Article last updated on September 19, 2022
Are you looking for ways to live a peaceful life? Are you tired of living in chaos?
We live in a world where we are bombarded with information every single day. It seems like everyone has an opinion on how to fix our problems. Who really knows what will work for us?
It is up to you to find out what will work for your situation and I’m going to share with you 15 ways that will potentially help you live a peaceful life.
These ways aren’t just theory – they’ve worked for me and perhaps they will work for you. Almost anyone can implement these techniques immediately.
How To Live a Peaceful Life
All of us have the power within ourselves to create peace, joy, love, happiness, success and more. But also, it’s up to us to make sure that those things are available to us every day.
We all have the ability to become more loving, compassionate, kind, happy and successful.
But first, we must learn how to let go of the old way of thinking.
This is not easy because most people spend their lives trying to control everything around them. They want to be in charge. And when something goes wrong, they get frustrated and angry.
Then they suppress their feelings and try to force themselves to feel better. The problem is that this only makes matters worse.
This is why so many people struggle with anxiety, depression, anger, fear, worry, stress, etc.
The good news is that there are solutions to this problem. We don’t need to suffer anymore. We don’t need someone else to tell us what to do or how to think.
There is no one right way to live your life. There are many different paths that lead to the same place. You just need to find yours.
Where does peace come from?
It comes from within, when we let go and don’t cling to things. It comes from the understanding that the peace we are seeking is within us.
To prove my point, just think of a situation where you were calm and peaceful. Was the world somehow different? No, you were living in the same world but with a new peaceful perspective.
You weren’t fighting against anything; you were simply letting go. The problem is that our mind has a tendency to overwhelm us with negative thoughts, and then we revert back to being fearful and anxious.
So if we want to live peacefully, I want to provide you with ways that you can incorporate into your everyday life so that negative thoughts don’t take over so often.
Ways to Live a Peaceful Life
There are many ways to live a peaceful life, but I wanted to focus on the ones that actually combat the daily grind and make you more peaceful in regular daily life and professional life.
1. Live up to your ideal self
Regardless of whether you know it or not, you already have a natural attraction towards certain people, attitudes, and habits.
When you watch some movie or YouTube video and something emotionally moves you, it’s because you are attracted to that attitude or habit. That is inside of you. That’s something that’s hidden as part of your ideal self.
To live a peaceful life, you need to recognize what part of yourself you are hiding from yourself and others.
The easiest way to find it is by noticing when your positive emotions start to rise as you see it in other people. That resonates with you. There’s a reason for it.
When you start the process of living up to your ideal self, you become the change you wish to see in the world. You start to radiate positivity.
2. Don’t try things, instead do them
There’s a difference between doing things and trying things.
Trying things means that you’re going to stay in your comfort zone, because you are not committing to taking action seriously. Doing things, on the other hand, means that you are taking action and deciding to commit to it.
Your peace is disturbed when you are constantly trying to figure out what to do next. When you are always trying to figure out what will happen next, you are creating uncertainty.
Trying things adds more complexity to your life because eventually you will have a ton of things you have tried, yet you will not know which thing works best for you.
Instead, do things. Do only a handful of things, but do them well.
You will have a much simpler life as a result, which will lead to greater peace.
3. Pay attention to your thoughts in order to comprehend your emotions
We tend to be very emotional creatures. We feel happy, sad, angry, frustrated, excited, etc.
If you are feeling bad about something, chances are that you are thinking negatively about it. If you are feeling good, chances are that you have positive thoughts.
It is easier to recognize your thought patterns, which are caused by emotions, than it is to identify emotions themselves.
For example, if you are pessimistic and you think, “I can not do this,” then recognize that thought is caused by an emotion of not being good enough.
We should address that core emotion rather than just focusing on the thought itself.
Thoughts will just keep coming back until you deal with the root cause of those emotions.
That’s why we need to watch our thought patterns and then, without overthinking, understand the core emotion. Understanding the emotion will enable us to let it go and become a more peaceful individual.
