Blogs

Creating Inner Peace

Affirmations, tips, and more

Heather Rafanello, MSW, LCSW @GrowingMindsetTherapy 

Inner peace sounds nice, doesn’t it? Are you wondering how you can ever possibly achieve such a calm, peaceful state of mind and being? Well if so, this is the article for you. 

What is inner peace? (Glad you asked!)

Inner peace is an internal state of being, state of mind, or emotional state where we feel content, and at ease with ourselves and the world around us. In this state, we’re completely present, comfortable, and calm. We might realize that there are stressors, but they are unable to penetrate our peace bubble. 

Inner peace is a place of full acceptance, or acknowledgement that as a human being we have unmet needs, flaws, desires, while balancing those thoughts and feelings with knowing we are still worthy of peace and love. 

“Inner peace isn't something you wish for. It's something you make, something you do, and something you are.” Calm

Steps to create inner peace

Meditation: Whether you find yourself a comfortable space to close your eyes and focus on your breath, or you prefer a guided meditation, there’s no wrong way to start. There is an abundance of research that has shown that just a few minutes of meditation a day can have a big impact on your well-being.

Mindfulness: I like to think of mindfulness as ‘paying attention on purpose.’ If you listen to my podcast, or are a current client, you’ve heard me say this over and over. Get out of your head, and tune into the present moment for just a few seconds. Use your senses to guide you. What can you smell, taste, hear, feel, etc.?

Grow your mindset: “The mind is everything, what you think you become.” Buddha

Believe it or not, one of the few things in life that we can work to control is in fact our mindset. We can choose to cultivate a positive mindset by directing our thoughts and attention towards the positive, or if nothing else the present moment. Start practicing gratitude, keep a journal, track your goals. If nothing else, try to notice the moments when your brain starts to wander off down a dark path or rabbit hole, this action of catching your wandering mind is a powerful mindfulness tool. 

Show some compassion for yourself: Some say that the key to inner peace is to develop love for yourself, but at Growing Mindset Therapy we like to try to take a realistic approach to therapy. Let’s face it, we’re not all in a place where we’re ready or able to practice self-love, but maybe we can start with appreciation, or if nothing else, acknowledgement. Life is hard, and yet we’ve found a way to keep going. It might feel as if we’re just messily stumbling around, but forward is forward and that deserves some recognition!

Practice self-care: True self-care is taking care of our whole self: mind, body, and spirit. This doesn’t look like a pedicure, or a bubble bath. This might mean creating routine, setting boundaries, practice mindful movement, spend time in nature, create something. Find what feels right for you, and do that. 

Visualization: Many clients find visualization to be a positive or helpful therapy tool. This practice uses our mind and shifts our emotions creating more inner peace. Start by thinking of a time or place where you’ve felt at peace. Now, close your eyes and picture it. What did you see? What did you hear? What did it feel like? When you notice yourself feeling swirly, or stressed out, you can practice visualizing yourself here. 

Breathe: Our breath is constant, so much so that we often don’t even pay it any mind. When we find ourselves overwhelmed, or emotionally activated, our breath often changes. In these moments, taking a few intentional breaths can make a big difference. Heather Rafanello of GMT recommends ‘Rectangle Breathing’ pictured below.