In this day and age, peace of mind is difficult to achieve. Cities are overcrowded, technology is increasingly connecting people 24/7, daily life and work are getting more stressful. All that makes it difficult for a person to have a quiet life. However, you can still seek peace of mind.
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Method 1 of 3: Creating a Calming Environment
Step 1. Tidy up your home for a calm atmosphere
There are many things you can still do to change the atmosphere at home to be calm even if you have a large family or your family life is busy. Use interior design and organization to create a bit of calm in your home.
- Tidy up the front of your house. You will be stressed if you are always greeted with a messy and disturbing looking front of the house. Place shoes, umbrellas, and various items that you use every day in a special place near the shoes. That way, they won't be seen and won't bother you.
- Make a special place for messy things. Try to keep only that place messy and not spread to other places. Keeping your house neat and clean is difficult and sometimes impractical, especially if you have children. Instead of trying to do the hard work, set up a messy place or two, a place where everyone is free to put their bags, pile up letters, and so on.
- Play music. Classical music, or other instrumental music such as jazz, can calm your mind and ease feelings of anger or anxiety. In order to get a calm effect, the music played should be slow and not noisy. Play some relaxing music to make your home feel more relaxed.
- Spoil your bedroom. A third of your life will be spent on a mattress, so make sure your mattress is comfortable. Your mattress is the last place you visit at night and the first place you come across in the morning. Use comfortable sheets with soft fabrics for a good night's sleep. Instead of setting an alarm clock, install a light that turns on automatically at certain hours to wake you up.
Step 2. Create a relaxing workspace
Most of your daily time will be spent on work. Make the workspace as relaxing as possible. Of course, the workspace is different, from the office to the outdoors. Adjust it to your needs.
- Reduce clutter and get rid of unnecessary items in your workspace. This way, you'll reduce potential distractions and keep your attention focused on the task at hand.
- Keep the workspace clean. Get rid of trash, stains, and odors to reduce potential sources of discomfort. Of course, you don't do this once or twice but many times; Don't let cleaning be a distraction or a source of stress. The key is to do regular cleaning.
- Post fun pictures. For example, photos of your family, soothing pictures, or places you want to visit. This will remind you of the good things in your life and the reasons you work.
- If you have your own office space, keep the door closed. Thus, other people would not enter arbitrarily and the noise outside would remain outside. You will also get a little privacy and even isolation. If your job requires you to work with other people, choose a specific time when your door must remain closed.
Step 3. Maximize the use of color and light
Certain color and light settings can dramatically impact your feelings and productivity. One way that people rarely use to create a calming environment is to adjust the light-darkness, reflection, and intensity of the decorations in the room around you.
- Choose dark colors. Bright colors can make you nervous, so choose softer colors. In addition, also use a non-reflective (matte) coating to reduce light reflections that can irritate the eyes.
- We recommend using blue and lavender for bedrooms and rooms where you want serenity.
- Design for closed/recessed lighting, and use light from a floor lamp or table lamp to create closeness. In this way, you reduce the harsh glow of a direct-looking light bulb. Install warm white lights (warm-white) so that the atmosphere of the room remains calm. Bright white lights (bright-white) make the atmosphere of the room becomes rough and feels like in a factory or electronics store.
Step 4. Keep yourself away from the frenzy
Go out into the wild to feel calm and recharge. Take a walk in the park or go for a hike in the mountains. All of these can soothe and re-energize you, especially if you live in an urban environment.
- Do not rush. Go outside, take time to enjoy your surroundings. Look at the clouds in the sky, take off your shoes, feel the grass between your toes.
- Take a photo. If you arrive at a place that is fun for you, take a photo of the place so you can revisit it at another time.
- Play with nature. If you like, try a hobby related to nature, such as fishing. For fishing, you will need to learn to perform relaxing movements and understand the complexities of rivers, lakes, and other forms of aquatic life. With rock climbing, you will see various amazing views while getting to know geology. One of the best ways to relieve stress and build a quiet space within yourself is to get closer to nature.
Method 2 of 3: Calming Yourself
Step 1. Make a morning ritual
One way to reduce stress and noise in your life is to build reliable and repeatable systems in your daily life that balance yourself out and reduce stress. If you usually rush in the morning, try to change that consciously.
- Get up a little earlier, have a cup of coffee, do a relaxing activity like yoga, meditation, or anything else that calms you down. Do that every day.
- Every morning, decide what you want to do. Then include it in your morning ritual so you can do it without rushing or feeling stressed.
Step 2. Be aware of your reactions to the various things that you experience
If you often feel annoyed with other people when interacting on a daily basis, you should start to get into the habit of analyzing your own behavior.
For example, if someone overtakes you on the street, wait a minute instead of pressing the horn right away. Consider whether your response will make the person quit or will only make you more stressed
Step 3. Avoid doing many things at once (multitasking)
There have been countless studies showing that multitasking is less efficient than focusing on one thing at a time. You will also feel restless if you constantly need to shift your attention from one thing to another.
