PEACE ☮

A peaceful mind functions better.

Worries can distract you as they tend to stay at the back of your head and pop up anytime. This is how you get tasks mixed up, things pass you by without you noticing, and important things are forgotten. In other terms, you focus better when you are at peace.

A peaceful mindset makes you confident.

You accept and are content with who you are and just want to keep growing. You don't have inner voices fighting for attention concerning what you can or cannot do. It is easier for people who accept their level of intelligence, skills, or looks among other things to stand tall, stay focused, and want to do more with their lives. Failing to accept who you are will always give you a reason to be hard and, it makes it easier for other people to use it against you.

Be the source of your peace.

You are your own source of peace because you can build it from inside. While you have external agents that encourage peace- such as a healthy working environment or supportive social connections- true peace is something that you nurture within. You draw it out when you come across situations that try your patience. It is inner peace that allows you to walk away from a clash with your impossible boss, or that holds you back when you would rather engage in a screaming match with a spouse or family member. Inner peace keeps you from being buried alive by hardships. It allows you to draw on calm when you would rather resort to the default human reaction of anger, frustration or worry.

Build healthy relationships

Stay away from toxic people who will make you doubt yourself and the beauty of life. Build strategic relationships that align with who you want to be and surround yourself with supportive people who will also know how to give constructive criticism.

FORGIVE and let go of the past

Your past mistakes and all the disappointments-let them go. Holding on to things you cannot change only serves as a reminder of the pain you have experienced and keeps you reliving that painful experience. Many a time, there are no benefits at all. Give your current life and your dreams the much-needed attention so much that you won't have time to revisit your past.

Free yourself from the shackles of your past.

The ability to let go of the past frees you from it. You are then able to focus on the present and the future without worrying about the past and its experiences. Many have failed to work with other people or share ideas with them because of what happened in the past. Some have even given up on romantic relationships. A peaceful mind allows you to keep on giving life another chance.

GRATITUDE

Gratitude is a state of mind that allows us to appreciate what we have. While we may desire better, gratitude allows us to look at what relationships and opportunities we have as a blessing that others may not have. To cultivate happiness in difficult moments, consider what you have and be thankful for it. An attitude of gratitude is an important ingredient of peace and happiness.

Having a peace mindset can help you fight negativity.

When you have a peaceful mind, you are not easily affected by any form of negativity. The fact that you have a clear head makes it easier to analyze situations and understand them better instead of taking them at face value and letting them consume you. For example, when someone chooses to be mean to you, you can try and imagine their stressful work environment or how bad their own situation could be instead of assuming that there is something wrong with you and you don’t have much value as a human being. You can easily survive different situations.

INNER PEACE gives you the courage to try new things.

A lack of inner peace can downplay you in various ways especially where there is self-consciousness or self-doubt. You easily dismiss ideas and opportunities because you judge yourself and conclude that you are not worthy or you do not qualify before others get a chance to share their thoughts with you. In fact, you are even scared that they will confirm what you have always thought of yourself. What if others see you differently? Those who are at peace understand that the actual loss is not trying because you lose a chance to discover more about life and yourself.

It helps you live your life to the fullest.

Being at peace makes it easier for you to give attention to all areas of your life and balance things up where the lack thereof will make you focus more on the one thing that you assume will make you happy. You learn to appreciate every single part of your life.

It is your responsibility to maintain peace in your environment.

To expect peace to come from external sources is to set yourself up for a disgruntled existence. The greatest source of peace in your life comes from within you. When you have inner peace, it makes it easier to deal with difficult situations that arise. You relate better with those who surround you when you approach every situation with a sense of calm instead of anger and frustration.

Learn and master conflict management and resolution skills.

Conflict is inevitable, no matter where you go. Running away from it or pretending that nothing phases you is a recipe for peace deprivation. Take the time to learn how to peacefully address conflict with mutual respect. Choose a suitable time and location to do so. Speak from your heart with logic, love, and consideration when addressing things. Listen compassionately when someone else is sharing their side of the story. End the conversation with a healthy consensus and way forward for both parties involved. Learn to practice sincerely apologizing when you are the one in the wrong.

Learn to be content with who you are and the life that you have.

Contentment will help you stay in your lane. It protects you from peer pressure and living other people’s dreams while it helps you appreciate who you are and what you have. However, this doesn’t mean that you should dream small. Instead, it means that as you dream big and continue to work hard, do not be tempted to think that your dreams are not good enough simply because others are seemingly doing better. The best way to do that is to understand that every individual has their own life purpose and interests and you have your own for a reason. Therefore, do not compare yourself to others. Do the best you can to be the best you can be.

Never compare your life to someone else’s.

The greatest source of dissatisfaction and unhappiness is the perception that someone else has it better than you do. When you look to the other side and see their greener grass, you become unsettled about your own life. There is nothing wrong with looking on the other side for inspiration. The problem comes when jealousy takes the place of admiration. Accept where you are in life. It is the right place to be at that moment, especially if you are working hard to improve yourself. You need the rags to bear witness to your journey to riches. Your turn will come. Be content in the place you are now.

PEACE

If you want to achieve anything in life you have to get up and go for it. Your actions can bring you the finer things in life, but they can take it all away if you do not act correctly. Having a peaceful mind will help you fight negativity, and hardships and function better.

Practicing patience can help you improve your relationships.

It is easy to let frustration rule your dealings with others who do not seem to be on the same wavelength as you. Whether you feel right, or smarter, more knowledgeable; or whether you have more experience than others, there is no need to lose your patience. Come to the other person’s level. Listen to them. Try to understand them. Never belittle them. Be patient enough to walk them through things if they do not seem to catch on. Patience goes a long way to improve our relations with others.

Remember, it doesn’t matter if you do not fit in.

Many people struggle so much with the need for acceptance and validation from society. We want to blend in so much that we sacrifice our happiness for a seat at the table. It is frustrating to pretend to be someone else and to force yourself to like what they like. Do not shortchange yourself. Be true to your identity. You will be happier existing as your true, undiluted self. If other people dislike what you bring, find another table with those who appreciate you for who you are.

Say no to things that do not bring you peace.

Peace should be a big factor when deciding on saying yes or no. You should say yes to things that will allow you to have peace of mind, yes to things that will rejuvenate your soul, and things that make you happy. Everything that you need to think about and have to convince yourself to do because you are aware that it will drain your energy you must say no. For your peace of mind and sanity, you must simply learn to say no. As you say yes or no, remember that you teaching people how to treat you and you want people to treat you with kindness and respect because you stand up for yourself.

Taking responsibility for your own happiness.

No one knows you better than you. The more time you spend with yourself, the more you get to know what you enjoy doing and what brings you joy. If you do not make these important discoveries about these triggers, you will get swept up in other people’s happiness, doing what makes them happy while never achieving that same state.

TOLERATION:  Accept other people for who they are.

When we try to change other people into what we want them to be, we are creating room for conflict to erupt. People are unique. We should accept them for who they are. We should tolerate other people’s differences because we will certainly not always agree with their choices and vice versa. Tolerance is the path to harmony.

Unforgiveness robs you of your peace.

When one does not forgive others, the same fate, unfortunately, befalls them with their spiritual relationships. To not be judged, we too should judge not. Forgiveness is choosing to accept what has happened and not letting it continue to have power over you. Unforgiveness robs you day and night of your peace and joy. Forgiveness allows you to let go and no longer be a prisoner of your past. It leads to progress and sustainable peace.