That’s what we want, right?
To be able to find and maintain our peace and calm, no matter what life throws at us.
No stressing out over things that eventually no one even remembers.
Instead, you have well practiced coping strategies that you can put in place to handle any stressful circumstance you find yourself in.
You have these strategies, don’t you?
But just in case you can’t answer yes to this question here’s some ideas to get you back to your happy place, no matter what, where you can find peace and calm when you most need it.
1.Recognize what’s happening
Being aware of how your mind respond to events and situations is a great starting point. Awareness allows you to step outside of your mind and take a look at what it’s up to.
You are not your mind. Your mind is a part of you, just as your arms or legs are.
And becoming familiar with the inner conversation your mind is playing puts you in a position of power to alter any thoughts that bring you pain and drama, allowing you to find more peace and calm as and when you need it.
2.Reframe your ideas
When everything is going to hell it’s easy to get caught up in the ideas that these things ‘always’ happen to us. Or life ‘never’ goes right.
This is just your mind’s natural protective tendency to keep you safe.
So before spending too much time dwelling on those ‘alway’s or ‘never’ things try simply listing the things that are actually going wrong in this moment.
It’s amazing how this minimizes how awful the circumstances seem to be.
3.Let it be
Stepping back from any situation and allowing it to be isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but you can do it.
You can learn to give yourself the space you need to allow solutions to flow.
Letting things be will stop you from reacting, from giving away your power, because in that space of letting things be is where power lies.
The power to choose, to evaluate, and decide upon the choices that align with what matters to you.
And this can have a profound effect on managing future stress.
4.Acknowledge what’s going right
When you focus entirely on the things that have brought you stress, the ‘always’ and ‘never’ things you end up missing the things that are valuable and precious.
So at the end of every day, don’t take your troubles to bed with you, instead take a moment and write down three things that you’re happy about and why.
Falling asleep in thankfulness is one of the best ways to ensure peace and calm will follow you into tomorrow.
5.Belly breathing for peace and calm
One of the amazing benefits of belly breathing is its ability to help you relax – almost instantly.
This is because of how it works with both our sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Which means what you might ask?
The sympathetic system is our fight or flight. No peace and calm there.
The parasympathetic is the total opposite. It reduces heart rates, lowers blood pressure and best of all produces peace and calming.
And belly breathing activates the peace and calming system.
A perfect antidote for those of us who need relief from the trials and tribulations of the day.
How to belly breath?
Simple. Don’t breathe through your chest. Put your hand on your belly and chest to practice keeping your chest as motionless as possible.
Then breath in slowly through your nose, and feel your belly push against your hand as air fills the deepest point in your lungs.
Exhale through your mouth while pulling in your stomach muscles.
That’s it. Repeat when needed. And even if not needed try belly breathing every day a few times a day.
I even use it when I can’t sleep at night…it works like a charm.
The bottom line?
You don’t have to allow life to walk all over you, leaving you stressed and exhausted.
You can take charge of your mind, be thankful for what’s right about life and learn to belly breathe to maintain your happy place of peace and calm, no matter what.
Encourage one another.
Love Elle
Xox