4. Minimize complications in your life
Complications are everywhere. They come in many forms, such as work, relationships, health, finances, etc. They all add stress to your life.
We’re bombarded daily with news stories about wars, natural disasters, political turmoil, and economic uncertainty. And yet, despite this constant barrage of bad news, most of us still go out every day and live our lives.
But you need to be honest with yourself. Who is choosing to listen to the news? And who is choosing to get caught up in the drama? It’s you.
It is OK to be informed, but it is not OK to allow the news to consume you.
This is just one thing that complicates your life; consider how much time you spend on YouTube consuming unnecessary information, checking emails, social media, spending time with people who make you unhappy, or buying things for temporary happiness.
In short, the moment you choose complexity, you are robbing yourself of living a more intentional, simple, and peaceful life.
5. Slow down
When you slow down, you’ll notice that everything becomes clearer. Your mind slows down too, allowing you to process information better. And when you stop moving, you become calmer.
Slowing down helps you relax and unwind. So instead of being stressed out, you’ll be relaxed.
And when you’re relaxed, you can make better decisions. You won’t be so impulsive.
Slowing down means taking control of your life.
Whenever you feel like you are acting hectic, take a step back and wait for a couple of seconds. Let your mind settle down. You are in control of your actions.
6. Work on self-awareness
Self-awareness is the ability to understand yourself. When you are aware of yourself, you can change yourself.
You can learn new skills, improve your weaknesses, and develop your strengths. You can also see where you are going wrong and correct it.
Self-awareness is divided into internal self-awareness and external self-awareness.
The first step is to work on your internal self-awareness. This means knowing your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, values, attitudes, personality traits, goals, dreams, fears, and wants.
Once you have done that, you can move on to your external self-awareness. This involves knowing your environment and understanding how other people perceive you.
Lacking self-awareness can lead to poor decision making, and usually this makes our lives more hectic, so naturally this makes our lives less peaceful.
7. Let go of trying to control others
If you’re constantly trying to control others, you won’t be able to live peacefully. Instead, let go of trying to control everyone else. Let them be who they are. Don’t try to change them. Accept them as they are.
Usually, when you see others as what they could be (instead of changing them), you have the potential to change them without any control or force.
The only person/thing you should control is your ego.
In most cases, your need to control others stems from your own fear. You can have control over your ego, which will help you live peacefully.
8. Devote time to achieve mental clarity
Some people meditate, some go outside for a walk, some pray, and yet some sit in the morning with a cup of coffee or tea to clear their minds.
Whatever works for you, but whatever it is, do it every day. It’s about letting go of all the clutter in your head.
I think that meditation has the biggest impact because it trains you to focus on one thing at a time. It allows you to get rid of distractions and train your brain to focus on one task at a time.
When you are mentally focused, you can easily handle stress that will come up later.
Devoting time means having a daily practice not shorter than 10 minutes (ideally 20 minutes) of intentional work to declutter your mind.
9. Master thought loops
Thought loops are repetitive patterns of thinking that keep us stuck. They happen when we keep repeating things over and over again.
For example, if you keep thinking about something negative, you might start feeling bad about yourself. Then you might start thinking about why you feel bad about yourself. And before you know it, you’ve created a thought loop.
To break free from these thought loops, you must override the circuit with another pattern of thinking.
For example, if you notice that you are thinking negatively, change the environment and do something instead of allowing the loop to continue.
The more you master thought loops, the easier it becomes to break out of them, and that leads to living a more peaceful life.
10. Eliminate the habit of delaying things
Habits are like addictions. Once you develop an addiction, you’ll find it hard to stop doing it. This also applies to putting things off.
If you delay things, it will flow to all areas of your life. That will cause you to develop a chronic procrastination habit.
Procrastination is a major source of stress. If you want to live a more peaceful life, you need to eliminate it before it takes root.
If you are already experiencing this problem, you need to start tackling this issue right away. It will not get better if you ignore it. In fact, you are reinforcing that negative behaviour.
The more you become a person that takes on things and does not delay, the less stressed you will be.
11. Stop asking for permission
The only reason you ask someone for permission is because you’re afraid of being rejected.
