8 Ways to Fill Your Life with Inner Peace and Contentment

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Finding inner peace can be difficult in today’s stressful and ever-changing world. But it is possible to achieve a state of contentment and inner peace if you establish healthy habits like self-care, positive thinking, and mindfulness.

This guide will explain how to find inner peace and ultimately create lasting happiness within yourself. We’ll also cover why finding inner peace and contentment will allow you to be the best version of yourself.

How Does Finding Inner Peace Allow You to Be the Best Version of You?

First let’s start off by defining inner peace. According to Wikipedia, Inner peace (or peace of mind) refers to a deliberate state of psychological or spiritual calm despite the potential presence of stressors.

Essentially, inner peace is an ideal state to be in no matter what is happening in your external world. It’s a state where you can deal with stressors and challenges in a healthy and peaceful way.

For these reasons, many people strive to develop peace of mind. And often, on this journey, many people may also find a deep sense of self through self discovery.

That’s because it’s no easy feat to find inner peace – it takes work, focus, and dedication. You’ll find yourself becoming more self-aware of your mindset, values, behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. Additionally, you may also uncover some areas in your life that may need some focus.

When you start to achieve peace of mind, you’ll likely also feel a sense of contentment and self-actualization. Due to the fact that inner peace is about accepting things, being present, and grateful, contentment may come naturally.

Conversely, when you do not devote time to cultivating a peaceful mindset – you may find that your life lacks contentment and any form of peace.

That being said, achieving peace of mind will allow you to have a positive mental outlook and experience positive physical health benefits as well.

Inner peace can build self esteem, lower your heart rate, improve your relationships, increase productivity, and relax your nervous system. You may also sleep better, experience less anxiety, and feel a deep sense of purpose. As you can see, the benefits of inner peace span across mental, physical, and spiritual benefits. To see the full list of benefits of inner peace, check out this post by peacerevolution.

Why Peace of Mind and Contentment Go Hand in Hand

While we often strive to achieve peace of mind, it’s not so often that we talk about contentment.

According to GoodTherapy, “Contentment means to be happy with what you have, who you are, and where you are. It is respecting the reality of the present. It is appreciating what you do have and where you are in life. Contentment does not mean the absence of desire; it just means you are satisfied with your present, and you trust that the turns your life takes will be for the best.”

Contentment lays the foundation for inner peace. It also can promote happiness and simplicity for our lives. To have a peaceful mindset and approach to life, contentment is absolutely necessary.

Despite the fact that contentment is a key ingredient in a healthy mindset, it will sometimes be viewed as something negative.

We’d like to clear that up right now – being content does not mean being unmotivated or lazy. To clarify, contentment is being happy where you are and with what you have while knowing that you can still grow and develop. It means that you have the ability to choose your life and that you accept things as they are.

Contentment and peace of mind are a perfect match. Now that we’ve covered this, we want to jump into the juicy part of this post – ways that you can bring inner peace and contentment into your life!

8 Ways to Bring Inner Peace and Contentment into Your Life

Try Mindfulness Exercises

Mindfulness exercises can help you create an atmosphere of inner peace and contentment by focusing on the present moment. Mindful living involves being fully aware of the present moment and accepting it without judgment or criticism. Taking just a few moments every day to practice mindfulness can create lasting effects in terms of how you approach each moment in life with peace and contentment!

Furthermore, mindfulness has many physical and mental benefits. And – there are so many ways that you can practice mindfulness. Next time you are feeling overwhelmed or anxious, try to reframe your mind and focus on the present. If you have 5 minutes or 45 minutes – there’s an mindfulness exercise option for you!

There are many different mindfulness solutions but below are three of our favorites:

• Journal
• Create a gratitude board
• Spend time outdoors in nature

Acknowledge Your Thoughts, Feelings & Desires

A key part of finding inner peace is to honor and accept your thoughts and feelings. This may seem funny but think about it this way – have you ever felt a certain way and pushed the emotion aside? Maybe you were afraid to share your true feelings with someone or you put your emotions on the backburner.

In order to be more aware of your thoughts and feelings, try to be more mindful of your thoughts and feelings. If you want, start to track your mood during the day. Or try to be more aware of the thoughts you are having.

When you have a feeling, thought, or emotion, try to understand why it’s present. Once you begin the task or tracking your feelings and thoughts, try writing them down. When you write down an emotion, ask yourself why you feel that way. If you cannot uncover something by asking why once, ask why again. Continue to ask why until you get to the reason why you are feeling a specific way.

It’s when you get to the root cause of things that you may begin healing or get through the situation. On the other hand, if you do not get to the root cause of things, emotions can fester and cause chaos. When we hold on to feelings, smaller things may begin to irritate us or we may not be able to show up as the best version of ourselves. It’s important to feel your emotions and allow yourself to process them.

Another thing you can do is – stop judging yourself! We can be our own worst critic and this type of situation will not allow us to create a mindset of peace.

This type of self-compassion goes a long way towards creating an atmosphere in which inner peace begins to settle!

Create a Peaceful Physical Space

So far we’ve been covering you mental space but let’s talk about your physical space – your room, home, your car, your office. How does your physical living space look?

Our outer worlds are often a reflection of our inner world. If your house is cluttered, messy, and you are unorganized, this may impact your mental health. Did you know that a cluttered space may actually cause anxiety?

Creating a clean space that is free of clutter can improve your mood and encourage a clutter free mental state. If you need help with cleaning or decluttering your home, we have a free checklist here.

At the end of the day, cleaning can be a huge task. When you begin the process of decluttering, take it slow and try not to stress.