- Get used to small changes, like leaving your phone in a different room, or turning off email. That way, you won't be bothered.
- Take advantage of to-do lists organized by priority. Focus your attention on the most important thing on the list (should be first). Remember that you can also list recreation, exercise, or time with family on the "to-do" list.
Step 4. Exercise regularly
Exercise is good for your health and can reduce your stress levels.
- If possible, incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Even a short 20-minute workout can make you feel good.
- You don't need to spend a lot of time going to a certain place to exercise. Get up from the bench, then go for a short walk. Take the stairs more often than take the elevator.
- After your workout, listen to some music or take in a relaxing sight. That way, you will be calm again when you have to continue working.
Step 5. Get creative
Create something. Exercise your creative abilities. Creative activities, especially those done with your own two hands, can help calm yourself and your day. You can spend all your concentration on the task at hand. Plus, when you're done, you'll feel like you've accomplished something.
- Some examples of creative activities: woodworking, clay, or embroidery. All activities that can relax your mind.
- You can also engage in artistic activities, such as painting, sculpting, or even writing.
- You can also get creative in the kitchen, baking cakes, cooking, or even doing unusual things like trying to make your own beer.
Step 6. Try yoga or meditation
There are many health benefits of yoga and meditation that are known scientifically. Yoga and meditation can give you peace of mind and reduce stress. Yoga can also increase your body's strength and flexibility.
- Yoga stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system and has a "calming effect."
- You can do yoga and meditation anywhere. You can do some simple poses in the office or in the bedroom right after waking up.
Step 7. Fail your instinctive response to danger
This instinctual response, known as the flight-or-fight response, is your instinctual response to danger and stress. Although a fruitful evolutionary adaptation, this response is not always suitable for modern living environments that are quiet, away from the dangers of wild animals and other fierce tribes. There are several ways to thwart your opponent's response or run.
- Think about your feelings. It may sound cliché, but this method really works. The action is simple: think about the feeling you are experiencing, be it panic, stress, fear, or anxiety. In this way, the neurological response of your fight or flight will be disrupted and your energy can be used to think about other, more useful things.
- Focus your attention on the breath. When you start to feel tense or panicky, focus on deep breathing. This will stop your instinctive tendency to take short, quick breaths. Your autonomic nervous system, which controls the body's physiological responses without the influence of your conscious mind, will also be affected.
- Finally, give a different name to the feeling you just felt. Give it a more positive name. For example, change the name "panic" to "furious," "angry" to "ambitious," and so on. By doing so, you take control of your body's stress response, while lowering your heart rate, breathing, and excessive sweating.
Method 3 of 3: Calming Others
Step 1. Calm someone who is sad or angry
You're bound to encounter other sad or angry people around you, be it a friend, coworker, family member, or someone else. His feelings of anger will annoy those around them.
- Use the methods below to ease his feelings.
- Empathy - Show the other person that you understand he or she is sad/angry, by stating "I see you are sad", or "I can understand why you are frustrated". Then, convey your willingness to help the person.
- Attention - Ask the person to explain the problem he or she is facing and listen actively. "Tell me what the problem is. I want to understand." Body language can also help you. Make eye contact with the person, then sit with your body facing that person to show your interest.
- Respect - People, especially those who get angry easily, need to feel respected when they are feeling sad/angry. Express your respect as much as possible by saying, for example, "I respect your commitment to this task," or "I know you put in a lot of effort."
Step 2. Stop the anger before the situation escalates
People who are very angry may not want to talk to you until they have calmed down. Help him calm down by removing his anger and acting appropriately to reduce the level of anger.
- First of all, convey your respect for the need or problem he is having. Acknowledge their self-interest and avoid judging them openly. Do this with non-aggressive body language, such as moving slowly and avoiding arrogant and aggressive poses.
- Help the angry person as long as you don't disturb other people. The goal is to keep the situation from heating up. Listen to the person actively. Don't interrupt him when he's talking. Ask questions that ask for clarity to avoid misunderstandings and cool the mood.
- Defuse the anger by rephrasing the anger in a non-aggressive manner. For example: answer "I want to hit Yanto with a brick!" with "Yes, you are annoyed with Yanto because he broke your car, and you want him to take responsibility." If this is successful, the other person will feel calmer and will be more open to discussing the problem they are dealing with constructively.
- If your efforts fail, or you feel angry too, stop interacting. Put your safety first. Stay away from the person, call security, supervisor, or the police, depending on the situation.
Step 3. Take advantage of kindness and humility
Research shows that being humble and being kind to others can improve your personal, professional, and social relationships. Being kind to others means being kind to yourself.
- US National Institutes of Health research shows that being kind to others can be physically and mentally healthy for you.
- Humility, which is the willingness to criticize yourself, can also be used to repair a broken relationship.
- Kindness is also linked to happiness. Charity and kindness release dopamine and endorphins in your brain. You will feel happier.
