Table of Contents:
1. Introduction to Calming Your Mind: Simple Strategies for Inner Peace
2. Understand the Mind-Body Connection
3. Daily Habits That Promote Mental Calm
4. Mental Techniques for Inner Peace
5. Environmental and Lifestyle Adjustments
6. Emotional Management
7. When To Seek Professional Help
8. Final Thoughts
1. Introduction: Calming Your Mind: Simple Strategies to Inner Peace
Why is it important to have a calm mind? The answer to this question will help you move to the inner peace that you desire. A calm mind will help you to have an advantage over others who are struggling to settle their mind in today's fast-paced world. In this post, I will walk you through strategies that I use to create a more settled mind. At the end of this post, you should be able to recognize common signs of your unsettled mind and what you can do to overcome them. The purpose of this post is the help provide practical, actionable strategies for keeping your mind calm. Hopefully help you find out how to find inner peace.
What are common signs of an unsettled mind?
Here are some common ways that you will know if your mind is not settled or is unsettled.
Stress
If you are constantly feeling stressed out or allowing everything to weigh down your mind then you have an unsettled mind
Anxiety
Are you always anxious or living in fear? Then your mind is drifting into the feeling that something is wrong or you are always asking yourself: what if something bad happens?
Restlessness
Are you having trouble sitting still? You feel like if you sit down then that problem will only get worse. Or you move around endlessly trying to calm your nerves.
2. Understand the Mind-Body Connection
Having an unsettled mind can really disrupt the body and also cause it to go out of sync. There is a true connection between what is happening in your mind and what is happening in your body. Stress causes several physiological responses that can lead to increased heart rate, swift breathing and also surge in the glucose released into your bloodstream. Which can lead to some pretty dangerous outcomes such as high blood pressure or even escalate pre-existing conditions.
For the above reasons, it is really important that you create a pathway to having a calm mind. My Calming Your Mind Journal is a great way to go through the exercises needed to create awareness and mindfulness. Here are the top 4 things that this journal will help you to do:
Strong Mindfulness- Get tuned into what your stressors are
Relaxation- Learn how to separate yourself from your stressors with sound relaxation techniques
Stress Relief- Learn stress relief techniques that are powerful and impactful
Inner Peace- Find that balance that you have been looking for.
By the time you have finished completing the exercises in the Calming Your Mind Journal, you should be able to answer these questions that you have been asking yourself:
- How do I relax my mind?
- How do I calm myself down?
3. Daily Habits That Promote Mental Calm
It is not enough to just identify stressors in your life, you have to work toward keeping them at bay. Here are some daily habits that you can incorporate into calming your mind.
Exercise
Just like stress causes a physiological response negatively, exercise can cause a response in the opposite direction. It can serve to release happiness back into your brain. Simple exercises such as walking or yoga can go a long way.
Practice gratitude
Gratitude is a must in keeping your mind calm. Why? Gratitude also has a science behind it when it comes to the brain. In my previous blog post: The Power Of Gratitude I talk about how gratitude has the power to rewire your brain. It is that powerful. It can really serve to reverse some of the negative thoughts that are giving you stress.
Balanced Nutrition
Try to eat foods that will nourish you and help to support good brain nutrition. Foods that are rich in antioxidants. Foods such as fish, berries, nuts and seeds. Eating junk food daily or part of your general consumption will not lead to a calm mind. So put the right things into your body so that your brain can feel better each day.
4. Mental Techniques for Inner Peace
You can accomplish inner peace by using these three simple techniques:
Technique # 1: Deep breathing
Deep breathing involves slow, deep and controlled breathing. Breathing that focuses on stimulating your diaphragm allowing your lungs to balance inhalation and exhalation. Therefore, calming the body down. Here three key benefits of practising deep breathing:
Benefit # 1: Increase relaxation- deep breathing will help to slow down your pace causing you to feel more relaxed
Benefit # 2: Reduce anxiety- deep breathing reduces anxiety by having a calming effect on your nervous system. Which is responsible for controlling and coordinating your body..
Benefit # 3: Reduce mental clutter and noise- deep breathing steadies the mental clutter and noise that is happening in your brain through the increase of oxygen to the brain.
Technique # 2: Inner Peace Meditation & Mindfulness
In keeping your mind calm, meditation and mindfulness are essential to helping you. It took me a while to embrace meditation because as a busy mom, my mind is always racing with things that I have to do. But, it is a necessary arsenal in keeping everything together. The more you meditate, the more mindful you will become. It will open up the door to a calmer, more relaxed way of thinking and viewing yourself. Meditation will reduce stress, lower your heart rate, encourage a positive mood, improve your mood and create a happier you. Here are some simple steps to practicing meditation each day:
Step 1: Sit in a quiet room or a quiet location.
Step 2: Close your eyes( essential for tuning out visual distractions).
Step 3: Breathe in and Breathe out( about 15-20 minutes).
Step 4: As you breathe, concentrate on a singular focus or thought in your mind.
Step 5: Cultivate a peaceful destination in your thoughts before ending your session.
Step 6: Repeat the above daily or on a comfortable schedule.
Technique # 3: Visualization
Your mind is pretty powerful. Time to use it to help you reduce your stress. Use visualization to help you paint a better picture of your life. Start to see your life not as it is but what you conceive it to be. Imagine you are the director of the movie of your life. Close your eyes and envision what you are telling yourself to do and how to behave. As you do this, use your senses to help you create the movie of your life that is really impactful. What do you see? How do you feel? What are the things that you are saying to yourself? Notice how happy you feel after doing some visualization.
