This can help us dissipate our defence mechanisms and become comfortable in our own skin. In the company of true friends and our true selves, we can lead peaceful lives. As writer and poet Khalil Gibran once said: “Truth is a deep kindness that teaches us to be content in our everyday life and share with the people the same happiness.”
Don’t suppress your feelings
Thinking positive when faced with hardships is great. It helps us focus on the good as we struggle to deal with the bad. But this habit shouldn’t force us to deny our negative feelings. It’s natural for human beings to experience emotions like dejection, loneliness, disappointment, anger, etc. It is important for us to feel these emotions, vent them out and address them. Sweeping them under the rug or suppressing them may lead to severe psychological issues over time. Moreover, when pent-up feelings come bursting out—as they often do—they can break our façade of positivity and adversely affect our relationships.
When we treat negative emotions as signals from our brain drawing our attention to certain aspects of our lives, we can use them as tools that help us solve problems and live our lives better.
Go with the flow
“Someone said to Voltaire, “Life is hard.” Voltaire replied, “Compared to what?”, writes Julian L Simon in The State of Humanity.
Everyone has struggles in life. The key to getting through the struggles is to stop resisting. When we make peace with the fact that life is supposed to be hard; that it is supposed to push us to fight, learn and be better versions of ourselves, we begin to change. We stop brooding and start thinking of ways to address them. We learn to go with the flow and take life one day at a time. This attitude aids in eliminating anxiety and helps us live in the moment. It also teaches us gratitude: when things go right, we are thankful.
Make peace a priority
In today’s fast-paced world, everyone is constantly on an adrenaline rush. The pursuit of deadlines at work, dealing with family crisis one after, and coping with the pressure of fulfilling our personal goals keeps us on our toes all day, every day. While none of these responsibilities can be compromised on, we need to remember that constantly staying in the ‘fight or flight’ mode is extremely harmful to the body and the mind. Taking some time off every day to relax and reconnect with ourselves is highly crucial if we wish to find inner peace. For some, quiet introspection alone works, while others prefer to engage in an exercise routine, meditation or a hobby. Irrespective of how we might choose to do it, we must make time to look within so we are able to see our lives clearly.