How To Achieve Peace of Mind and Happiness Within
Experiencing mental peace and inner calm is not impossible
Everyone desires to experience peace and wants happiness to be the default state in their life. Norman Vincent Peale once said, “The life of inner peace, harmonious and without stress, is the easiest type of existence.” However, many find inner calm somewhat elusive.
Although the reasons for lack of peace vary from person to person, for most, it boils down to mindless comparisons, the pursuit of ‘more,’ and overwhelming oneself with more than you can handle — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Finding peace of mind is neither an impossible goal nor a daunting task. A shift of mindset, small tweaks, and adjustments in how you live your life can make a sea of difference in your life and bring enormous happiness your way.
Here are seven simple ways to achieve peace of mind and happiness in daily life.
1. Live life aligned with your inner compass
Most people live life listening to their heads and brushing aside signals from their instinct. Dismissing the gut feeling and acting out of step with what you truly want leads to inner conflict. It is a significant source of stress and anxiety in life.
When you establish a strong relationship with your inner self and remain connected with the core, you tend to conduct yourself appropriately. Every step you take then resonates with your values and aligns with things you hold dear to your heart.
Also, when operating from the authentic inner space, you don’t lose sight of your guiding principles. You are, therefore, in a better position to make choices, take decisions and act according to what feels right to you.
Living in alignment with your inner compass helps increase your peace of mind and enables you to live a happier life.
2. Clear your mind
If your mind is always engulfed by thoughts about what-if, only-if, and alas, appearing from nowhere and rapidly switching between the past and future, you’ll remain stressed most of the time. These thoughts have the propensity to play in loops and can be highly distressing.
Ignoring these racing thoughts can cloud and clog your mind, giving you an unsettling feeling.
These random thoughts can also trigger anxiety, self-doubt, and fear in your mind. Also, the constant worrying about worst-case scenarios can keep you from taking action on your goals, accepting challenges, and taking risks.
To keep stress at bay and be at ease, you must clear your mind of the disempowering thoughts. One of the easiest ways to stop the rumination of thoughts is to stay tuned with your present, practice mindfulness, and remain grounded in the ‘now.’
3. Don’t put riders on your happiness
Experiencing bliss and happiness in life is not conditional. You cannot put your happiness on hold, pursue X, wait to accomplish Y, or first reach Z to feel fulfilled and experience joy in your life.
Holding happiness hostage while prioritizing other things and people over your own peace of mind and needs is fooling yourself and setting yourself up for disappointment.
Stop trivial pursuits from running your life. Concentrate on things that matter and are critical for living a happy and content life. Separating the grain from the chaff and putting your priorities in front and center will help you experience calm and live blissfully.
4. Stop expecting too much from yourself
Much of life’s stress stems from the high expectations for yourself as to what you should be, how you should live your life, and what you should accomplish.
You’re a human and can only give your best. So, instead of setting unrealistic goals for yourself and pushing yourself beyond the breakpoint, give yourself reasonable goals to motivate you to pursue them with all your heart.
There’s no benefit to comparing yourself with others. You are you; they are they.
Shift the spotlight from others to yourself if you want to tap your full potential and reach your big goals.
Focus on your unique qualities, traits, and positive attributes, and make the best of what you have by playing to your strengths.
5. Let go
Everyone has had bad and bitter experiences in life. Those who choose to look back and live in their past remain stuck and are unable to move forward in life.
Holding onto things that no longer serve you and clinging to people who have lost relevance in your life keeps you trapped in misery and robs your peace of mind.
What is done cannot be done. Regretting and feeling sorry won’t help you in any way. You can only learn from your mistakes and failures, incorporate changes in your life, better yourself to progress towards your goals, and build a brighter future.
Letting go of the past allows you to look ahead and take steps in the positive direction.
6. Get your life under control
Struggle, uncertainty, and challenges are a part of daily life. However, if you let life run without setting systems and observing rules, things will get out of hand, and you’re sure to feel overwhelmed.
Streamlining your life, organizing things, and keeping a list of your daily chores and tasks will enable you to get a hold of your life and effectively use your time and energy. This will also help you tend to important things and pay equal attention to all critical areas of your life.
The less stressful your life is, the more you will be able to deal with difficulties, problems, and unexpected situations. It will also increase the quality of your life and help you enjoy the process of chasing your goals. The more you feel in control of your life, the more you enjoy it.
7. Stop telling yourself negative stories
Your inner narrative plays a significant role in your daily happiness. The conversation that you have with your inner self, the thoughts that run through your mind, and the false stories you choose to tell yourself impact your life greatly.
Constantly telling yourself you’re not good enough, you don’t have it in you what it takes to succeed, you are unlucky, others are better than you, you won’t ever make it, you’re a loser, relationships don’t last, or you’re flawed will not only affect your sense of self but will also rob your peace of mind.
The running inner monologue and limiting beliefs conjure up a world where you are confined by your limitations and weaknesses and cannot move ahead in life. Your perspective on life changes, and you begin to see everything in a negative light.
Turning around your self-talk enables your subconscious mind to become more positive and focus on things going well in your life instead of letting you drown in negativity and surrendering yourself to fate.
Positive self-talk also boosts your confidence and empowers you to go out confidently to accept challenges and seize newer opportunities. This improves your mental and emotional well-being and helps you live a happy and peaceful life.
In Conclusion
Having peace of mind calms you and enriches your experience of living a happy and tranquil life. You don’t have to move to the mountains or sit silent, meditating for long hours to find inner peace and happiness.
Serenity can be experienced by removing overthinking and negativity and making space for more positivity in your life. Once you open your heart to experience inner calm and peace, you’ll never allow yourself to slip into negativity again.
Dr. Roopleen is the author of ‘And So Can You’ and From Average to Awesome
