and anybody can cultivate it with little practice. It's something that already resides in you, it comes from within, it is related to your inside world and only you can make yourself at peace, you don't need anything outside your body to keep you calm and peaceful.
Being a peaceful person does not mean that you are unable to feel stress, tension, worries, or sadness rather it means you are more capable of dealing with negative emotions and thoughts as soon as they arise without disturbing your deep peaceful state and without feeling overwhelmed by the negativity. It's inevitable to avoid painful emotions we are born with a full range of emotions so it's better to let them flow through your body rather than numb yourself which is an unhealthy way of dealing with negativity, hinders your healing, growth, and a root cause of many mental illnesses.
If you are someone who is having a difficult time attaining and enjoying peace of mind then you are at the right place. You don't necessarily need to be a monk to get peace of mind just following simple yet effective ways of living can transform you into your best version, capable of maintaining deep well-deserved peace of mind.
MINDFULNESS:
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
... Buddha
What is mindfulness? It's a quality of being aware and conscious of one's feelings and thoughts, the ability to acknowledge the present moment as it is without resisting it.
By making mindfulness a ritual in your life you not only find yourself more at peace but also enjoy frequent episodes of joy and gratitude, it's an easy way to declutter your mind with detrimental thought patterns, and worries and appreciate what is there for you in this very moment.
Just pick one or two tasks that you perform daily and allow yourself to do them with full concentration and awareness. For example when you are brushing your teeth daily focus your attention on it, notice the feeling of bristles on your gums and teeth, movement of your brush, and become aware of sensations without judging how you are doing it.
The purpose of this technique is to keep your chattering mind away for some time, stop your racing thoughts, and get connected with your body by becoming conscious of yourself.
FOCUS ON YOUR BREATHING / STAY IN PRESENT MOMENT:
Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.
...Eckhart Tolle
In moments of stress shift your attention to your breathing, and become aware of your inhalation and exhalation cycles. Take a nice deep breath through your nose fill your lungs with oxygen-rich air in a way that your abdomen comes out during inhalation then slowly release it through your mouth. This is called diaphragmatic breathing or abdominal breathing, your diaphragm, a muscle between the chest and abdominal cavity, contracts making your belly protrude out. This type of breathing aids in putting less effort and energy into breathing, maximizing the amount of oxygen while taking normal breaths, giving you a calming and relaxing state of mind, making you feel grounded, and keeping you connected with the present moment.
It's quite common to get lost in the past or worry about the future amid daily life issues, by just becoming aware of your surroundings, using your five senses as much as you can, paying attention to what you see, hear, smell, feel, taste in this moment you can bring your focus back to the task at hand, become connected with now without being engulfed by the challenges of life so you can make the most of this very moment while enjoying mental peace.
PEN DOWN YOUR WORRIES:
If something is wrong, fix it
if you can. But train yourself
not to worry, worry never
fixes anything.
...Ernest Hemingway
I emphasize on this one a lot. We all have worries even people who seem to be breezing through life on a happy wave feel worried and stressed out at some time or the other, it's impossible to run from daily life agendas, we just have to manage it correctly.
Keep aside a few minutes every day from your busy routine and write down your worries, feelings, and thoughts. This helps you to gain a better perspective of the real you, your feelings, and life in general and is highly useful to vent your negative emotions, those that bring you down and make you anxious.
Assign a particular time for your worries, let's call it worry time, try to solve issues, sort out your problems, and figure out the solutions in this limited period .whenever a disturbing thought or worry arises at any time of the day, note it down instead of ruminating over it and make a mental note of returning to it later in the worry time. This can safeguard your entire day from getting ruined by interrupting thoughts and concerns.
LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES:
The only source of knowledge is experience.
...Albert Einstein
We are not born with a manual of Do's and Don'ts, if something works for you it might not work for someone else, and the only way to learn is from your experience. Forget the idea of avoiding errors, you can't, you can lessen them by acquiring knowledge from your past experiences but you are unable to stop making mistakes. Remember there is no such thing as failure only feedback. Don't beat yourself up for being imperfect and creating errors, don't let your peaceful mind get disturbed by things that are beyond your control. Learn and move forward, you are exactly where you need to be to go where you want to be, it is the peaceful way of living without any doubt.
JUDGE LESS, ACCEPT MORE:
Peace of mind comes from not wanting to change others.
...Gerald Jampoisky
By becoming less critical of yourself and others you are allowing yourself as well as others to be their best authentic self. You can't accept others unless you fully accept yourself. Yes, it's true, you may find it difficult to accept the flaws of others when you are struggling with accepting your weaknesses.
We all are imperfect beings, our flaws and mistakes make us human. Accept everyone as they are without having the urge to change them, we are incapable of changing others but we do have a choice either to accept them as they are or walk away, you can maintain healthy boundaries and stop allowing others to manipulate you or take advantage of you but don't waste your energy reserves in trying to change others, it's necessary for your well-being.
But yes you do have the power to work on your shortcomings and flaws, the first step towards becoming your best self is to acknowledge your flaws and become aware of your good and not-so-good attributes with compassion and empathy, People usually fall into two extremes they either become critical of themselves, blaming and criticizing or they prefer to stay in denial as they find their real self unacceptable. Both of the ways are awful, enough to disrupt your mental peace, you don't find it comfortable to stay with yourself as you are your own worst critic or you are not feeling connected to yourself as you are degrading your true self by denying it.
The more balanced or healthy way to deal with your imperfections is to accept them with compassion, admit that you have flaws just like all other human beings, and focus on improving yourself.
STOP COMPARING YOUR LIFE WITH OTHERS:
Try not to get lost in comparing yourself to others. Discover your gifts
and let them shine!
...Jennie Finch
This is a sure way to feel depressed and frustrated, destroying inner peace and giving rise to envy which again can kill inner tranquillity. People are going through ups and downs in life, facing challenges, and fighting battles no one is aware of. You can't predict their inner story just by looking at their perfect life. We all are experiencing different situations, our sufferings are different, and our journey of life is unique so it doesn't make sense to compare it with others. It's fine if you are lacking something in life we all feel this way.
By acknowledging the fact that it's impossible to get what you want every time and whenever you desire you can ease yourself, and calm inner conflicts and harsh judgment. Try to accept things as they are instead of creating some ideal version. Don't miss the silver lining because you were expecting gold.
SHOW KINDNESS TOWARD OTHERS:
Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.
...Mother Teresa
You don't need a reason to make someone happy, your little act of kindness can do wonders in the life of others. By helping others we bring peace to ourselves, even your kind words have the power to mend broken hearts, heal tortured souls, and give sunshine to gloomy life. Whatever good you are contributing today in this world, it will soon reflect on you, do good, and good will follow you.
True kindness is to give something without expecting anything in return. By offering your help with a pure heart you not only create happiness in the lives of others but you can make yourself peaceful, not anticipating a return from them. You enjoy your ability to make others happy which in itself is a big blessing. By lifting someone, you are lifting yourself, it's a sure way to enlighten your heart and soul. Do not forget to show the same kindness to yourself as well.
Peace of mind comes when you stop expecting and start accepting...
The things that disturb us most are within us, that are thoughts, by knowing yourself better with compassion, by calming your inner critic, and by embracing your life with all its gifts you feel more empowered to deal with the challenges of the outer world.
You don't need to wait for things to fall in place before you enjoy a peaceful life, you just have to take care of your inner world and it will cherish you with much-awaited mental peace.
All the best!
