Being peaceful means living harmoniously with your inner self, with others, and with everything that’s around you. A peaceful life is all about balance.
While a person’s definition of peace will vary depending on individual lifestyle and beliefs, there are some key points that remain constant.
Seek to love others, not control them. If you want to have a peaceful life you must not seek to control people. Trying to impose your will on people will stop you from seeing their side of things, which may eventually lead to conflicts. Replacing your urge to control with a loving approach instead is the way to a peaceful life.
Find your inner peace. Make it a habit to find a few minutes in your day where you could be truly alone. Living life harried will leave you perpetually unhappy.
If you feel your day is getting too stressful or if you start to feel anger boil within you, get up and find a nice quiet place. Go for a good walk or stroll around nature. You can even find your much needed break without leaving the house — turn off the TV or PC, close your eyes, and just take long deep breaths. Incorporating prayers in your alone time will even have a more calming effect.
Resist negative thoughts. If you cultivate negative thoughts even for just a few hours, they become part of your attitude. Attitude is a “way” of thinking. If you start your day with a negative thought, sure enough your attitude towards the entire day will become negative. And if your cultivation of negative thoughts becomes a habit, eventually, you become pessimistic… and pessimism attracts more negative thoughts, which will create an ecosystem of anxiety.
You don’t always have control what happens to you or around you, but you have 100% control over what happens in you.
You can break the cycle of negativity if you take control over your thoughts and then proactively align those thoughts according to God’s good intention.
“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:5-6
Seek forgiveness, not revenge. As mentioned in this article, “…one way to break from a chain of unhappiness is to find healing through forgiveness.”
Only when you let go of the past and seek forgiveness will you be able to live peacefully in the present.
Cultivate a grateful heart. Take note of all the good things that happened in your life and all the good words spoken to you, envision them and repeat them to yourself.