We start the day with good intentions. As the day goes by, things get busy, and don't go the way we expected. We face an unexpected problem or deal with difficult people. The good intentions disappear quickly and negative feelings sneak into our head. We look at the long list of chores ahead and start to become anxious.
Does this sound familiar? What do we usually do in this situation? Having anxiety in our mind for a long time can be consuming, reduce productivity, and in serious cases even cause medical issues.
What can we do to deal with anxiety and get peace of mind?
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. - Buddha
We can only achieve peace of mind through awareness. The awareness that we are stressed. The desire to develop a peaceful mind. The determination to bring it about.
Then, here are a few ways to find peace of mind.
1. Pause and take a walk
Get out of the building, and take a walk. Take some time away from your laptop and mobile. A 5-10 minute walk can be a time to recenter. Changing our environment gives our brains a break from the stress.
2. Guided meditation
Guided meditation is a great way to relieve stress and anxiety. Meditation can be more difficult when we are inundated with negative throughts. Guided meditation can help.
Sit down quietly with your favorite meditation app and just follow the instructions. Breathe slow, emptying the mind and finding the peace.
3. Healthy distraction
If you are really stressed, consider changing your focus to something else for a while, like listening to your favorite podcast or music.
Relieving our stress by intensionally changing our focus can be healthy as long as it doesn't enable a long-term problem to develop. Healthy distractions are ones that enable us to change our focus so that we can come back and solve the problem later. Unhealthy distractions are ones that mask the underlying problem and let it build or prolong.