By Sarah Schömbs

Do you ever feel rattled, scolded by your inner critic, or do you catch yourself comparing your current situation with your last vacation? Finding inner peace is not always easy. Inner peace means something like living in harmony with yourself. It forms the basis of being at peace with the outside world and spreading this peace to others.

Inner peace can be experienced as a kind of internal equilibrium, balance, a lightness and serenity that is reflected above all in non-judgment and in accepting yourself as you are. This might sound easy when you’re sitting at a beach bar and your biggest concern is which ice cream you want to eat first. The question is, how can you experience this inner peace in your daily life full of duties and deadlines? This article will show you how to bring inner peace into your everyday life step by step and how to be kind, calm and peaceful even in stressful situations.

Step 1: Stop comparing and evaluating everything

The first requirement for inner peace is recognizing that evaluating and comparing everything in your life is not the way to happiness. According to science, our thoughts revolve predominantly around the negative aspects of our lives. When we constantly think about everything negative that is happening to us, it will make us feel bad. We are dissatisfied with our situation because we strive for what others have. We prefer to focus on what we aren’t or don’t have rather than on the skills, talents and resources that make us who we are.

By constantly evaluating our life, we create a feeling of not having enough, even if we have everything we need and more. As a result, we rob ourselves of the possibility to be satisfied and happy with our life, with who we are. And finally, we deny ourselves the state of inner peace.

So keep directing your thoughts to the positive things in your life, to your wonderful qualities and abilities, and recognize that comparing yourself with others is just a waste of time. You could just say to yourself, “Oh, I’m judging myself again”.

Step 2: Arrive in the here and now

Another prerequisite for finding inner peace is arriving in the here and now. Our racing minds cause us to focus either on what was or on what will be. We prefer to evaluate the past and fall prey to the desires of the future rather than experience the moment that is happening right now. Arriving mindfully in the present can help us analyze our lives less often and experience them more fully.

Step 3: Everyone is different

The way we deal with our environment plays a big role on the way to finding inner peace. Just as you shouldn’t continuously judge yourself, you should stop criticizing other people, judging their behavior or even trying to change it. Again, simply try to accept that each person is different. We are all individuals and have our own feelings, character traits and abilities. It would be boring if every person on this planet ate chocolate pudding.

Step 4: Practice forgiveness - towards yourself and others

Maybe there is even a person who you had a fight with in the past or with whom you had an unpleasant breakup. Try to feel what is happening inside you for a moment. This unresolved relationship or situation can prevent you from experiencing inner peace in the here and now. Reconciliation is one way to resolve the situation. Perhaps you can send the person a mental or even physical message of peace? Reconciliation does not mean forcing an agreement. Reconciliation sometimes means simply accepting the situation, the circumstance, as it is and signaling that you mean no harm to the other person. There are phases when people drift apart, there are moments when you cannot find a compromise and when you have to take different paths. The important thing is that this situation does not prevent you from being happy and that you can experience inner peace in spite of it. Inner peace means being in harmony with yourself. Inner peace means cultivating love, contentment, acceptance and approval. And finally, to step outward with this love and acceptance. Just like that, inner peace is no longer abstract but tangible and can be experienced by everyone.

Picture 1: Alexandre Croussette from Unsplash Picture 2: Rawpixel from Unsplash