Six strategies to go from stressed to inner peace

What does inner peace mean to you? For many it means being in a state of physical and spiritual calm and contentment, even when there’s stress and turmoil in the world. Inner peace is something people search for, especially now when there is social unrest and countries of the world are at odds with each other.

People are apprehensive about the future so it’s even more important to find your own inner peace, a way of living a contented life. The Dalai Lama said, “Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.”

Research shows, and we find this true ourselves, that when we have inner peace, we have less anxiety and fewer worries. When stress gets lowered we’re able to achieve the things we want to do and be the people we want to be. Also, we sleep well, take better care of ourselves and health improves. So here are six strategies to go from stressed to inner peace:

Visualize now and future: Visualize your future positively and look for opportunities. It helps to see different perspectives and it helps prepare you physically and emotionally for rewarding and challenging life situations. When you can visualize your rewards or consequences, you can make better decisions.

Also, visualizing yourself in places that are relaxing to you, can help you feel calm. Many people who visualize themselves by a lake, ocean, or walking in nature find it’s calming. When possible, going to those places and actually doing what you visualize, can bring satisfaction.

Keep life positive: As much as you can, find people and things you truly enjoy. Spend as much time as possible around positive, caring people. Develop a social life doing what you love with people you enjoy. Also, when you limit your negative thoughts and also limit your exposure to negative news, you can gain energy to do some of the things that are meaningful to you. As you spend more time in nurturing relationships, happiness and peace are often the result.

Count to ten: When you feel anxious, angry, or out of control, regain your control and inner peace by counting to ten. As least that’s what our mothers taught us to do. As you do this it gives you time to reframe what is upsetting you and time for emotions to stabilize. If you have trouble letting go of the negative emotion, here’s a trick. Use the environment you are currently in to help you calm your brain. For example, identify some things you can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste. This also gives you time to calm down and see things from different perspectives.

Practice calming breaths: This exercise is calming when life is too stressful, or you need a boost of energy. It’s a form of breathing that requires a series of long, slow, and deep breaths. Find a comfortable, quiet spot away from others and distractions. Place one hand on the top of your diaphragm.

Slowly take a deep breath in through your nose for four seconds. Then release the breath through your mouth, gradually increasing your exhales to five, six, and seven seconds. Focus on your breathing each time. Repeat this process until you feel calm and relaxed.

Spread kindness: Support your community by giving your time, treasure or talents to causes that are meaningful to you. Volunteering, or helping someone in need can raise feelings of inner peace. Some simple things to do are just listening to someone or sharing a friendly smile. Acts of kindness feel good. Also, remember to give kindness to yourself by letting go of negatives from the past and forgiving yourself and others. Let go of perfectionism so you can accept yourself and others as humans, learning and growing to be better. Inner peace gets generated as you spread kindness, positivity and love.

See the blessings: Each day we have an opportunity to see many good things in our lives. What do you see?  The fact that you can see is a blessing. And what are some other good things? Ask yourself: What am I grateful for? What made me feel most at peace today? How can I do more of that tomorrow or maybe each day? Prayer and meditation practiced regularly can also bring the blessing of feeling inner peace.

What about you? Are you struggling to find inner peace? We encourage you to use the six strategies to go from stressed to inner peace. As you do so, you’ll be able to live an even more fulfilling and meaningful life.

Chanhassen MN residents, Doug and Lynn Nodland are success coaches and owners of The Balance Center in Excelsior. Contact them at WeCare@SharingLifesLessons.com

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2022 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.