50 Habits To Find Inner Peace

Do you want to feel better about yourself and the world around you or become a better version of yourself? Maybe it feels like it’s time to move on from a certain phase in your life and find happiness. Here is a list of fifty ways to help you find inner peace no matter what circumstance you find yourself in.

50 Practical Ways To Find Inner Peace and Keep It!

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1| Breathe Deeply

Our lives can be so busy that we forget how to breathe properly or maybe we never knew at all. According to the University of Michigan, deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. It allows your brain to relax as well as reducing your blood pressure and heart rate. One common breathing exercise is called ‘Belly Breathing.’

Get comfortable and take a deep breath in through your nose and down to your belly. Your chest should not move but your belly should expand. Breathe out slowly and repeat three to ten times to experience the benefits of this deep breathing exercise.

2| Connect with Nature

Humans were meant to spend much more time in nature than most of us do in our daily lives. Going outside for as little as ten to fifteen minutes a day has some major benefits for your health.

The sun is the best source of vitamin D and according to webmd.com, sunlight can keep your serotonin levels up, contributing to a feeling of happiness. Being outdoors can also lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, to help you relax. It improves your focus, self-esteem, and immunity. Grounding is a term that describes

3| Limit Technology Use

Taking a break from technology occasionally can help you get back in touch with the real world around you. Some easy ways to limit unnecessary use include designating a specific time to put down phones and connect with family, turning on the ‘do not disturb’ feature, turning off notifications, and having a time set aside to return emails and messages.

4| Practice Mindfulness

Being present and mindful of your thoughts and actions can help to discover what brings you happiness and peace. Make it a point to feel the emotions that you have. Use those feelings to form intentions and work toward a more peaceful you inside and out.

Mindfulness has been a popular practice for ages in a variety of cultures because it works. The American Psychological Association finds that mindfulness can help focus, improve memory, cause you to become less reactive, reduce stress, and has countless other physical and mental benefits.

5| Be Grateful

There are many ways to practice being grateful including daily entries in a gratitude journal or stating out loud what you are grateful for. Reminding yourself of the good things in life is positively linked to well-being. Being grateful helps decrease depression and anxiety while improving sleep and building empathy. Zig Ziglar said, “Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. “When we focus on what we already have we are able to manifest more and increase positivity in our lives.

6| Learn Something New

The more you learn, the more well-rounded you become as a person. There is so much to learn and it’s easier now than ever to continue your education on anything that interests you. Being curious and searching for answers usually leads to even more questions and discoveries fueling the cycle of learning.

According to Piedmont.org, lifelong learning can give you motivation, keep you from becoming bored, improve your health, and ensure that you stay capable of change and growth. Your brain is capable of change and growth at all stages of life. According to Piedmont.org, the brain’s prefrontal cortex thickens when learning new skills, demonstrating a physiological change that relates to higher IQ and better memory.

7| Meditate

Meditation is one way to stay present and untangle yourself from constant streams of unhelpful thoughts. There are many valuable apps available to try meditation if you need more structure or prefer guided meditation. Studies show that practicing meditation results in improved mood and reduced anxiety among many other benefits. You can use meditations or mantras to move toward your intended goals of inner peace and happiness.

8| Practice Acceptance

Nobody can be perfect and successful all the time. People make mistakes and experience failures and setbacks in life. According to inlpcenter.org, accepting things as they are requires giving up how we believe they should be. Often the process can involve grieving a loss before you can embrace acceptance.

9| Take Responsibility for Your Life

Take credit where credit is due and take responsibility for your mistakes. Realize that you are the one in control of your own life and you can change it based on actions you do or do not take. Timeforchange.org prioritizes self-responsibility when searching for inner peace. They determine that while we all are responsible for our actions, they can cause a chain reaction of other effects or indirect consequences that we are also responsible for.

10| Spend Time with Loved Ones

Spend your precious time on those who mean the most to you. Be compassionate as you forge and strengthen real personal connection with others. Deeper connection leads to happier and longer lives because those people who love you will support you through life’s many challenges as you support them in return.

Having someone who cares about you, and who you care about in return, can keep you focused on what is important and lower the occurrences of risky and dangerous behavior.

11| Compare Yourself Only to Your Previous Self

Don’t waste your time comparing yourself to others or trying to impress people. You will never find inner peace trying to compete with others. A Penn State article acknowledges that the only person you should try to be better than is who you were yesterday. Encourage yourself to try to make daily progress for the better and forget about who else might be coming up next to you or inching ahead of you.

12| Forgive Your Past

If you follow the above tip, you can acknowledge your past and move forward. Be better than who you used to be but also have forgiveness for that person. Embrace your past mistakes and use them as a learning experience to improve your current self.

