Everything about modern society inhibits the mind from experiencing peace and quiet. Millions of us suffer from insomnia, and many more suffer from the stress of holding down an eight hour-five days a week job.
This is why more people than ever before are turning towards the search for inner peace, some sort of balance amidst the insanity of the world. However, inner peace isn’t simply something you can turn on; It is not something you just decide to do and then do it but rather, a state to be achieved and to be improved upon continuously. Inner peace is a lifelong journey that requires a lifetime commitment.
That said, there are a few tips to help us in our search for tranquility and today, we shall tell you six of these.
Stop the self-blaming
Too much of anything can make you sick, even the good can be a curse. It is perfectly fine to step up and accept responsibility for mistakes, in fact, it is often commendable but it’s not healthy to be so self-righteous about it.
Strike a balance by recognizing the consequences of your actions, while also taking into account that sometimes there are things outside your control, thus, sometimes it is alright that things do not go the exact way you willed it to.
If you encounter difficulties trying to love yourself during tough times, our article on #selflove may help!
Ditch the self-victimising
Of course, there is the other extreme end of self-blaming which is the victim mentality. If you are constantly finding external reasons to justify your behavior and your life, blaming circumstances or others for the current downfall, then you end up failing to take responsibility while over-defending yourself from the world.
Self-victimising traps you in your own world of thoughts, convincing you that it is you against the world. This mindset makes you self-conscious, or self-enveloping and thereby, stops you from experiencing each part and parcel of life. Our minds can be the very thing that helps us out of difficulties but it is a double edge sword that can also destroy us internally. Find out more about how stress works here.
Be true to yourself
No pretenses.
For too long, we have allowed society to dictate our life choices. Getting a career that is impressive to others, attaining a postal code everyone soughts after, a body that is ‘acceptable’ by others…
Now is the time to live a life that is congruent with your values. Make your own decisions about what is most important to you rather than if it will be deemed good or nice by others. After all, the only one who can give you true peace and satisfaction is you. Pro tip: try talking to yourself, just like how you would talk to others and watch how it empowers you to live life and do you!
Spend time in nature
The original humans surely did not live in a 3-bedroom apartment and eat take-outs from the convenience store so neither should we.
Take some time off from the concrete jungles by going to a nearby reserve park or if you are feeling adventurous, why not try camping in the great outdoors? You will feel dramatically different compared to sitting down in a restrictive area because you are not physically bound. This in turn, helps to free most of your mental blocks and locks, an imperative when seeking inner peace.
Focus only on things you know you can control
As a human being, we have to know which things are within our control. This means asking ourselves if whatever happened was within our ability to control or not. From there, we can only expect to set ourselves up the best way possible within our means and leave the rest to the natural forces around us. Anything beyond that will distract us and put stress in our life, which will hamper us from performing at our top.
An easy way to do this check is to think “would there have been a certain change in result had I done this instead”. If a change in action would definitely return you with a change in result IE: drinking water would make you less thirsty, then it would be good to focus on the decision. On the other hand, if the change in action does not ensure a change in result IE: Had I spent more time working late, then I might have been promoted instead of so and so, then do not dwell on the thought and move on.
Relax
In a culture absolutely addicted to achievement and productivity, one line that has become ingrained into our minds is, “I need to be doing something right now”.
The problem is that there is no limit to what “right now” is. “Right now” can be in the first five-minute break you tried giving yourself this week, or the moment you shut your eyes during bedtime, or even during a date night out.
Basically, we have become programmed to feel the obsessive need to feel productive at all times, not because we want to, but because we feel like failures if we do not.
This is possibly the biggest thing to get over when seeking out true inner peace, and many of us will not be able to do so easily. The trick is to separate this valuable time from the other activities from the day and name it the ‘productivity charger’. Give your relaxation time its due ‘respect’ as it serves as a productivity booster and in so doing, you feel less ‘guilty’ for taking these much needed breaks.
“If you are depressed you are living in the past if you are anxious you are living in the future, if you are at peace, you are living in the present.”
—Lao Tzu
Inner peace is an achievable state of mind; Start your journey today.
