Five things you can do daily to maintain your inner peace
The responsibilities of everyday life are constant and never-ending. You might be doing your best to keep your grades up at school, working a full-time job, managing a business, or attending to the various needs of your family.
These things are enough to keep you busy on normal days, but they can feel especially draining and difficult to do when there are challenging circumstances in your life. Grieving the loss of a loved one, experiencing a romantic breakup, and even flunking a class can take a toll on your emotional and physical health. Any kind of stress, no matter how big or small, can disrupt your inner peace if you don’t take steps to maintain it.
Sustaining a peaceful state of mind throughout your daily tasks is just as important as the tasks themselves. It helps you to stay focused and calm. Fortunately, developing the good habits to achieve this is a fairly simple process that can enhance the quality of your life.
If you’ve been wanting to reinvigorate your mind and body, below are five things you can do daily to maintain your inner peace.
1) Pray
If you are religious, daily prayer is a great way of encouraging inner peace, as it allows you to enter a sacred space free of external anxieties. You can channel whatever worries or sadness you feel into this activity and use your moment with God to quiet your thoughts and focus them on remembering what really matters in the grand scheme of life. Things like preparing your prayer mat and holding your prayer beads can also be calming rituals during the act of prayer.
It can be tricky to remember to pray when things get busy, but using accessible digital tools like the Muslim Pro app will help you set punctual reminders on your smart devices. Although we cannot escape our responsibilities, we must find the time to mentally set them down, even for a little while.
2) Set aside time to relax
Part of maintaining your inner peace is finding the time to do enjoyable and relaxing activities. You could choose to watch a movie, listen to music, paint, or make yourself a nice cup of tea. Reading—even for half an hour each day—is also a great way to stimulate and soothe your mind. You might want to lie in bed and read your favorite novel for a thrilling adventure or find wisdom and comfort in a religious text.
However, carrying heavy books around can be quite tiring, which is why digital books are a popular and portable option. Much like how e-readers can store hundreds of books in one place, an app like Muslim Pro can give you access to a full digital Quran which you can peruse through your phone or tablet from wherever you are.
3) Connect with nature
Not everyone is fortunate enough to live near forests or valleys. Despite this, it’s still beneficial to take a walk outside daily, especially in places like parks or gardens where there’s lots of greenery. Places with plenty of trees and plants provide clean air that’s good for the body, and taking a walk gives you the space to clear your mind as you take in nature’s healing sights and sounds.
4) Practice acceptance and forgiveness
Many of us find ourselves dwelling on unpleasant events and moments when we were hurt—or when we had hurt others. Grief, sadness, and anger are natural human emotions, and we shouldn’t fault ourselves for experiencing them. However, it’s one thing to experience these feelings and it’s another to hold onto them.
Accepting what can no longer be changed is difficult, which is why it must be practiced each day. Take the time to feel whatever you may be feeling at the moment, but learn to let it go. Acceptance is also the first step to forgiving others – and even yourself – for past wrongdoings.
Harboring emotions like resentment and guilt for extended periods can take a negative toll on your daily routines and mental wellbeing. Freeing yourself from unpleasant past experiences will help create more room for you to process and focus on the present.
5) Write in a journal
If you’re looking for a place to voice out your worries and to reflect on your day, keeping a journal is a great way of doing that. Your journal is a safe space for unloading thoughts and feelings in privacy. You can write about how your day went, the problems you’re currently facing, the things that make you happy, and the things you’re grateful for. The main purpose of journaling is to clear out bothersome thoughts while examining meaningful experiences with a mindful attitude.
The key to avoid feeling burnt out or overwhelmed when things get tough is to keep a consistent routine that encourages you to take a step back, relax, and reflect. No one is immune to the stresses of daily life, but there are simple and effective measures to nurture the inner peace that helps us better address them.