13| Get Creative

Creativity is an often-overlooked facet of ourselves. If you don’t have proclivity towards a certain creative pursuit, try a few new things and see what sticks. Being creative can feel meditative and release dopamine and endorphins. It can also allow you to channel anxiety and other unpleasant feelings into something beautiful.

14| Practice Self-Care

Treat yourself better whether you think you deserve it or not. Be kind to yourself and find ways to be more forgiving of your faults. Finding inner peace begins with caring for yourself. Feeling worthless or incompetent can breed self-sabotage, so make yourself believe that you deserve success. You are worth it!

15| Commit to Good Hygiene

How we feel about ourselves starts with how we feel in general. Taking care of our bodies is an integral part of achieving inner peace. Pay attention and respond to the needs of your body. See a doctor if you need medical attention. Keep yourself clean and presentable to feel better about yourself and the world around you.

16| Volunteer

Giving to others can benefit you as much as or even more than the person you choose to help. There are studies showing that being more altruistic can positively affect a person’s health and happiness. Helping others can also give you a sense of purpose and lead to inner peace. According to Livingwell.org, giving and cooperating with others stimulates reward areas in the brain. Those who participate in voluntary service generally have higher self-esteem, better physical and mental health and can even live longer.

17| Distract Yourself Sometimes

While it is important to address emotions, sometimes it can be okay to distract ourselves. When emotions are running high, we are rarely in the right headspace to deal with the issue right then and there. Taking a moment to deescalate in some way can be helpful. Watch some TV, play a game or video game, play a sport or exercise, cook a delicious meal, read a book, however you choose to escape is okay if you need to.

18| Get Some Sleep

Sleep is one of the most necessary and overlooked keys to happiness and inner peace. Not getting enough sleep has many repercussions in our day to day lives. The University of Michigan School of Public Health determined that sleep is essential to every process in the body.

Your quality and amount of sleep affects physical and mental functions, metabolism, capacity to fight disease, develop immunity, and can even influence your susceptibility to chronic illness. You might notice you are in a better mood when you get adequate amounts of sleep because your brain and body had time to rest and rejuvenate.

If you have trouble falling asleep you could try caffeine-free tea or reading and try to keep electronics out of the bedroom.

19| Declutter

Decluttering your space can help declutter your mind as well. Messes make it harder to concentrate on the task at hand and can lead to frustration and anxiety. Mayoclinic.org found that those who described their homes as cluttered or disorganized had more levels of stress hormones than those who described their homes as restful or beautiful.

Try taking a little extra time each night to put things back where they belong so you wake up to clean surroundings. If you have a lot of toys or clothes laying around it might be helpful to box some up and rotate them so that they aren’t all in sight all the time.

20| Practice Hygge

Sometimes it’s helpful to borrow philosophies from other parts of the world. Hygge is a Danish and Norwegian principle that evokes feelings of coziness and comfort and can lead to feelings of wellness and contentment. Hygge ideas might help you achieve inner peace. The theme encompasses many concepts such as spending time with family and friends, staying warm and cozy, and generally taking the time to enjoy the good things in life.

21| Expand Your Social Circle

Making genuine human connection is important for your health and happiness. You never know who you might meet if you are open to new experiences. Expanding your social circle can open you up to new opportunities in your career and all facets of your life. Findings from the National Bureau of Economic Research state that doubling your friend group has the same effect on your wellbeing as a fifty percent increase in income!

22| Limit Social Media

Spending too much time on social media can negatively impact your mental health and confidence. While there are positive ways to use these platforms, too many of us fall into the cycle of scrolling and comparing ourselves to others’ curated lives. Do you make inspirational boards of things that you want to do someday? Pick one of those things and do it! Selecthealth.org found the average person is on social media for two hours per day and suggests limiting that time to thirty minutes. With all that extra time you can accomplish the other things on this list as well!

23| Stop Being a Perfectionist

Being a perfectionist means always feeling like things aren’t quite right. Try to be satisfied with the work that you and others do. It won’t always be perfect, but it can be perfectly acceptable for the task at hand. Psychology Today says that the more we aim for perfect, the more miserable we feel.

They try to reframe perfectionism and declare that the opposite of perfection isn’t imperfection or mediocrity but reality and possibility. Instead of aiming for perfection, aim for excellence based in reality. Try to be resilient and expect things to go wrong and you will learn to work with your mistakes and feel less pressure to be perfect.

24| Accept Others as They Are

Trying to change people never works and may lead to resentment. It’s time to get rid of your expectations and give people the space to be themselves. You may even find that you like them as they are. If you struggle with a relationship and feel the need to change them, that relationship may not be for you.

Start setting boundaries and decide if this is a person you really want to remain a part of your life. If it is a relationship worth having, then you need to accept that they are going to be themselves and do their best with the circumstances they find themselves in just as you are.

