Having peace of mind is a key component of being happy. Tchiki Davis, MA, PhD, founder of The Berkeley Well-Being Institute, defines it as a “mental state of calmness or tranquility.”
As such, those with peace of mind often have less stress and anxiety than those who always feel anxious and worried.
While it’s okay to be a little worried now and again, sustained anxiety can lead to decreased motivation and your overall appetite for life.
If you want to break free from those negative emotions and experience sustained peace of mind and inner peace, try practicing these daily habits.
1. Practice Gratitude
You’ll come to find that those who practice gratitude also experience inner peace. Through the daily practice of gratitude, you find things to be thankful for.
The cool thing about gratitude is that it doesn’t have to be something big or even be the same thing every day.
For example, maybe today you’re grateful for that long chat with a long-distance friend, and yesterday, thankful for the rain, which prompted you to take time for self-care and read a book.
Finding things to be grateful for doesn’t just make you feel better. In fact, with enough practice, you can begin to alter existing or create new neural pathways that help your brain switch into gratitude mode in times of stress.
2. Exercise
There are so many wonderful benefits to getting up and moving your body, so it’s no wonder that helping you develop inner peace is one of them!
While exercise is certainly useful for weight management, decreasing insomnia, and keeping your body healthy, it’s just as great for developing peace of mind.
A lot of this has to do with the chemicals that get released in your brain. Known as feel-good chemicals, working out releases endorphins, which lower stress and increase overall emotional well-being.
In addition to this, exercise keeps you distracted. So, if you find yourself struggling with inner peace today due to racing or ruminating thoughts, taking a jog, or hitting the treadmill might be just what you need to feel better!
3. Practice Acceptance
Chances are there’s something heavy weighing on you, whether it’s something you said, did, or experienced. Oftentimes, when we’re experiencing something uncomfortable, it’s human instinct to want to avoid or it sweep it under the rug.
However, in doing so, you’re removing any chance of enjoying peace of mind. Think about it: if you’re constantly replaying what happened, what you said, or what you did in your mind, are you experiencing inner peace?
To combat this and achieve inner peace, you have to work on practicing acceptance daily. Through acceptance, you get to acknowledge your feelings (uncomfortable as they may be).
It may be hard at first, but if you accept that you’re hurt, sad, or happy when the moment calls for it, you’re embracing the good and challenging parts of life.
Both are necessary for having inner tranquility and more importantly, having peace of mind that you can survive anything thrown at you.
4. Make Time For Mindfulness
In the same vein as self-reflection, you should also make time for mindfulness.
Mindfulness, defined by the American Psychological Association as “…awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings,” aids in the development of inner peace.
Just like with acceptance, mindfulness lets you accept your emotions but without judgment.
To create a visual aid, imagine yourself sitting down and watching your emotions float past you.
There are many mindfulness techniques you can use, such as acknowledging your bodily sensations and focusing on the rhythm of your breaths that you can practice daily.
These techniques not only decrease stress levels, which can give you inner peace, but offer a tool to rely on if you find yourself starting to spiral.
5. Limit Media Consumption
At its inception, social media was designed to keep long-distance friends and relatives connected.
Unfortunately, as social media has moved from connectivity to the information highway, that’s no longer the case.
While you may rely on social media for news, constant exposure can be overwhelming.
Couple this with doomscrolling – spending “…excessive time online scrolling through news or other content that makes one feel sad, anxious, angry, etc.” and it’s easy to see how our smartphones and social media platforms can disturb our ability to enjoy inner peace.
Though it may not be totally feasible to live life without a smartphone, offload your social media apps or set a limit on how long you can be on them.
Limiting your exposure to sad and stressful stories can break the cycle of negativity, letting you focus your time on happier and more fulfilling pursuits that lead to sustained inner peace.
Obtaining inner peace is a necessary part of enjoying life. By incorporating these five practices into your daily schedule, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying peace of mind and all the beauty it can bring.
