If you are anything like me, sometimes the world can feel crazy and overwhelming and everything feels like it’s going at a hundred miles an hour.

Workplaces want us to deliver a little bit more…

Family life can seem like an endless round of school, clubs and activities…

Relationships are stretched and tested…

Socially our governmental systems and institutions are at breaking point, and our politicians seem unable to turn the tide to reassure us they have our backs.

Financially we are feeling the squeeze of the financial recession and the effects since covid.

And if you add onto this watching the news and seeing the doom and gloom in the world at large it is easy to lose hope and feel overwhelmed and wonder how on earth is this all going to change?

And this is where knowing a little bit about how to create and then stay in your own peace is useful.

So what does it mean to be ‘peaceful’? I think the term peaceful conquers up an image of a hippy floating around in a kaftan, meditating with an almost monk like serenity which we think can only be achieved once the world calms the heck down too!

The dictionary defines it as; free from disturbance; tranquil; not involving war or violence

The world is far from tranquil and if it stays the same, how on earth do you feel at peace?

In our modern day reality actually to stay ‘peaceful’ when all around you is not, to me, is an act of will and it comes from a dynamic pro-active state of self awareness. To be mindful to the environments you expose yourself too. To be dynamic in choosing love and self-care. To be aware of the external and internal triggers and dialogue that feed you from the inside! To be alert to the disturbances you expose yourself to… this is how to stay peaceful!

So, here are my 5 top tips to stay peaceful in our day to day lives.

1.Switch off from the mainstream media and news feeds unless you are prepared to do something about it!

There is nothing wrong about wanting to watch the news and keep informed of what is going on in the world. However, allowing yourself to be fed with, let’s face it, fairly negative story lines on a daily basis, when you have absolutely no control over the narrative is like allowing yourself to be slapped about the face on a daily basis. Why would you??

The environment we put ourselves into has a direct effect and impact on our internal world. You expose yourself to something negative on a regular basis this will permeate your internal dialogue and view of the world. Easy to get the sense of fear and hopelessness on subjects that are not directly affecting you, but that you are allowing to affect you.

However, if something triggers a passion or injustice in you, for example the environmental impacts in the world, and you start to take action for yourself and join organisations that are making a difference, then maybe YOU are the change that is needed to turn the tide and the outcome.

If you don’t feel this way, but instead just feel anxious or hopeless… turn it off!

2. Acceptance/Surrender – Recognising what you can or can’t do about an issue; illness, homelessness, partnerships, workplaces, politics, relationships etc. Can I change what is happening to me in this moment? If the answer is no then acceptance is required.

Acceptance for what ‘is’ allows you to make choices (however difficult) from on honest and helpful place. A lack of acceptance creates resistance and discourse… this will not help you to feel more peaceful.

Acceptance for what is brings you into your being and allows you to feel the emotion of what is. Allowing whatever emotions to arise without judgement will allow you to move through them more easily. Being peaceful is not always about being happy. Being peaceful is about being honest and in alignment with where you are and staying very present. The more able you are to do this, the more you can connect with your ‘self’ and act from a place that is right for you.

Surrender is a partner of acceptance as it is the thing that flows from acceptance. For example getting a cancer diagnosis and accepting it is to not resist what is…

surrender is the act of moving through the cancer journey without judgement or resistance and without any outward control. To surrender is to give yourself to a future you cannot see or feel. This is to live very much in the moment. And all you can control is how you react in the moment. Even when faced with something very scary, a sort of peace can prevail if you are able to surrender to what is to come.

3. The voice in your head – The critical self talk that is a daily narrator telling you how good or bad you are doing at your life. The voice that is constantly comparing you to everyone else around you. The voice that stops you from starting anything new. The voice that takes you off course and tells you how terrible you are at everything.

How peaceful my mind would be if I could only gag this intruder!

There are a few strategies to help with this and each one is to unhook from and realise this voice is not ‘us’.

One way is to imagine this voice and give it a persona… who does it sound like? are they male or female? What is the energy that comes with their words? If you could imagine a person like this what sort of character would they be? Snoopy, a worry wort, stubborn etc… give them a name and imagine them to be an annoying neighbour.

When they start to complain or criticise you internally deal with them in exactly the same way you would an annoying neighbour!

Another way that I personally use is to draw out two stick figures on my journal. I list the things I want for myself with one stick figure, and then I list the critique that comes from the ‘other’ voice in my head onto the other stick figure. I then have a conversation from each perspective using the stick figures to keep me on track. At some point I challenge the ‘other’ voice and ask ‘why’ they say what they are saying and find out what lies underneath… interestingly for me, when I do this, the underlying driver is usually fear or anxiety. Once I uncover this, I can see the voice for what it is… my fears trying to stop me from taking action. And once uncovered it is easier to take the action required and to acknowledge but then to extinguish the voice!

…and then I am back in my peace…

4. Focus on your future (the one you want to create) – Setting Intentions!!! Do you know what you want for yourself? sometimes we really don’t do we? Or we think we do because we look outside of ourselves for the latest gadget, car, holiday, handbag etc. We work hard and strive to get these things then after a very short burst of feeling accomplished we are onto the next ‘want’… always living in a future that isn’t really ours… just one that has been fed to us by the advertising agents!

So I ask again… What does your heart want? If you could stop the world and get off what would you do with your time and energy? I think we were all give this opportunity during our lockdowns during covid. We found ourselves connecting in with ourselves. Doing what we felt like doing in the moment… making bread, reading, painting and drawing, building garden bars, family quizzes to stay connected. This time did give us a chance to find out what we really wanted and what brought us joy!

To help you answer this questions I have a free course all about setting intentions and uncovering what your heart wants with every purchase of my handmade Intention Angels

Once you have set your intentions, having an object such as your intention angel can keep you reminded of why you are doing what you are doing each day, and to keep you focused on your path so you don’t journey too far from it as can happen if you get distracted easily.

The happiest and most peaceful people are those with passion and purpose for their own lives. Doing things that bring them and others joy!

5. Be the change you want to see – Dare to be peaceful even when it’s not the normal. Dare to be peaceful when faced with something difficult. Dare to be peaceful even when your world is falling around you. Dare to be peaceful even when moving through some difficult emotions. Dare to be peaceful when that driver cuts you up, or that woman barges past you in the supermarket queue.

A peaceful world needs peaceful people! I would even go as far to say to stay peaceful when all about us wants us to be fearful and distracted is an act of rebellion! To stay peaceful within yourself when all about you is difficult is also an act of love. Love for self, and love for others.

And for what it’s worth the past 3 years for myself, I have had many a test; a cancer diagnosis; divorce; I’ve been flooded from local storms and lost my home, and also suffered the death of my lovely mum. And throughout it all I have practised what I have laid out in these 5 steps. It can be done and I can help you to learn how to do it for yourself.

I offer coaching and guidance with individuals and groups and for more information please visit my coaching page.

If you have found this useful or would like to share your thoughts or stories with me please feel free to email me by reply.

I wish you peace.

Karrin