I Found Peace of Mind

nine Min Read | Mar 18, 2022

The about important matter I can tell you most your peace of heed is this: Information technology's not situational. A lot of us look for peace of heed by trying to predict the future, by decision-making everything and anybody, or past putting our faith in a political candidate who makes us feel safe.

But when nosotros try to anchor our sense of well-beingness to an ever-shifting, chaotic world, we will constantly feel anxious and unsettled.

Truthful peace of mind is non contingent upon circumstances. It'southward a way of being—a choice to rise above your situation. You have to exist a person of peace and choose to live a life of peace, which paradoxically means you lot have to be ready to encounter difficulty. And the all-time mode I know how to exercise this is to have practices that gear up you for life's challenges when—not if—they come. Think of these practices every bit rebar—the metal rods embedded in physical that keep it strong and structurally sound.

With that in mind, let's talk about a few of the best practices for becoming a person of peace.

1. Face uncomfortable truths head on.

Finding peace of mind isn't about erasing every uncomfortable emotion or thought. It'due south about braving the rapids for stiller waters. Numbing, suppressing and avoiding discomfort and anxiety will but make everything worse. Don't run from or gauge your feelings. Instead, exist compassionate and curious. Sometimes, just giving yourself permission to call information technology like information technology is will allow you to feel tremendous relief.

2. Periodical.

Journaling is an excellent practice for unearthing what'southward going on in your heart and mind. Go your swirling, chaotic thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Simply sit downwards with a bare sheet of paper and write. Word vomit all over the folio. Don't edit yourself. And don't lie or hibernate from yourself. The goal isn't to be pretty or eloquent or even make sense—information technology's to get in touch with what's going on within your head.

3. Connect with people you love and trust.

You cannot do life alone. Period. Healthy relationships are the foundation for a still mind and overall wellness. You need people. When yous're feeling stressed, anxious and solitary, go to someone who volition heed to you lot, honey y'all, and just exist with you. Human connectedness is i of the near powerful antidotes to that low-grade anxiety that might exist robbing y'all of your peace of mind.

iv. Be agile.

Ane of the best ways to get stress out of your trunk is to exist agile. Lift weights. Ride a bike. Join a team. Do anything y'all tin can to be active. Practice volition clear your heed and heal your torso different anything else.

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I love lifting weights in my abode gym and getting outside in the woods and creeks with my kids for ridiculous adventures. I like going to jujitsu classes, playing church-league basketball, and taking long bike rides. For you, it might be playing soccer in the yard, crushing it on a rowing car, or hiking. The best exercise plan is the one you'll do.

5. Spend fourth dimension outside.

Be outside whenever possible. Get a blanket if it'due south common cold or vesture shorts if it's too hot. Only get outside. Nature is healing and restorative for your heart, mind and body. Put your blank anxiety in the grass, heed to the birds, take a hike, sit by a lake or a river and just breathe in the air.

6. Slumber.

Getting a total seven to nine hours of sleep every night is ridiculously important because slumber fixes so many health issues—including stress and anxiety. Slumber is near as shut to a silver bullet equally you can go.

If you have trouble actually getting to slumber considering your thoughts are spinning, create a wind-down routine an hr before bed where you get off engineering science, dim the lights, accept a relaxing bath, take pure supplements (non medications), read a good volume, and meditate and journal to help calm your mind.

7. Eat well.

Along with sleep, food-rich foods are a foundational pillar of health. In that location'south no such affair as "mental health" and "physical wellness." It's all but health. And food has a direct touch on your mood, as well as your body's ability to function, answer and recover. A diet that's high in sugar and processed foods and other trash will contribute significantly to your anxiety levels. Be a good steward of the one body you take and eat well.

eight. Practice forgiveness.

Unresolved conflict can be a huge source of feet. Do you demand to forgive someone for the hurt they caused y'all? Exercise yous need to forgive yourself for a fault that haunts you? Unforgiveness leads to bitterness, and it's been said that bitterness is the poison we drink hoping someone else will die. Don't acquit the bricks of bitterness or acrimony. Prepare the bricks down. Cull to forgive.

nine. Listen to music.

Music is healing for the soul—whether yous're jamming to '80s hair metal (one of my personal favorites) or some lo-fi beats to create some Zen. Find a playlist or an album that brings you joy and turn upwardly the volume.

