5 Steps To Inner Peace
What are the real steps to inner peace? Achieving inner peace happens by small actions throughout the day that help to keep your balance and deal with the stresses that are presented. As you implement these you will be able to calm your mind and relieve yourself of many stresses and strains of modern life.
1. Being in the present moment
To achieve inner peace, you need to be in the present moment. The best way to achieve this is through mindfulness meditation. I am not referring to spending hours meditating every day. It is about being aware of how your body and mind are in sync and allowing yourself to feel what you are experiencing moment by moment. When you are grounded in the present, you will not concern yourself with the past or the future.
You only need a few minutes each day where you consciously check in with with the sensations, and reactions of your body. There is no reason to be scared of this. You can easily learn mindfulness meditation by watching videos online. With a little practice, you will be able to keep your mind, emotions and body in sync and working together wherever you are.
2. Control your Thoughts
Stress and anxiety are the opposite of inner peace. Our minds tend to fill up with negative thoughts easily and you need to control this. You are in charge of your own mind and the thoughts that you pay attention to.
Every time that you experience a negative thought you have the choice to accept it or to observe it and decide if it is useful. If not dismiss it. It will take persistence and practice to do this on autopilot but it is really worth it. Anything can trigger a negative thought and you need to deal with it when it arrives. Just because a thought flits through your head does not mean you need to believe it or keep. Learn to choose your thoughts.
Another thing that you can do is to avoid negative situations. Stop turning on the news on TV every morning or reading about the depressing things that are happening in the world. If there are negative people in your social circle (everyone has these) then minimize contact with them. It is not always easy to avoid negativity but it is essential that you make an effort to do so.
3. Be Grateful Every Day
Expressing your gratitude for things and people that you have in your life every day will help you to achieve inner peace. Don’t just be grateful when good things happen. Make a commitment to think about and write down 3 things that you are grateful for in your life each day.
Look around you to see what you have. Be grateful for the fact that you have a roof over your head and hot water to bathe with. If you have an old car then be grateful that this enables you to get around. Express gratitude for the job that you have no matter how much you dislike it. Think about the people in your life and be grateful for them.
4. Declutter your Life
Most of us have a lot of things that we really don’t need. Make a decision to clear the clutter in your home. Sell items that you no longer want or use. Give things away as an act of kindness. Stop yearning for new things that will only bring temporary happiness. When you are tempted to buy online, but it in the cart but don’t buy it for 24 hours. Often you will see you didn’t really want or need it. Things will not meet the yearning in your heart and clutter tends to accumulate negative energies and trap the flow. It makes more work to keep it clean!
5. Stop Relying on Others for your Happiness
If you are always looking to others to make you happy then you will not achieve inner peace. You need to focus on your own life and set challenging goals for yourself. And, consciously choose to enjoy the journey rather than just churn out goals. Stop and smell the roses. Sit and drink your coffee or tea without any devices on rather than racing on with the day and gulping it down between stop lights. Take your holiday days. Don’t work through lunch, even if you just take 15 mins to eat, do so enjoying your lunch and break. Take a quick walk.
Relying on others for happiness can cause you a lot of stress. Any criticisms that you receive from others can cause you a great deal of stress. Only you can make you happy. It is a choice you make.
Master these five habits and inner peace will grow and spread in your life.
