By A year of challenges can force you into submission
So much can change in a year. There will be gains and many losses. There will be pitfalls and triumphs. There will be despair and love. There will be failure and success. Although I’m a very positive person, my own experiences have shown me we can’t find peace of mind amongst good times, positive encounters and being surrounded by love. It’s within the trials and tribulation’s of life, the hard knocks we get from people, and circumstance’s that bring about peace of mind. Inner peace doesn’t happen by chance but by necessity. We find peace through hardships because, within those moments, we are compelled to dig deep and find ways to overcome or even soothe the pain and suffering. Turmoil awakens potential power hidden beneath the fear of the unknown. Through the turbulent year of my mother’s cancer diagnosis and eventual death, I bring a peace of mind that would have never graced my soul any other way. Through the endless affliction and pain, I began seeking the means to heal the ongoing suffering within. Let’s begin the journey — as you might need some nuggets of love during 2022. “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”Jim Rohn.
One: Put one foot in front of the other
I love lifting weights towards my total capacity and beyond. But sometimes, especially during challenging and stressful times, there isn’t enough energy left inside you to do anything. In those times, I need to do something to ease the ferocious current in my soul. Despite our lack of energy, we can find the strength to put one foot in front of the other. The meditative action is enough to take us away from our inner anguish, even for just 15 minutes or less. Go for a walk, change your scenery and watch your mood and outlook change. Inner peace will follow.
Two: Close your eyes, breath and let it go
I fall into the trap of trying so hard to slot everything nice and neat into where they belong. Life, unfortunately, isn’t super, tidy or available in a form that best suits us. So we have to roll with the punches — both good and bad. The sooner we accept that things are as they are, life will be more pleasant. Close your eyes. Take one deep breath, surrender and then exhale. Repeat for 15 minutes. Open your eyes again and take on the world yet again. As the saying goes, we can’t change the circumstances, but we can change how we react to them.
Three: See the world through another person’s eyes
Isn’t it amazing that every one of us can see the world in our way? Both the good and evil are put into neat little memories, stored in the space of our mind, ready to reveal themselves either by chance or force. If we stopped for one moment, deciding to become more compassionate than angry, towards a person that has disturbed our peace of mind, the whole world would change. Take a moment, see the world through the speaker’s eyes. You won’t take their behaviour towards you seriously. It never is about you. We all have our inner turmoil to deal with. Build your compassionate muscle every time someone wrongs your world.
Four: Use your sense of sound to listen
Repetition of positive words, encouragement and wisdom will help you through many hard times. It will also help you when confusion becomes overwhelming, and the road ahead becomes clouded with self-doubt. When I’m in doubt, shutting the voice off inside my head provides the space I need to close the gap between fear and moving forward. I listen to something positive, empowering, and uplifting to close the gap. The headphones in my ears block the sound, and I listen to an audiobook, podcast, affirmations or uplifting music. This is one of the essential things you do daily — sometimes three or four times per day. It’s within those moments of solitude, left to surrender to words or sounds, that you develop a spark of inspiration or a sense of peace. Maybe the answer to a question has appeared. The mind begins to quieten down, and you find inner peace again.
If you do these four things every day, inner peace will become natural and attainable through hard times. It will also become a lot easier to get into a creative flow. But, the catch is we need to do this every single day. Our brain can become overtaken by the weeds of self-doubt and negativity if we don’t water, nourish and work on ourselves daily. After 40 days, you will see a miraculous change in yourself and the world around you.
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