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PERSONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
I’m so excited to be sharing with you my “Promise of 7” each month. There are 7 promises each person can make to build a better life for themselves and those that depend on you. If you have missed any of the past 7 promises, go to my website:DodgeDevelopment.com and all the articles are posted for you to read and share. This month I am addressing the fifth “Promise of 7.”
Promise That You Will Choose Internal Peace and Happiness
How do you find your inner peace? That’s the hundred-thousand-dollar question. Do you find it by going on a relaxing vacation or visiting a temple in the mountains of India, or is there a simpler solution?
Inner peace does not have a one-size-fits-all definition. There is no standard process or mandatory steps to follow. Finding serenity is more challenging with our busy schedule, hectic lifestyle, and everyday stressors, but it’s completely possible. Inner peace means inner harmony, and the absence of disturbing or distracting thoughts. It means a peaceful mind that can stay calm and collected in every situation. This is not reserved for just the hermits or monks, living in some faraway place. This state can also be attained by people living an ordinary life, who have a job, are married, and have kids.
Why Is It Important to Find Inner Peace in Our Life?
Finding your peace of mind results in fewer worries, anxieties, stressors, and fears. Everyone desires inner peace, even if he or she is not aware of this desire. Few realize the importance and benefits it has, and still fewer know that it’s a choice that can be received. It improves your ability to focus your mind, since there will be fewer distracting thoughts. It increases your internal strength and ability to handle difficult situations, and its possession eliminates impatience, anger, nervousness and restlessness.
Below are more benefits of finding balance in your life:
- Better everyday function in handling your day-to-day affairs
- Increased energy levels and improved emotional management
- Less drama, fewer worries, less stress, and positive thoughts
- A kind and compassionate treatment of other people
- Not being easily affected by society’s negative comments
- The ability to learn how to deal with difficult emotions
- The ability to have a clear judgment when dealing with stressful challenges
- Better sleep quality
The evangelist Billy Graham once said; “Solomon was the great king of Israel. His income was staggering. Nobody that ever lived in history could compare with Solomon in financial worth. Anything he could dream of, he had it. You know how many wives he had? Seven hundred, but that didn’t satisfy him. He had every pleasure at his beck and call. He thought it would bring the peace he longed for, but it did not.”
People have tried to find inner peace through experiences, fame, achievements, money, sex and everything under the sun yet still find themselves unhappy. Why? Because these are surface fixes and don’t get to the real problem.
How to Find Inner Peace and Happiness
There are many ways to achieve inner peace and happiness. One way might work for you but not for others. Achieving the happiness, you seek cannot be achieved overnight; it is an ongoing process. You might want to check out and try the following strategies below to help you find the peace and tranquility you seek.
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Spend Time in Nature: When you spend time in nature, like taking short walks or appreciating nature, you may find serenity. Spending time with nature and taking a deep breath can prevent your mind from thinking about stressful thoughts. This is not a one-time thing, but long-term exposure to nature is an opportunity for you to deal with life’s everyday stress.
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Meditate: Meditation has many proven benefits for our physical, emotional, and mental health.
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Be Grateful: Finding your peace and taking care of your well-being means being grateful for what you have, not complaining about what you lack in life. When you appreciate what you have, you’ll find more peace. It has been found that individuals with a grateful heart and the ones contented with their life’s blessings find peace and happiness within.
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Take Responsibility for Your Actions: Taking responsibility and accountability for all your actions takes a whole level of maturity. Even when it’s hard, you’ll find peace and happiness by admitting your mistakes. Accept criticisms and use them to improve yourself, as doing so will make you a more resilient person.
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Don’t Let Your Past Mistakes Define You: We all have made mistakes in the past that we’re not proud of, but dwelling on these mistakes will take the best of you. Don’t let your past hiccups define you, and don’t let those memories stop you from growing into a better individual. To find your peace and happiness, let go of your regrets. Remember that these mistakes made you a better person. You’re going to commit mistakes in the future anyway, so learn to pick yourself up and move on.
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Love Yourself: Self-care is important to finding peace and happiness. How can you be truly happy in life if you cannot love yourself? Loving yourself means looking after your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. These include eating healthy, exercising regularly, and looking after your overall well-being. When you have a healthy relationship with yourself and practice self-care, you also project this positive energy toward others. Imagine how happy and peaceful your life can be when you feel good about yourself. Healthy self-love also results in good relationships with the people around you.
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Practice Acceptance and Contentment: In finding peace and happiness, acceptance and contentment are key. Accept that you will have problems in life and learn how to deal with them. Being contented means having emotional, physical, or even financial contentment. The desire for material things and financial wealth does not excite an individual with inner peace.
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Declutter: Decluttering can help with having a peaceful mind. This does not only mean decluttering your things and cleaning your home but putting order in your life. Have you noticed how stressed you become when you see a messy closet? That’s why decluttering can help you. Why expose yourself to what will cause stress if you can avoid it? Start taking control of your life by organizing your house, tasks, and thoughts.
In Conclusion
If you find yourself spiraling over a perceived disappointment, frustration, or panic-inducing thought, try stepping back to assess whether what your brain is telling you is true. Examining the source of your turmoil can make it feel smaller in size.
Recognize what’s happening. Label the emotion, because simply naming it calms down your over-arousal. Allow your situation to be there. You’re not resisting it, or trying to numb it and run away, you're allowing it to be there long enough to work with it.
The promise to choose internal peace and happiness is one that is very important to your health and well-being. Take it seriously and make it a daily obligation. Doing so will improve the quality of your soul, the lives of those around you, and extend your life all together in the same process.
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