10. Do something creative.

Creativity is a remarkable outlet for stress relief and peace. I beloved this quote from Brené Brown: "Unused inventiveness is not benign . . . It metastasizes into resentment, grief, heartbreak." Is at that place a creative outlet you've been missing? Dust off your guitar. Commencement that business. Plant a garden. Melt a meal for your neighbors.

Getting lost in a practiced novel is another smashing way to increase creativity. Pick up a book and give your brain a break from problem-solving mode.

eleven. Practice gratitude every 24-hour interval.

I continue a gratitude periodical every unmarried twenty-four hours. I know this feels cheesy and Pinteresty, but information technology'due south powerful and transformative. Anxiety keeps united states fixated on past experiences or worried about hereafter ones, but gratitude is grounding because it centers us in the nowadays. It reminds us to stop complaining and whining and internalize our blessings.

Write downward 5 things you're grateful for, first with "I'm grateful for . . ." Gratitude is a foundational practice for a life of peace. Bonus points if you do this twice a day: when you first wake up and right before yous go to bed.

12. Pay attention to and redirect your thoughts.

I don't know virtually you, but the more stressed I become, the more than I lose control of my thoughts. If I don't step in, my brain starts to spiral, with unwelcome and frightening thoughts spinning faster and faster.

Ruminating (thinking the aforementioned things over and over) and worrying make usa experience similar nosotros're doing something of import. We go a fake sense of accomplishment from these mental scenarios: preparing for the worst, rehearsing disaster, or practicing imaginary hard conversations we'll never have in real life. Hear me clearly: Ruminating and worrying are a consummate waste of time. They do nothing except exit u.s. feeling more helpless and anxious.

But here's the heady matter: We can learn to command our thoughts. We get to decide where nosotros fix our attention. Pay attention to the thoughts running through your listen and redirect them to something actually truthful and pleasant and good to call up near.

13. Try a meditation.

Okay, I know what you lot might be thinking: Meditation is a woo-woo exercise for yogis and granola people that but eat kale. Just in reality, meditation is the practice of paying attending to and controlling our thoughts. It's learning where your body and your mind connect and how you lot can take a bird's-heart view of your desires. It'due south a game changer. My team and I put together a gratis meditation that will help you find peace of listen. Download information technology here.

14. Articulate up your schedule.

You cannot outrun or outperform your feet and depression. Existence rushed and overcommitted will destroy your peace of mind. Are you also busy? Stressed out by commitments you tin can't proceed? Look at how you're spending your time and find things you can say no to. Wearisome down and notice time to breathe.

15. Throw your screens out the window.

Okay, not really. But maybe. Our devices are stealing our attention, our joy and our power to be nowadays with ourselves and with others. I don't suggest that we all go off the grid and alive in the woods without electricity or smartphones or plumbing. I'm writing this commodity on a laptop, and I only posted some quippy saying on Instagram. For most of united states, technology is an important tool for our work and our lives. But I'm certain of the fact that we need to have major guardrails around technology utilize.

Reevaluate your relationship with technology. Is it serving you, or are you serving it? Care for your attention equally your most important commodity. Treasure it. Value it. Protect it.

sixteen. Pray.

I'chiliad a Christian guy, so prayer is important to me. It might non exist for y'all, and that's okay. But if you're a person of religion, I encourage y'all to make regular fourth dimension to pray and calm your spirit. I likewise like to write a Scripture verse on an index bill of fare (yep, I'one thousand old school like that) and carry it around with me throughout my day.

Regardless of your faith tradition or your human relationship (or lack of) with God, we must all internalize 1 important truth: The universe does not revolve around yous. Or me. Nosotros're small, and our fourth dimension on earth is short. There are much bigger things going on. Prayer reminds usa to sit in our smallness and helps us retrieve that we all need help getting through each moment.

A Long-Term Solution for Finding Peace of Mind

Almost of the time, our full general sense of unease or stress or guilt stems from unresolved anxiety. It'due south like a low-grade fever. It'due south your brain and body's way of letting yous know something is off.

But hither's what's heady: Once you lean in and pay attention to the root cause of your anxiety, you can brainstorm to make deep, lasting changes for healing. To get started, I invite you to check out my new book Ain Your Past, Change Your Hereafter.

Delight become all in on this. You are worth being well.

Your Mental Health Matters

The weight you lot are carrying is real. Cull to set it down. Order Dr. John Delony's new volume, Own Your By, Alter Your Future!

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Dr. John Delony

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