One of the things that gives me great solace in times of worry or stress is the thought that even if something bad or worrisome may be happening in the moment everything will work out. And while I’m no therapist, these are some of the ways that help me keep my outlook on life up.
“In the end it will all be OK” is a mantra I say to myself to keep myself at ease. Even if something bad is happening, it can’t be bad forever. That is a mindset that is lost often on others.
For me, I found that solace through religion. But I think that same mindset can still be applied to everyday life even if you don’t devote yourself to any kind of religious sect.
Here are some ways to keep your mind at peace.
Focus on what you can control
Ruminating on things that are way out of our control can get people stuck and hurt their mindset. Whether that be the actions of other people, the weather or any other thing that seem to fit in our grasp.
Diane N. Solomon, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, is a woman who I think described it best.
“Most people spend a lot of time focused on things in their circle of concern,” Solomon said. ”The more time and energy you spend worrying about your circle of concern, the worse you probably feel, because it’s almost totally outside your control.”
While it may seem easier said than done, the best way to accomplish this is to stop worrying. Redirect that time worrying into something positive and focus that energy into something you can change for the better, such as exercising, biking or participating in any hobbies or activities that bring you joy.
Why worry about something you can’t control? If it’s something you can’t control, it was never your responsibility to change in the first place.
Protecting your peace
“Protecting your peace” is another phrase I like to live by. To me that means prioritizing self-care, your own boundaries and protecting your own emotional space. To do this means avoiding toxic situations and not letting the external pressures or stress from others control how you feel.
Practicing self care such as doing activities that help boost mental attitude, going to sleep at a certain time, making sure you eat enough and overall just treating yourself from time to time will certainly help.
Among that, being honest and setting boundaries with yourself and other people is a great way to protect your peace. Limiting interactions with people who bring nothing but stress and avoiding those situations and letting go of activities and people that drain you are some of the steps to protecting your peace.
You shouldn’t feel guilty about prioritizing your own health. Take control of your own physical and mental space by avoiding things that bring you anguish.
Trust yourself that everything will work itself out
Call it wishful thinking, blind faith, whatever you want, but I like to think ultimately a little faith can go a long way. Overall, it’s down to your outlook on life, and a little Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) never hurt anyone. If you think negative thoughts, negative things will come your way and the same thing goes in reverse.
If you believe everything in life won’t work out, then of course more bad things will come your way.
A step people often forget in this mindset is you actively have to put in the work for it to work. You have to take the necessary steps for things to work out in life. Trust yourself that you can get through whatever you are going though and have a little faith that things will work out no matter the situation.
If you need something a little more realistic or tangible, I like to remember all of the historical events where bad and injustice didn’t win. Think of the civil rights movement, women’s suffrage or World War II as examples that justice will always win.
Good will always prevail, the fiery blaze that is pain and injustice will always be snuffed out, that is why I believe that no matter the situation – big or small – everything will work out and in the end it will be OK.
