Peace of mind is not a goal I need achieve. It’s a place inside I never want to leave. Close my eyes, I still my thoughts and then I say I will choose to live in peace today. – Robert Alan
Inner peace is something we all look for, but like anything else it takes some work to achieve. Peace is waiting within all of us, but unfortunately we often lose our inner peace and let destructive emotions take over.
If you know what to look for, you can stop these negative emotions in their path and keep peace as a part of your daily life.
Here are some of the reasons why we lose our peace:
• Expecting Perfection. Sometimes you can do this without realizing it, but we always seem to be striving for perfection to an unnatural degree. You need to allow yourself to make mistakes and move forward, instead of kicking yourself for making a mistake you think you could have avoided.
• Being Afraid. When we allow fear into our lives, it disturbs the peace. We need to conquer our fears – or accept them for what they are – in order to restore a peaceful balance.
• Anger and Resentment. Some people don’t realize that strongly negative emotions like anger and resentment are detrimental to your health and well-being. If these emotions arise, it’s important to take a few deep breaths and release them without harm.
• Being Too Busy. In this fast paced world, it’s easy to take on too much. If we start to feel too stressed out, we lose our freedom. Sometimes busyness and stress are unavoidable, which is why it’s important to take frequent breaks.
• Accept Challenges. Accept challenges and accept your situation. Once you surrender and deal with the situation you’re given, you’ll no longer have to deal with the negative emotions that might be fighting with you.
• Regrets. Regrets can cloud your current thinking with thoughts of the past that are unchangeable. When you regret the past, you lose the opportunity for peace in the present moment.
You might regret a decision or a certain thing that happened to you. However, holding on to those regrets can harm you. Regrets can become obsessions that tumble in your mind. Forgiveness can set you free. Holding grudges only continues your pain.
Meditation
If you’ve lost your peace and negative emotions are the culprit, begin to practice meditation. You can discover many things about yourself and achieve inner peace by using this simple practice.
The heart of meditation is accepting things as they are. Meditation allows your mind to rest and recharge.
Achieving Inner Peace
Inner peace doesn’t have to be achieved by any set rule. The most important thing to remember is to find something that works for you personally.
Set a certain amount of time each day that you can dedicate to maintaining peace. It could be meditation, listening to your favorite music, or taking a bath. Whatever it is, when you take these simple steps, you’ll achieve freedom within you.
P.S. Click here to learn how to reduce stress using the power of essential oils.
I can see how some of those things could definitely cause me to lose peace in my life from time to time. I like your idea of setting aside a little bit of time each day to try to re-find peace. That's a good time investment! 🙂
It sure is, Nisha-thanks!
Always love your posts Lisa as there is so much I can relate to! The biggest threat to my inner peace is my expectations of myself and others – it's a regular battle of the mind!
Expectations are tricky. There can be some expectations that are hidden and you don’t realize that they are there until a conflict comes up.
Expectations are tough. Just when you think you are clear about them, some hidden ones sneak up. They usually follow a pattern for me.
Being afraid — something we need to constantly check within ourselves — am I not doing because I've thought it through and it's not right for me or is because I'm leading my thought discussions with, "ya but," or "what if," or I would but I can't…". Wonderful list — thank you!
It is something to check on and monitor. Fear can sneak up on you before you know it! Thanks, Lisa
Oh yes, expecting perfection and being too busy are my two downfalls. Thanks for this great reminder Lisa. I am a big believer in meditation, but have a hard time being consistent and centered when I'm busy. I definitely need to increase my meditation practice, even though it feels like there's no time for that. . .
Being consistent with meditation practice can be tough. I set the timer on my phone, even for 2 or 5 minutes to give my mind a rest.