If you want to know what it’s like to feel peace, let’s do an easy exercise. Close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath. Hold your breath for a few seconds and exhale. Right now, you are focusing all your attention on breathing and isolating yourself from all the worries. This is just a small part of what you can do to be at peace with yourself. Let's take a look at some other tips and tricks to help you do that!
Practical tips on how to maintain inner peace
1. Make meditation your habit
Many of us associate meditation with professional practitioners or even Buddhist monks who sit in the lotus position for hours. However, meditation for inner peace is different and anyone can practice that, for any amount of time and in any position.
The key to effective meditation is your position. You can sit or lie down. The main thing is to keep your body in balance. The next step is to choose a certain amount of time to meditate. If you are a novice, try to do it for 10 minutes a day at first, then gradually increase this time.
Don't worry if the first few times you don't manage to completely isolate yourself from confusing thoughts. Practice makes perfect! Therefore, very soon, meditation for anxiety or worries will help you overcome these problems.
2. Practice mindfulness daily
When was the last time you felt completely here and now? This is a state when you do not go through thousands of thoughts one after another in your head and completely focus on the present moment. Let's say you're walking in the park, and instead of thinking about the next work project or tomorrow, you just enjoy the moment, taking in the breathtaking views and breathing in the warm air. This is mindfulness.
Unlike meditation, it is not necessary to choose a comfortable position and close your eyes to be mindful. The main thing is to try to be as conscious as possible of what you are doing here and now. Are you working on a work report? Think about the numbers and data in this report. Riding a bike? Focus on the road and the wonderful view around you.
If mindfulness is something that resonates with you, we recommend you to read the summary of Wherever You Go, There You Are.
3. Prioritize happiness over productivity
Work occupies a large part of our lives, and professional fulfillment is one of the priorities in life for most of us. However, sometimes, in the pursuit of productivity, we sacrifice our well-being. This leads to such a phenomenon as burnout. Research by Harvard Medical School found that ninety-six percent of successful people suffered from severe burnout.
Frequent burnout can lead to serious physical and mental health problems. As a result, there may be a loss of motivation to develop and work further.
However, numerous studies also prove that hours of work don’t equal productivity or success. That is why, if you notice that you invest a lot of time and effort in work, and the results are weaker and weaker, you should consider changing your strategy. Maybe you don't have enough rest and time to restore inner peace. You can learn more about how to do this from our Thrive summary.
4. Replace negativity with tolerance and patience
We tend to allow our negative emotions, such as anger or irritation, to control our lives. Imagine that you are on your way to work, and your insurance agent calls saying you have an urgent problem with your documents. Of course, such an unpredictable situation can cause anger. As a result, you are rude to your colleagues at work and do tasks inefficiently. This is an example of how not controlling emotions can lead to difficulties.
It is essential to be aware of and express your negative emotions. However, it is better to do so without affecting other people or your work. That is why you need to learn to tell yourself to stop when you want to explode with a wave of negative emotions at an inappropriate moment.
5. Analyze your negative emotions and triggers
If you are constantly in a bad mood or feeling despair "for no reason," it means that you lack understanding of the cause of these emotions. Or you don't know how to track triggers and react to them correctly.
You can find useful information about where these "unrecognized" emotions come from in our The Mountain is You summary. Most likely, these are feelings that you have had for a long time as a result of past traumas or unfulfilled tasks. When something in the environment triggers these traumas, we feel anxious inside.
In order to combat this, start accepting yourself as you are and acknowledging your traumas. This is already half the success. Next, start working through these traumas of the past. But don’t be too hard on yourself, and practice mindful self-compassion.
6. Develop an inner sense of wonder
What is the difference between children and adults? Kids know how to find a miracle even in small things. They can simply enjoy the rainbow after the rain, cheerful music, and beautiful flowers in the spring. At the same time, we adults are usually so immersed in our daily routines and experiences that we forget to pay attention to such things.
Stop for a moment. Look around you and think about what could cause you joy and surprise right now. Perhaps it is a trip to the cinema, a walk by the river, or a cup of delicious cocoa. Do this and feel the peace within you, staying in the moment.
7. Find positive sides in every situation
Unfortunately, no one and nothing can protect us from negative situations. It's normal to have good days and bad days in our lives. Still, you can find benefits even in uneasy times. To do this, you need to ask yourself, "What lesson can I learn from this situation?" or "What are the advantages of this case?" Let's say you were fired from your job. What are the positive aspects of this situation? First, you can analyze what you did wrong so that you don't make similar mistakes in the future. Secondly, this is your chance to relax and try something new. You can find more tips on how to change your attitude toward negative situations in your life in the Art of Happiness summary.
Although the modern world is full of stress, we can restore inner peace through the many practices of mindfulness. This process is complicated because it requires understanding and accepting one's negative emotions. However, we can learn to deal with the anxiety and worries in our lives. To do this, regularly use the tips above, and you will gradually see the positive result!
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