25| Laugh More

Finding more humor and laughter in your life is so important. Have you heard the saying, ‘laughter is the best medicine”? Laughter actually releases hormones that help people relax. According the mayoclinic.org, the short-term benefits of laughter include enhancing your intake of oxygen, stimulating your heart and lung muscles, increasing endorphins released by your brain, and reducing some physical symptoms of stress. Long-term, laughter can improve your immune system, improve your mood, and even relieve pain.

26| Strengthen Important Relationships

Find those relationships that matter the most and are the most beneficial to you. Keep the people in your life that make you happy. Work to strengthen those relationships and form deeper connections. The University of Minnesota found that strong relationships contribute to a long, healthy, and happy life. Research showed that people with strong social relationships are fifty percent less likely to die prematurely.

27| Limit Contact with Negative People

Know which relationships are good for you and help you be the best version of yourself but also realize when a relationship only taking from you. If you find yourself in the same stressful situations repeatedly with a certain person, then it may be time to take a hard look at why you are still trying to maintain this relationship. Sometimes it’s better to let toxic relationships go.

28| Communicate Clearly and Respectfully

Communicating clearly and respectfully can simplify your life in many ways. When you communicate your needs to others there should be no room for interpretation. Sometimes people get anxious or second guess themselves and don’t communicate their true needs which can cause misunderstandings and confuse a situation.

Being respectful and clear at the same time will articulate your precise needs with no misgivings and keep you confident that you got your point across. Answer any questions in an accurate and respectful way as well.

29| Travel More

One of the best ways to grow and learn is to travel and have new experiences. Seeing new places and meeting people will expand your horizons and give you perspective on your life. There are so many interesting cultures to visit and appreciate. According to lifehack.org, some of the main benefits of travel are realizing that all humans share similar needs and there is so much you still don’t know about the world. Traveling can allow you to experience how connected we all are on this Earth and inspire inner peace.

30| Get Organized

Organization can lead to inner peace because it helps you focus and simplify your life. It makes it easier to find the things you need quickly and keep your space and mind less cluttered. According to intermountainhealthcare.org, getting organized will help reduce stress, improve sleep, reduce depression and anxiety, and help you make better choices in other areas of your life.

31| Exercise

Exercise is just as important for your mental health as it is for your physical health. Any activity is better than none. Walking is a great way to get started. If you like a challenge, there are many apps and free videos to follow along with online. If you don’t enjoy exercise, find a way to make it fun like participating in a sport or dance.

While pretty much any physical activity is beneficial to health and wellbeing, there are a couple of ways to make quick and noticeable improvements. Prevention.com found that yoga and resistance training improve mood and reduce symptoms of depression.

Resistance training is ideal for lasting changes and developing confidence via body image. Yoga can boost confidence almost instantly by improving your mood and posture. Using these exercises, you’ll feel happier inside and out to achieve inner peace.

32| Be Accountable

Everyone makes mistakes. Instead of going into a spiral of depression, anxiety, or self-pity, accept what has happened and choose to do better next time. Practice taking responsibility and taking back control of your circumstances. By avoiding self-pity, you can instead build confidence that you are going to do something proactive with your life.

33| Stop Overreacting

Next time it feels like the end of the world, take a deep breath and focus. What are you worried about? If it is a mistake you made, would you be this upset if someone else had made the mistake? Overreacting won’t solve the problem. Try to calm down and take it one step at a time. Narrow down a set of solutions and decide which would work the best in your situation.

34| Set Boundaries

It’s okay to say no sometimes! It is important to set boundaries for yourself, so you don’t become overwhelmed. Take on tasks and say yes to invitations if you are happy to do so. If it feels wrong or if you have too much going on, then take charge of your circumstances and say kindly decline. Chances are the person will understand and it won’t be the big deal that you’ve made it out to be in your head.

35| Random Acts of Kindness

We’ve talked about how helping others can improve your life. Have you ever been the recipient of a random act of kindness? It’s a small way to brighten someone’s day and put some good out into the world. A study (Pursuing Happiness, Lyubomirsky) found that participants who performed five acts of kindness each week for six weeks in a row saw a significant boost in happiness but only if they were all done in one day. Choose one day per week to perform five small acts of kindness and see how it changes your outlook on life.

36| Try Therapy

This one might be tough but most people who finally see a therapist wish they had done it sooner. Talking out loud about your patterns and problems with a professional can really help you achieve inner peace and employ new strategies in dealing with your day-to-day life. Sometimes it can be hard to see through your own behaviors and talking to someone else can lead to realizations and improvement.

37| Align Your Life with Your Values

Lifehack.org states that problems arise when we see ourselves one way but behave in ways that are at odds with that vision. To maximize inner peace, find ways to keep your inner ideals similar to the way you act in your life.

Try starting a project that you are genuinely interested in and bring all that you have learned to the table. You might find that using your talents on something that aligns with your values brings out the best in you and begets your best work.

