Peace of mind is defined as a mental state of calmness or tranquility, a feeling of freedom from worry and anxiety.
Stress hormones might give you a feel good buzz for the short term, however, living in a state that courses them through your veins every day is definitely not great for long term physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
When you regularly find yourself hitting the wall, following frequent bouts of frantic activity, perhaps it’s time to find ways of reducing those highs and lows, by increasing feelings of calm and peace of mind in your day to day.
Choose a couple of these next ideas and incorporate them into your lifestyle.
Near the end of the post, you can download an ebook PDF of this blog post for sharing with your friends.
These tips are not listed in any particular order.
Just pick a couple and run with them, then return here another time to add a couple more to your usual routines.
Simplify
Our natural tendency is to complicate what is already simple. Look at where you are complicating things in your own life. What can you do to make it easier on yourself and everyone around you?
Ask often, “How can I make this more simple?” plus teach yourself how to say “no” more often, to avoid taking on too much. Sometimes less really is more!
Click here or on ebook cover to download the free ebook of this list
Analyze Less
It’s time to stop over thinking. Absolutely, we need to think before we act, yet there is a cut off point and you need to learn to recognise it. When the thinking no longer produces a fresh idea or brings an alternative perspective, it’s time to pick an action and take it. You can make changes along the way, just get started and you’ll soon see where any adjustments are needed along your journey.
Whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. -Max Ehrmann Click To TweetQuiet Spaces For Peace Of Mind
Set up a space in your home or garden to which you can regularly retreat and find some moments in stillness without distraction and just be with your own thoughts. It’s a great idea for everyone who lives in your home to have the same too, this way they’ll be more inclined to respect that space of yours and know that it’s a time to leave you be.
Accept
Distinguish between what you can personally control and the things over which you have no say at all. Accept those which you cannot control. Get into action on improving the things that you can impact.
You might have heard of the Serenity Prayer written by Reinhold Niebuhr, “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference”. Carry it around in your pocket until it becomes a way of living for you.
Trust Yourself
Have you ever taken advice from another, then ended up in a bigger mess than before? Advice is good as are different perspectives, yet we do not need to take the advice. Merely take the advice into consideration when making a decision about the action(s) you will be taking. Tune into your intuition and get acquainted with what you know is ultimately best for you and your future.
Quit Procrastinating
You already and always know the most important thing you ought to be attending to right now. So, do that! You also know what’s not necessary and what can wait. So, put those things into your calendar for a later time. Procrastination is a learned habit, which can be unlearned. Start training yourself today!
Procrastination is a learned habit, which can be unlearned. Click To TweetTake Action
Worrying is not an action and usually we’re not worrying when we are in action on accomplishing something important to us. If you’re in a stressful situation that wants resolution, get into action towards clearing it up, in a way that it’s unlikely to pose a problem for you again.
Triggers
Begin recognising the triggers that bring you to a state that’s anything but peaceful. Once you can identify a few of the ones that show up often, have a plan of action to head it off before it delivers you a stressful situation. Start writing down the triggers in your life and begin to reduce their power by also writing down and using your own little ‘tricks’ to counter them. This is useful for your children too, once you have mastered a few of your own blocks to stressful scenarios, you can share them with your children and get them to try a few of their own.
Record
Your brain is not a place for storage, it’s a tool that needs clarity to work properly. Unclog the blockages by writing down everything that needs remembering, make lists and add events into a calendar, including bill payments in advance. Take a photo of your fridge and pantry shelves before shopping or have a ready made list on your phone to which you can add/delete shopped items. Spend time writing feelings into a dairy to help release them and gain clarity on a situation. Get more out of your head and into a tangible, physical place for recording your thoughts, ideas and things that want remembering.
Let Go
Let more things, just be. You do not need to control or be right about everything. Teach yourself to release the attachments you hold for things that really will not matter in a month from today. Consider how much time an energy you are spending on hanging on to ideas, things, people or situations that you could purge. Maybe write down a few things that you know you could let go this week and begin taking action in that direction. Sometimes it’s as simple as letting go of a firm belief about some ‘truth’. Ask yourself, “is that really true?” If not, then that’s one you can release today.
Breathe
When was the last time you actually were aware of your own breathing? During your day, stop at scheduled times (determined by you) to simply stand still for a moment and notice your breath, then take a few deeper breaths before moving onto the next thing in your day.
Expectations
Free yourself from what other people think about who you are. You have permission to live the one life you were gifted. Others were given their own too, why then would you contemplate living the life that they want for you? Find your voice and express yourself. Learn what makes you feel passionate and see how you could expand its presence in your life. Ask what’s holding you back from experiencing yourself and sharing yourself with others. Start feeling good about yourself and what you bring to the table.
Habits
You may not even be fully conscious of some habits in your life, they have become so firmly entrenched. See if you can list 10 habits that you know show up every day. Now identify the ones that are actually taking you forward in a direction that isn’t at all where you want to be heading. Choose one and replace it with a better habit, one that will change the trajectory of where the poorer habit is sending you. Imagine making the better, replacement habit, a brand new habit and keeping it in place for the next 10 years. How would your life look different at the end of those years? No need to change all your habits at once. Just do this exercise each few weeks and shift one habit at a time.
Meditate
When you begin your day with meditation, even if only a short one, you’ll find that it carries with you throughout the day. It might take a week or two of daily practice before you actually realise this. Yet, once you begin to notice its influence over the rest of your day, you’ll want to keep it as a practice forever. Give it a try, you’ll love the results and impact.
Distract Yourself
You’ve possibly seen mothers try to calm an anxious baby by placing a rattle or dummy into its hands. Guess what? It works for you too.
Find your adult version of a rattle and always have it handy when you feel the tension rising. Mine is a quote and question, “Whatever you focus on WILL expand!”, “Do I want more of what I’m thinking of right now?” If my answer is no, then I quickly find something more desirable to think about.
The list at this page is by no means comprehensive. It’s simply a few tips to get you started on creating a state of feeling greater peace of mind in your life.
I might occasionally return to this post and expand on the tips or add some more.
Peace of mind is good for health, good for community, good for family and also for physical growth. A peaceful mind is more proper. A disturbed mind, harmful. -Dalai Lama
You could help too, by leaving a comment below if you have something that has worked for your own peace of mind and that you believe will benefit future visitors to this page.
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Hi, I'm Thea Westra at Forward Steps (forwardstepsblog.com)
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