🌼7 Bad Habits That Sabotage Your Peace(MUST READ)

🌼7 Bad Habits That Sabotage Your Peace(MUST READ)

You are your biggest enemy.

It could be so easy if we would not stand in our own way.

Inner peace is right in front of us we just have to take it. But we are blind, stuck in thick fog fighting ghosts.

If it could be so easy why is it so hard?

Social conditioning, lack of education, trauma — or a mix of all.

Watch out for the following bad habits. With a little bit of training and awareness, you might step out of the fog and enjoy inner peace.

Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.

— Wayne W. Dyer

Living in the past

How much time are you spending thinking about what you said yesterday or what happened a week ago?

Read also: 10 little behaviours that attract people to you (must read)

Quite a lot?

If you catch yourself living in the past you are wasting your time. Every moment you spend somewhere else than in the NOW is a lost moment.

To live in the past is to die in the present. — Bill Belichick

Is the past keeping you hostage?

No matter how long you think about it you can’t change things that happened.

The only way to be free is to accept whatever you resist and let go. As Rick Warren says ‘We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.’

How to apply:

Build awareness around your thoughts. Where are you? Still in the office or on last year’s vacation. Pause and focus on your breath to come back to the present moment.

You can only access inner peace from the present moment.

Bonus tip: Get your spouse on board as an accountability partner. When you stare and it’s obvious that you are mentally not present make your partner ask you ‘Where are you?’ and you’ll instantly find back to the NOW.

Self-Sabotaging

The best life hack is to not trust the voice in your head — it’s the perfect storyteller.

The voice wants to keep you safe and sound. That’s nice but can be extremely hindering when change comes about or anything new happens.

Then it dives deep into your past and tries to convince you that you are not good enough for the new job, the relationship, or the business idea….

Going through the good and bad is what life is all about. If we would listen to the voice we would never leave the house.

Stop listening and go for your dreams to live life fully.

We might get hurt but it’s all part of this wonderful human experience.

When you are on your own side you will flourish in peace.

How to apply:

It all begins with this game-changing knowledge: You are not the voice in your head.

Distance yourself from whatever it says. Listen but don’t get entangled or feed into the negativity the little voice spreads.

Treat it like an annoying neighbor who always has to comment on what you do but never does anything himself.

Listen. Wave with a smile. And get on with your day!

Endless consumption

I hate shopping.

I’ll admit it I’m a recovering shopaholic but once you find inner peace the tonnes of clothes and stuff at home are just a nuisance.

They clutter your mind and keep you busy. Searching online, washing, organizing, sorting out, cleaning…

Everything you own adds to your responsibilities until there is no time left to just be.

Keeping your life and home as simple as possible will give you peace of mind. As Francine Jay says ‘Your home is a living space, not a storage space.’

A life and home full of clutter will give you anxiety, and keep you busy without adding peace or joy.

A simplified life means that what has to get done will get done. And when we pare down life to its simplest, most beautifully basic parts, we’re left with room to enjoy each other, to rest, and to truly savor life with all our hearts, minds, and spirits. — Emily Ley

How to apply:

Here are my top rules to keep clutter at bay.

Only buy something after 30 days to prevent impulse shopping

One in one out (Replace items when they are broken and get rid of the old version)

Shop sustainable, high-quality pieces (We take better care of expensive items and if we use them longer we end up at the same price.)

Have a place for everything

When you only own pieces you truly cherish it’s the worst when something wears out and needs to be replaced. Also, it’s the first time in my life I’m actually wearing things out.

If your things start wearing out then you are on the right path!

Valuing other people’s opinions more than your own

When did you put other people’s opinions over your own?

We all have the right to different opinions but what you think about yourself is what matters most.

When you live your life according to your beliefs and dreams that’s when you will find peace and happiness. Running around trying to please or impress your parents, partner or friends will just make you miserable.

Other people’s opinions of you are none of your business.

— Robin Sharma

How to apply:

Accept all opinions. Ignore the ones that don’t serve your inner peace.

Developing the confidence to ignore what doesn’t serve you comes with knowing yourself. Take a few moments every day to listen to you and get to know yourself. Journaling and meditation are great tools for this.

When you live according to your values as your authentic self, standing up for yourself becomes easier.

Renting other people your mental space

Thinking can be a real nightmare. Are your thoughts more entangled than your headphones?

Then you know you are overthinking a certain event or obsessing about a person.

Your mind is 5-star real estate, don’t rent it out to other people for free.

Most times we ponder thoughts about what happened, what they think, what they will do, and what something could mean.

We are all guilty of this and it costs us our mental peace.

Based on our past experiences we create a certain storyline that drives us nuts. We go down the rabbit hole making up problems that didn’t exist before.

How to apply:

Think of your mind like a 5-star real estate. Only the most precious people and things in your life can spend time there.

Audit your thoughts for 1–3 hours. What do you think most about?

If it’s in the most precious people and things category, great! If not focus on your breath and guide yourself to the present moment every time it happens.

This is a practice and it will take time to master, so don’t be too hard on yourself.

Resisting change

Let’s face it, change is our constant companion.

Every day everything changes slightly. You do, your partner does, nature does. The earlier we accept that fact the better. Even if we would love to freeze everything like it is — it’s impossible.

Welcome change and it won’t bother you anymore, it’s part of life. Facing change can be tough but the more you embrace it the easier it will be to make your peace with it.

Change is never painful, only the resistance to change is painful. — Buddha

How to apply:

Instead of fighting change, embrace it.

Anything in your life is either becoming better or worse.

Choose the areas which are most important to you and make them thrive.

Read also: The number one habit for self improvement (very powerful)

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A smart person knows what to say, a wise person knows whether or not to say it. — Unknown

CONTRIBUTED BY Karo Wanner

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