What people ask me most is:
How can I feel happy?
How can I be content when there is so much turmoil going on around me?
How can I remain relaxed and have peace in my mind?
It actually is all about choosing your thoughts*, about choosing how you will interpret what is happening around you, about how you will steer your thoughts towards how you want to feel in life.
Once you practice over and over again how you can train** your mind, that is when you will be able to react in a way that will make you feel less angry, less frustrated, less annoyed in life.
I once read the following 7 steps and as I found them so powerful, I would like to share them with you as they are very helpful when you’re training your mind.
Step 1: Serenity
Being in a serene state, gives you peace,
makes you accept what life brings to you.
I am not saying that you have to passively undergo all that is happening around you, no.
But just by accepting that things do happen beyond your control, you can relax, you can react in a peaceful way.
That’s not the same as being a fatalist.
Choosing to be who you are, choosing to live your life no matter what the circumstances bring you: that brings you peace, that brings you serenity.
The more you train your mind, the more you realize that you control how you react, think and feel about things and the easier it becomes to pause in a situation, to breathe, to take a step back so that the moment of the knee-jerk reaction is gone and you consciously choose how you will react. This will make a world of difference for everyone in any situation. Choose how you want to feel and (re-)act accordingly.
Step 2: Regularity
Creating a routine, having a schedule brings you calmness.
Don’t see having regularity in your life as something that holds you back.
No, having a certain regularity in life, gives you peace of mind, creates space to do more things you actually want to do because you’re not wasting any time anymore thinking about trivial things you need to do anyway. That way, you know what to do, when you’re going to do and when you have time to spare, and when there is space in your agenda. The more space there is in your agenda, the more space there is in your life, the more time you have to do what makes you happy. This brings calmness, joy, happiness and you can breathe more easily as the rush-rush is gone.
Step 3: Absence of vanity
When you stop being vain,
when you stop thinking, it is all about you,
when you stop letting your ego run the show:
you’ll start listening to others,
you’ll stop comparing,
“Comparison is the death of joy” Mark Twain
You’ll start noticing all the beauty around you,
you’ll start being more loving, more compassionate,
and this too will give you joy.
The less you take things personally***, the more joy you’ll feel in life. The more you recognize it’s your Ego, your Protective Self, that is making you feel sad or angry, the easier it becomes to steer your thoughts towards more loving and peaceful thoughts.
Step 4: Sincerity
Speak the truth, act in accordance of how you are feeling, of what you are thinking.
Always be respectful but do say how you are really feeling.
Drop the mask, drop the act, be honest with yourself and with others. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer**** invites everyone to always speak the truth. Every time you hear yourself exaggerating or telling half-truths, he says take back what you said, out loud and tell the correct version. Always be honest, always be truthful. That’s the only way there can be a real and lasting connection.
Feeling connected, feeling you belong somewhere, feeling real friendship brings you joy.
Step 5: Simplicity
Keep life simple, keep things simple.
The less you have*****, the easier, the clearer life becomes.
Return to your true self, to your Source.
Choose what is important to you:
you can have anything but not everything.
Choose wisely.
When your attention is divided among a lot of things,
nothing gets your complete focus.
So, choose what matters most to you and give it all of your attention.
That way you’ll live a fulfilling life.
Step 6: Veracity
Don’t ‘work’ the facts, don’t twist the truth.
Be reliable, act upon your promises.
Be truthful.
What you think, what you say and what you do, must be one and the same.
Step 7: Equanimity
No matter what is going on around you, keep your own mood peaceful.
Always be a loving, kind, compassionate person.
Joy and pain are part of life.
We all have to deal with it.
Don’t let it dictate your mood, don’t let it rule your world.
Be in charge* of how you think, of how you feel, and of how you react.
Everybody benefits from a respectful, calm behavior in any situation.
I invite you all to think about these steps, read them a couple of times and you’ll know where you can improve, where you can become a better, more peaceful person.
The beauty of it is, that EVERYBODY benefits from your improvement: YOU in the first place, because you’ll feel so much better, and when you feel better, everybody around you will be influenced by it. What you radiate, you’ll start attracting******!
I wish you all a very joyful, peaceful, calm week!
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Katrien
*’Which Thoughts Are You Feeding?’ By Katrien Degraeve.
**’ The Trouble is, It’s All Up to You. The Good Thing is, It’s All Up to You. By Katrien Degraeve.
***’The 5 agreements’ By Don Miguel Ruiz.
****’I Can See Clearly Now.‘ By Dr. Wayne W. Dyer.
*****’Less is Yess!’ By Katrien Degraeve
*********’Ask and It is Given’, ‘The Vortex, where the law of attraction assembles all cooperative relationships.’ By Esther and Jerry Hicks.