5. Environmental and Lifestyle Adjustments
Oftentimes, the calm you are missing comes from your environment and how you chose to live your life. Sometimes, you are the one creating your own chaos. Ask yourself: what are some changes I can make to help create a calmer space? Here are some suggestions:
Declutter your space
In my previous post, Clear Space, Clear Mind: A Simple Guide to Decluttering Your Life I pointed out the connection between the clutter you keep physically and how it trickles over into your mental space as well. I touch on some of the benefits of decluttering, one of which is mental clarity. There is a strong connection to how clean your place looks and how clear your brain will feel. A clearer brain is a calmer brain. A clearer brain is able to function more productively. If you are struggling with decluttering, use my Ultimate Decluttering & Cleaning Planner to help you get started. It will help you purge, simplify and create a long lasting decluttering strategy.
Evaluate your Lighting
It is amazing what new brighter or better lighting can do. Not only can it illuminate things better but it can also brighten up your mood. It can also help you to make the connection between the light and dark pockets in your mood. Yes, some people like a dark house but there are times that having a dark house can create a sense of panic or anxiety. Lighting is even more important during the winter months. It is recommended that you use a combination of natural and artificial lighting to help regulate your mood. Go ahead and open up your blinds or curtains and let some sunlight in. For artificial lighting, experts recommend using a combination of warm and cool white LED lighting. Warm lighting helps to create a sense of calm and an overall mood adjustment.
Evaluate your Sounds
I don't know about you but certain sounds can make my head feel as if it is going to explode. Typically for me it is disorganized sounds or sounds having no rhythm or real purpose. It could be a crowded room with everyone talking or it could be an annoying song with a squeaky instrument. Sounds are also important in how calm we are or how calm we remain. Figure out what kinds of sounds you enjoy or give you peace and which ones disrupt your sense of calm. Stay away or avoid the ones that make you feel less peace. It could be as simple as changing the kind of music that you are exposed to.
Reduce screen time
One of the things that can disrupt your peace or sense of calm is how much time you spend on your devices. Constantly bombarding yourself with digital noise can have a dramatic effect on your state of mind. Try and reduce how much strolling you are doing these days and go out there and do some other things. Maybe volunteer more or go for more walks. The point is that you need to find ways to tune out the rest of the world and just chill with yourself or the people that you love. Maybe with a good book.
Set some boundaries
Are you feeling chaotic because you keep saying yes to things that you should have said no to? Try and set some boundaries around your time and how much you are stretching yourself thin. Learn how to say "no" more often. I am not talking about being mean with your time but I am talking about learning to take care of yourself and prioritizing your sanity over doing something that you don't want to do. I have to confess that saying no is something that I have struggled with. I sometimes feel this guilt that is associated with the thought of saying no or saying no. But I have learned that I can only do so much before I break.
6. Emotional Management
Being able to manage your emotions is a big part of remaining calm. It gives you supreme power that you can enforce in difficult situations. Here are some ways to manage your emotions and entice a calmer you:
Write about it-start Journaling
Keeping a journal of your thoughts is a great weapon that most people don't utilize. It allows you to express yourself and see your emotions come alive on paper. It also helps to document what you were feeling at a particular point in time. Giving you the ability to see how far you have come. Don't know how to Journal? Don't sweat it! Here are some quick tips to help you get started:
Start with an affirmation: what is one thing you really like about yourself? Declare at the beginning of every journal entry. This will allow you to always extend grace to yourself ahead of time.
Write down your primary emotion. Is it fear, anxiety, happiness, sadness etc.
Create your sequence: Tell your story. What happened? How did it happen? Also bring in your primary emotion and let it flow.
End with a positive affirmation or lesson. What was positive? Or what can you say about yourself on a positive note?
If you sandwich your truth with positive affirmations, it allows you to accomplish two things: self-grace and an uplifting momentum.
Be of Service
Many people overlook how valuable it is to your mental well being when you get out there and serve others. It can be an essential part of centering yourself and calming yourself down. What can you do to make an impact in your community? How can you help to transform someone else's life while at the same time transforming your own. Volunteering is also a way for you to gain a better perspective on your own life. Pain and suffering are relative and what someone else is going through might help you to see your stress in a completely different light.
7. When To Seek Professional Help
There are times when stress and anxiety becomes too much for you to handle on your own. Here is when to seek professional help:
Self Harm- If your stress level is so high that you are thinking of harming yourself then seek professional help immediately.
Harm others- If you are also thinking of harming others because of your stress and anxiety, it is also a good time to seek help before it gets to that point.
Self-isolation- If you are completely withdrawn from your life or the people around you and you notice that this is making you go deeper into depression then please reach out to a mental health professional.
8. Final Thoughts
It is okay to feel a little overwhelmed sometimes. The trick is not to let it get to the point where it is affecting your inner peace. To protect your peace, you have to make the connection to how your mind and body work together to create a balance. Having too much stress can trickle into your body causing you to have such things as high blood pressure or heart conditions.
Start with mindfulness- Using a tool such as my Calm Down Journal can help you to identify places where you need help and create a plan that will move you toward consistent inner peace.
Implement Wellness tools- Use tried and tested wellness tools such as mediation and journaling to help you stay focused daily.
Remember that consistency should rule supreme over perfection. You got this! And remember to get help if you know you can't handle your stress by yourself.
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