38| Eat for Your Body

What you put in your body matters. Fuel yourself with healthy, nutrient-dense food to maintain a healthy body and mind. There is no single correct way to eat for every person but if you pay attention to your body, you’ll discover what works for you and what doesn’t. Keep yourself hydrated to maintain your health and wellness.

According to mayoclinic.org, men should be drinking about 3.7 liters of fluids per day and women about 2.7 liters per day. Limit your intake of sugar, alcohol, and other harmful substances as much as possible.

39| Prioritize Comfort

Sometimes the simplest things can make you feel so much better. One of the quickest ways to feeling inner peace is to make yourself comfortable. Get dressed in your coziest sweater or snuggle up with the softest blanket. Whatever makes you feel good. If your bed is old and uncomfortable, invest in a new one.

40| Take a Break

Take a break when you need to. The world is moving so quickly around us that sometimes it feels like if you take a moment to recuperate, you’ll be left behind. On the contrary, often a break is just what you need to find a new angle or strategy to improve on yourself and your work. Free up some space in your mind to take a fresh look at things and get a new perspective.

41| Ask for Help

As stated earlier, clear communication is essential. When things are not clear, instead of guessing, ask for clarification or help. Artofliving.org says that there are more avenues now than ever before to find help for almost any subject.

There are communities and nonprofits you can contact online for assistance, there are friends and family and coworkers you can reach out to who would be happy to help. Asking for help provides the strength and support you need to get things done right without wasting energy and causing stress or anxiety.

42| Listen to Music

Research confirms that music can have a major impact on our minds and bodies. Different types of music have different effects so try to choose what’s right for the situation that you’re in. Faster music makes you more alert while upbeat music can make you feel more optimistic. Something slower can relax and soothe your body and mind.

Researchers at Stanford University found that music can alter brain functioning as much as some medications. What works to relax you and help find inner peace will vary from person to person because a lot depends on personal preferences. A great place to start is with nature sounds, light jazz, or even old-fashioned sounding string instruments, drums, and flutes such as Native American, Celtic, or Indian music.

43| Stop Procrastinating

Procrastinating and avoiding tasks often happens when you have a hard time figuring out how to begin. These strategies end up increasing anxiety and giving you less time to complete tasks and usually results in lower quality work. Combat procrastination by making to do lists, prioritizing tasks, or writing down instructions as you would give them to someone else in order to simplify the requirements of the task. It could also help to start the shortest or least important project first to get things started and keep your motivation up.

44| Care for a Pet

According to nih.gov, having a pet can benefit the health and wellness of you and your family. While research is relatively new, interacting with animals has been shown to lower cortisol levels and blood pressure. Having a pet is good for mental health because they increase feelings of social support, help you feel less lonely, and can keep you in a happier mood. Dogs especially can be a good source of comfort for their human companions.

45| Be Early

Reduce stress and anxiety by making sure you are early to your commitments. Being early eliminates the scramble and makes you appear more organized and put together. Eventually that will lead to feeling more responsible too! It might help to set your clock 5 minutes ahead and trick yourself into being ready a little bit early if you are in the habit of running a few minutes behind.

46| One Thing at a Time

This may seem obvious but don’t try to do too many things at once! It is hard enough to give 100% to a task but add on a few more and you’re spreading yourself thin. No task is getting as much attention as it deserves. Focusing on one thing at a time can help you get more done in less time, pay more attention to detail, remember more, and do it all with less stress.

47| Don’t Judge

Achieve inner peace by reserving judgement of yourself and others, especially superficial judgement. Skylight.org posits that judging people creates a huge barrier to wellbeing and overall happiness. Try to break the habit of judging others by first recognizing when the behavior happens and attempting to humanize the person more in your mind. You never know what someone else is going through that might cause them to behave that way. It isn’t your job to judge them.

48| Focus on Goals

Start with an achievable goal and to set higher goals as you accomplish them to keep you motivated. If you continue to make small improvements over time those changes can add up into something big! Setting achievable goals for yourself will feel so much better in the long run than giving in to the pull of instant gratification and taking the easy way out.

49| Don’t Hold Grudges

Holding a grudge will only hurt you. According to Mayoclinic.org, letting go of grudges and bitterness can make way for improved health and peace of mind. Forgiveness improves heart health, immune response, and mental health while creating healthier outlooks on relationships. On the other hand, holding a grudge can bring that anger and bitterness with you into new experiences and relationships, make you depressed or anxious, and make you less trustworthy of others.

To begin fostering an attitude of forgiveness you need to acknowledge your emotions and work to release them. Take back control of your life and your circumstances.

50| Love Yourself

You can’t find inner peace unless you learn to love yourself, flaws and all. Make loving yourself a priority and the rest will follow.