If you are afraid of rejection, you are going to make sure that you never take action. And that is not a recipe for living a peaceful life.
You don’t have to wait to do things until you receive approval.
In many cases, people self-sabotage themselves by waiting for others’ approval. When you truly believe in what you’re doing, there is no need to seek approval.
Yes, it is scary to walk down your path without getting reassurance from others. But the only way forward is through.
12. Live up to your core values
Core values are the things that define who you are. They’re the beliefs and attitudes that guide your life choices and decisions.
Your core values should be consistent across every aspect of your life – personal, professional, spiritual, etc. Your core values are the foundation of your identity, and they help shape your behavior.
When you live up to your core values, you feel better about yourself and others. You will become happier, healthier, more productive, and more fulfilled.
To find out what your core values are, ask yourself these questions: What are some things that matter most to me? What makes me happy? What would I like to accomplish in this lifetime? What do I believe in?
Then see if you are living up to those values or not. Are you making healthy choices?
See your core values as a lighthouse guiding you towards your destination.
13. Take care of your body
A healthy body means a healthy mind. The more you take care of your body, the more energy you have to focus on other aspects of your life.
When you feel sluggish, tired, and unproductive, it’s time to take a look at how you are taking care of your body.
Are you eating well? Do you exercise regularly? Is your diet balanced?
It may seem obvious, but when we neglect our bodies, we end up feeling bad. We lose motivation, productivity, and happiness.
There are only a few things in life that can not be replaced and cannot be substituted with anything else. Your body is one of them. So, take care of it.
Personally, working out and eating healthily has been my best decision ever. This helped me to overcome many struggles in life because it gave me an extra boost of energy and gave me a mentality of discipline.
14. Be grateful for at least one thing
Being grateful is such a cliché that almost everyone rolls their eyes when you tell them to be grateful.
I have found that the best way to understand the importance of gratitude is to focus on one thing that you are grateful for every day.
It might be something small or big, but try to think of one thing that you are thankful for every day. It could be something like “I am thankful that I can see” or “I am thankful that I can have a job”.
To be honest, I could not understand the importance of gratitude until I survived a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis.
After not being able to walk for some time, I was able to realize the importance of gratitude. I had so much pain and discomfort during my recovery process.
But, at the end, I was always grateful to have a family around me. I was grateful for the food that I ate and the water that I drank. I was grateful to all the medical staff that took good care of me. And I was grateful that I could exercise and walk again.
Focus your gratitude on one thing that means a lot to you.
Don’t make this a mental game. There’s no measurement for how grateful you should be. Just be grateful for whatever you are emotionally attached to.
15. Forgive yourself and others
If you’re going to live a peaceful life, you need to forgive yourself and others.
When we hold onto anger, resentment, guilt, fear, shame, jealousy, pride, we create negative energy within ourselves. We become toxic.
We attract similar energies back to us. And when we allow those emotions to take root inside our hearts, we begin to feel bad about ourselves.
That’s where forgiveness comes in.
Forgiveness means letting go of the past and moving forward with a clean slate. It’s not just saying sorry; it’s actually feeling sorry. And forgiving others isn’t just a matter of being polite. It’s a matter of releasing them from any emotional debt.
There’s no doubt that forgiving others helps us heal emotionally. But there’s another benefit to forgiving ourselves and others.
When you forgive yourself and others, you release the negative energy that causes suffering.
Letting go of this burden finally allows you to move into a state of peace.
Conclusion
The most important thing that you can do to live a more peaceful life is to understand that peace is within you. You don’t need to change anyone else. You don’t need to change the world.
In fact, if you are trying to change the world but not yourself, you are setting yourself up to do Sisyphus work.
As you could read in this article, there are ways to live a more peaceful life, and you don’t need to apply all these tips.
You only need to do what works for you. What works for you may be different than what works for someone else.
So, instead of trying to force yourself to follow all these tips, just pick one tip that resonates with you and start applying it today.
And remember, you don’t need to wait until tomorrow to start living peacefully.
