Focus on what you appreciate about the people in your life instead of wishing they would change (assuming you’re in healthy relationships).Ģ5. Create a list of things you love about yourself instead of dwelling on how you wish you were different.Ģ4. Set aside some time to actively enjoy the good things about the present instead of scheming to create a better future.Ģ3. Muster compassion for someone who hurt you instead of wallowing in bitterness, which will make it easier to forgive them and set yourself free.Ģ2. Declutter a cluttered part of your home, creating a more peaceful space. Take five to ten minutes for stretching, syncing your breath with the movements (or if you have an hour, visit a local studio for a yoga class).Ģ0. Go for a bike ride in a scenic part of town, and immerse yourself in the calm of your environment.ġ9. Take a long walk on the beach, focusing on the feel of the sand between your toes and the sound of the crashing waves. Get into your body and get out of your head!ġ7. Get up and dance to your favorite song, focusing solely on the music and the movement. (This has been a calming experience for me!) Activityġ6. Write a blog post about what gives you peace of mind. Take a walk with the sole intention of photographing beautiful things that make you feel at peace, like a tree with colorful autumn leaves.ġ5. Meditate on your favorite peace quote and then write it in calligraphy for framing.ġ4. (Google “peace collage” and you’ll get lots of ideas!)ġ3. Include images that make you feel relaxed and at ease. Engage in a little art therapy grab some crayons, markers, or paint and put all your feelings on the page.ġ2. Apologize for a mistake instead of rehashing it, and then choose to forgive yourself. Call someone you’ve denied forgiveness and tell them you forgive them.ġ0. Tell someone how their actions affected you instead of holding it in and building resentment.ĩ. Write down everything you’ve learned from a difficult experience so you can see it as something useful and empowering instead of something to stress you out.Ĩ. Write down everything that’s weighing you down mentally and then burn it as a form of letting go.ħ. Now start on the left with an inhalation, exhaling on the right. Release the left nostril, hold the right one down, and exhale through the left. Hold the left nostril down and inhale through the right then hold the breath.

Find a guided meditation on YouTube and let it lull you into a blissful state of presence.ĥ. Take a meditative walk, focusing solely on the physical sensations of walking-the earth under your feet, the swing of your hips.Ĥ. Take 100 deep breaths, counting “and one,” “and two,” and so on, with “and” on the inhalations and the numbers on the exhalations.ģ. Take five to ten minutes for a simple seated meditation.Ģ. If you’d also like to develop a greater sense of peace, you may find these suggestions helpful: Meditationġ. There are countless things we can do to create peace of mind, both in response to events in our lives, and proactively, everyday. I still go through periods when I get caught up in worries and stresses, and it can feel like that’s the only available response to things that have happened.īut it’s not. Sure, our circumstances affect our mental state, but they don’t have to control them, not if we make tiny choices for our well-being.Īdmittedly, it’s not easy to choose peace when we’re going through tough times. I’ve since realized that peace is always available, and like any desirable state of mind, it requires effort, even if that effort entails consciously choosing to be still. I needed to work less, relax more, and generally revamp my circumstances and relationships in order to be a peaceful person.ĭespite seeing peace as an endpoint, I also saw it as something passive after all, that’s why I was so stressed: I had so much to do. It seemed like something I needed to chase or find-definitely not something I could experience without dramatically changing my life. There was a time when I thought peace was a destination, in much the same way I imagined I’d eventually arrive at happiness or success. “Set peace of mind as your highest goal, and organize your life around it.” ~Brian Tracy

Take five numbers for last night