Don’t you find life to always be filled with stress? Doesn’t it seem like there is always something that happens which encompasses our entire attention, and thus drain our positive energy?

As our society grows more and more complex, finding true peace becomes more like trying to find an oasis in the desert.

How do you find inner peace? Probably the first step is realizing that the world may be wayward and for the most part, out of your control, but when it comes to your own person, you are the driver. It is your choice. To be at peace with yourself is to be better equipped to face the world. To be at peace is to be more contented with your lot in life.

If you seek to find the peace within yourself, then try the following tips:

1. Live in the present moment.
An inability to let go of the past and a sense of inevitability about the future will plague the mind. Moreover, it keeps you from enjoying the present moment, from wholly focusing on the present. Take each day as it comes. It is much less burdensome, and less overwhelming, to think of what can be done today, rather than be bogged down by what should have been done yesterday, or what can happen tomorrow. Learn to appreciate events as they happen.

2. Accept what is
There is only so much we can affect. What we cannot change, what we cannot influence no matter what, should not be a concern to us. This is what I notice with so many people, in that we focus and linger on things which we have no control over. Why worry about something that all the worrying in the world will not change? Why care about what other people think of us when we’re not even sure what it is they are actually thinking? Once you open the blinds to this fact, and start accepting what is that you cannot change, you automatically relieve yourself of a mountain of stress and anxiety. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted from your shoulders. Taking this path is following a road towards peace.

3. Simplify
Making thing simpler has certainly brought a lot of inner peace to my life.

So, a few of my favorite suggestions on how to simplify your life:

•  Use a limited to-do list. Only 2 or 3 of the most important things.
• Set limits. Set limits for daily checking of inboxes. I do it only once a day. Set time limits for small decisions and make them within seconds after you have thought about them to avoid procrastination and overthinking. Set time limits for tasks such as 15 minutes each day for answering emails or for using Twitter. Set a limit for commitments and say no to be able to feel less stress and produce better results.
• Remember to “keep things extremely simple”. I have written down that sentence on my white board and it is a daily and constant reminder that helps me when I lose my way.

 4. Forgive

The ability to forgive is crucial for you to move on from the past, and find peace within yourself. Unless you forgive yourself, that hatred of self will be a cancer in your soul, slowly eating whatever self-respect, confidence and self-esteem you have. Not being able to forgive others will be a stone in your heart, slowly enlarging and further hardening, keeping you from feeling better about the past. Forgiveness is part of letting go. Forgiveness is easing the chokehold emotion has on you. Forgiveness opens you up to healing, growth and possibility.

5.Meditate
If you do not meditate yet, you are missing out on a very important activity that can change your life. Meditating for 20 minutes daily can have an enormous impact in all areas of your life.

Among the many benefits of meditation is calm and insight. With meditation, you are able to monitor your inner world, recalibrating your thoughts and emotions into a semblance of order, so that it makes sense. You decrease restless and obsessive thinking. You keep things in perspective and so make more accurate judgments. You develop the strength of will to withstand the onslaught of a confusing world. Any anxiety you have, any tension, will be slowly leached away, as you meditate.

6. Keep a journal
Writing can be cathartic. In itself, it is also a method by which to gather thoughts and emotions, and make sense of them. You can style this journal in a manner most helpful to you. If you find yourself preoccupied to the point of distraction, this is one way to harness that outpouring of ideas and emotion – you can later go back to them with a cooler head. You can also use this journal to create “gratitude posts” that will remind you of the good things, the things that you lose sight of when you are worried or stressed. It can be a record of your journey to inner peace, the struggles you have gone through, and the milestones you have accomplished thus far. Who knows? Perhaps someday you may publish your journal so that it can also help someone else. 

7. Spend time in nature
We spend so much time confined in buildings of steel and concrete and bricks that we quickly forget where we come from. It is natural for us to be in nature, and this is why it feels so good and it is so peaceful when you take a walk in a park or bike on a trail in the forest. It is something you just can’t experience in a car. If you feel overwhelmed, take a stroll outside where there are tons of trees and far from the city. Be there and just enjoy the sights, the sounds, and the peace.

8. Learn the power of a smile
Whenever you are laughing or smiling, something interesting happens. Not only does something happen on a chemical level to make you feel better, but it also stops all stress and negativity from entering your psyche. A simple smile can make such a difference

9. Care about others
You will never find peace by being self-consumed and only worrying about your own needs and wants. When you begin to genuinely care about other people, so much goodness comes right out. This only helps into solidifying your inner peace. It can be people close to you or pure strangers, but any act of kindness and goodwill eases your way towards peace. Remember when do ‘Good Karma, you receive ‘Good Karma in abundance.

10. Believe in yourself
Hope is something you can never afford to lose. With hope you always have a path towards peace. Whenever we get too stressed out and overwhelmed within our own life, we forget that hope. I believe that whenever we are in a negative emotional tunnel in our life and hang in there with strength; it opens possibilities to get out of this tunnel. Believe and continue your path.

We all can do this. We just need to have a desire and spare atleast 5 minutes a day to find our inner peace!