Ask yourself, "when was the last time I was at peace?" You might feel like you’re leading a substantially happy life with most things going on for you. You might have a great job, a supportive partner and certain luxuries that make life simpler. But, do you have peace? Our guess is, probably not.
How can we have mental peace when we are constantly surrounded by the hustle-bustle of the day to day life? Work, chores, responsibilities and all the electronic devices we surround ourselves with, ensure that we do not get a moment’s peace. So, what do we do? Well, one way would be to quit everything all together and head to the nearest retreat or meditation camp to find yourself – yeah, that’s not a very good idea, given the responsibilities we have towards ourselves and our loved ones. So, instead of looking for peace on the outside, aim to achieve stillness from within.
#1. Take Deep Breaths
The first page of countless meditation guides will have the exact same thing written on them. Sit down in a cross-legged position and breathe deeply for a few minutes and you will find yourself in an instantly relaxed state. In our fast-paced life laden with tasks that ask for quick if not instant completion, we don’t really have the time to sit down and just breathe every day. Instead, you can work this breathing technique into your schedule and take a few deep breaths whenever you find the time. For example, if you are waiting for your food at a restaurant or for a work meeting to begin, simply start focusing on your breath. Even if you clear your mind and focus on breathing in and out for as little as 60 seconds, you will start feeling in tune with your own body and more relaxed. This will help your body and mind achieve a Zen-like state for a long time. Similarly, work on your breathing exercises into intervals and lulls throughout the day.
#2. Create A Morning Routine
Waking up, chugging your morning coffee, haphazardly getting ready and bolting to work does not count as a morning routine, nor does it contribute to a peaceful mind. A hasty morning can lead to a complete day of confusion which is why you need to create a routine and stick to it. The most successful people swear by their morning routines and claim that it all starts with waking up early. Rising before the sun may not sound very appealing but once you make it a habit, you will be thankful for the extra hours you get in the morning. Take this time to relax and do things that you like. Go for a walk, listen to soothing music or meditate. You may even take this time to cook yourself a meal that you will love to eat later that day. In any case, you will be spending a few hours with yourself and will feel the stillness you achieve coursing through you throughout the day.
#3. Be Mindful Of Your Own Thoughts
Your erratic, confusing, tiring days can give way to endless negative thoughts without you even noticing it. This results in a mind that is constantly at unrest and a body which bears the brunt of this weary mind. To combat this problem, all you need to do is start being mindful of your own thoughts and actively pushing out the negative chatter that goes on inside. Try focusing on the positives rather than mulling over the negatives and you can successfully drive out the thoughts that cause your stress hormones to increase. Get rid of negative feelings like anger, resentment, guilt, and jealousy. Once you mindfully filter out these negative emotions, you will feel better about life. One way of achieving mindfulness is active reflection and listening to your own thoughts multiple times a day. Again, this practice can be fitted into the busiest of schedules and provide you with those much needed moments of reflection and stillness.
#4. Opt For An Electronic Downtime
An electronic downtime is when you shut off all your devices including your phone, television, laptop and everything else with a screen. Without even realizing it, you are probably a slave to your devices, craving them when you don’t see them even for a few seconds. Getting rid of this electronic addiction alone will make your life that much simpler. Take 30 minutes out of your day and shut off all devices and let yourself crave them. After a few days of struggling, you will find that you actually enjoy this period of no screens. You can spend this time connecting with yourself or your family without the usual interruption of your devices. Make your entire family take part in your electronic downtime and you will all feel closer and more relaxed in just a few days.
#5. Get A Good Night’s Sleep
A sound sleep is conducive to a sound mind and will help you achieve a Zen-like state each day. Waking up after an uninterrupted sleep will make you feel relaxed and charged up for the physically and mentally demanding day ahead of you. Unfortunately, we seldom get uninterrupted sleep due to annoyances outside and within us. One way of sleeping like a baby is to get yourself into a nighttime routine. Take a warm bath, drink a glass of milk, read a book and lull your mind into a slow, deep sleep. A very important aspect of sleeping well is switching off your mobile phone and television set an hour before sleep time. This will calm your mind and help you achieve deep sleep soon. This is why the electronic downtime is recommended right before bedtime. Once you get rid of the common distractions that contribute to a troubled sleep, you are bound to sleep and feel better.
#6. Find Your Place Of Peace
Another way of quieting down your mind and feeling still, is returning to a place where you actually were at peace. It may have been a day with your partner at the beach or a night of reading alone. Whenever you start feeling that your thoughts are turning negative and you are heading towards stress, make your mind go back to that ‘happy place’ where you felt the most peaceful and calm. Bringing back those memories, release your happy hormones and beat the stress hormones before they can do any damage. To carry out this practice, all you need to do is close your eyes and shut out the noise around you. Once you do that, just start thinking and imagine you are in your happy place doing things you love with the people who make you happy.
#7. Use White Noise
While you might feel that noise is counter-intuitive to stillness, it is not the case with white noise. White Noise is simply a collection of sounds that relax the mind and help it concentrate better. Many people use White Noise as a sleep tool as it helps achieve deep sleep. Others swear by White Noise as a learning tool which can help concentrate while studying and thus grasp and retain more. Further, playing white noise in the background can also aid your meditation and enhance the stillness you experience while meditating. All you need to do is download a White Noise app and play it in the background while sleeping or studying and see it work its magic. If you feel that it does not work for you, you can always change the tune.
#8. Prioritize Your Tasks
An easy way of finding yourself in a stress hazard is to laze around and put off important tasks. If you loiter around throughout the day and keep the most important things pending then it is obvious that you are in for an anxiety attack. Instead, make a to-do list a day before and stick to it every day so that you finish all your important work in an organized and smooth manner. Once all your chores and tasks are done, the end of the day will be a calm and serene time where you feel the satisfaction of a day well spent. Productivity can greatly contribute to a happy mind which is perfectly ready to achieve calm and stillness. On the other hand, an empty mind which does no work all day is bound to get worked up by the end of the day. Avoid this situation and stop procrastinating.
Your mind is controlled by no one else but you. If you so wish, you can achieve stillness even in the toughest of situations. Even when keeping calm seems next to impossible, it is possible to trick your mind into a relaxed state. Once you are able to control your own emotions, you will find it much easier to control the situation. Try out these steps to achieve stillness in life and tell us what worked for you in the comments section below.
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