Love Yourself

Love yourself, love yourself, and love yourself some more! Self-love is so underrated and we want to change that! If you do not love yourself or feel good about yourself, you cannot expect to be in a good state of mind.

If you’re new to the self-love movement, you can start this journey with baby steps and soon you’ll be running! Self love is self acceptance. You want to be your own best friend, your biggest fan, and biggest supporter.

Self love is a crucial piece of the puzzle when striving for peace of mind because the way you feel about yourself will often dictate how you talk to yourself and how you think about yourself.

Subsequently, when you have a high level of self esteem, you may not feel the need to compare yourself to others. Comparison is often called a thief of joy and it will take away from our abilities to show us as our authentic selves.

If you need to start somewhere, start be saying self-love affirmations in the morning. From there, start monitoring your thoughts. How often do you have positive thoughts and use positive self-talk? If you are using negative language to talk about yourself, stop in that moment, and re-frame the thought.

It’s highly unlikely that you’ll achieve inner peace if you are unable to first love yourself.

Set Healthy Boundaries for Yourself and Others

Setting healthy boundaries is an important part of living with inner peace and contentment. It requires tuning in to yourself so that you can be clear on your values, preferences, and needs.

Before you set boundaries, it’s important to take an inventory of your life. Where are you spending your time? Is someone in your life taking advantage of your time? What’s your work/life balance like? Or are there things in your life that you are prioritizing that do not have a positive impact on you?

Upon taking an inventory of your life and where you spend your time, take a deeper dive into how these areas of your life make you feel. If you spend lots of time with a friend who does not reciprocate their support to you, it may be time to set some boundaries.

Once you identify these areas of your life, it’s important to communicate your needs to those around you. Communicating boundaries may be tough in the beginning but once you start to draw a line in the sand, you may feel more control of your life.

In your life, it’s important to be mindful of where you spend your time. There are 86,400 seconds in a day and it’s important that you spend that time wisely. Knowing what matters to you will allow you to make decisions with confidence and intention. When you begin to set boundaries, you can prioritize healthy habits and overall well-being.

Additionally, when you begin to become assertive and uphold your boundaries, you may feel that you no longer feel the need to be a people pleaser. Therefore, setting boundaries can be a healthy type of self-care where you focus on your mental and physical health.

Some of the benefits of setting boundaries are: contentment, peace of mind, improved emotional health, more time for self-care, and improved relationships.

Learn to Let Go

Creating inner peace requires us to be mindful of our outlook and attitude. Knowing when to let go and accept life as it is can help us gain control over our emotions. When we learn to let go, it requires that we accept things as they are. We can only control our reactions to things and our behaviors, not the world around us or those around us.

Letting go does not mean that we let everything fall apart but we realize that we must not dwell on things we cannot change. Sometimes we may hold onto pain or sorrow. While grieving and allowing our emotions to be felt is incredibly important, we must also process those emotions and let them go.

If you were hurt by someone or something in the past and you still return to that pain, there are tools you can use to let it go. For some, letting go can be done by writing in a journal. For others, letting go might be forgiving yourself or forgiving others.

When we cannot let things go, we cannot acheive peace of mind. Hence, letting go is a key to the path of contentment and inner peace. One you are able to accept things as they are, forgive, and move on – there’s space for new memories and joy. The benefits of letting things go can be mental and physical. At the end of the day, situations can weigh on us and impact our health.

Once we learn to let things go, we can experience a sense of freedom. Mentally you may have a clear mind, better outlook, and more positive mindset. Letting go can impact your physical health as well – you may experience lower blood pressure and stress.

The act of letting go can be very difficult though. When you start to accept things as they are, you may experience new emotions and feel heavy. This is a natural part of learning to let go. If things become too tough, do not hesitate to reach out for support.

Follow Your Passions

Doing things that you enjoy and that bring you happiness can help to reduce stress and bring a sense of inner peace. This could be anything from spending time with loved ones, to exercising, to engaging in a hobby.

Another way to follow your passions is to do things that also benefit others. If you have a gift, share it with the world and watch the joy that you receive in return. Spending time on things that light your fire will ensure that you do not experience burn out and that you are continuously developing your skills.

Once you set boundaries, you may have extra time to focus on a new hobby or existing passion. Trying out new things and stepping outside of your comfort zone will improve self-esteem and keep your life full of excitement.

Practice Self Care

Self care is important for inner peace because it helps you to feel grounded and more balanced. Additionally, it helps to manage the stresses of daily life more effectively.

When you practice self care, you are taking the time to nurture and care for yourself, which can improve your physical, emotional, and mental well-being. This can help you to feel more peaceful and content within yourself. Therefore, you can approach life’s challenges with greater resilience and a calm attitude.

By making self care a priority, you can create a sense of inner peace and well-being that will help you to navigate the ups and downs of life with greater ease and grace. Another key aspect of self care and peace of mind is spending time alone. When you spend time alone, you can recharge and focus solely on yourself.

This will allow you to find peace in your routine and maximize your activities during “me” time. Spending time alone can also help create peace of mind and contentment.

Inspirational Quotes to Reflect On for Contentment and Peace of Mind

Since it may be difficult to try out every idea on this list, we also wanted to provide you with some additional motivation. If you can only try out one of two of these ideas, that’s still great. Start where you can and be proud of yourself for all your hard work. If there’s a day where you need some additional motivation, we think you’ll love these 5 quotes below!

Nobody can bring you peace but yourself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Whatever we are waiting for – peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance – it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart. – Sarah Ban Breathnach

You’ll never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart. – George Michael

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves. – Dalai Lama

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. – Oprah

Final Thoughts

We hope you liked our guide on finding inner peace and contentment. If you try out any of these ideas and you like them, feel free to let us know in the comments!