Cultivating Peace of Mind in 2020

I think we can all agree that 2020 is giving us much more than we bargained for and none of us saw this coming. Aside from all of the current events, we can't just put our own personal lives on hold either. Many of us are caretakers, mothers, fathers, employees and business owners. A lot of us wear many hats aside from these traditional roles and are still expected to perform at our best even though we are faced with a pandemic, rising tensions in our communities and an upcoming unprecedented election. So how do we deal with our existing roles and cultivate a healthy peaceful mind? The following are tips that I have taught my patients to implement in their lives, along with implementing them in my life as well.

The number one thing that anyone can do to improve feelings of frustration and disappointment is to practice acceptance. When we are talking about things that are beyond our control, such as someone else's opinion on current events, some else's reaction that you disagree with or a current event that has happened, it's important to recognize that you have no control over these circumstances and accept them as is and learn to let them go. This may sound simple, however, many people don't recognize early on, the situations and events that are out of their control and therefore become frustrated and angry when they try to manipulate, control, or force circumstances and events to happen with no resolution. A good tip that I recommend to implement in your morning routine is to write down every morning, what you have control over and what you don't have control over, than throughout the day you can more easily recognize an event or circumstance for which you don't have control over and focus on those attributes and circumstances that you can control.

Implementing meditation every morning will set you up for a more peaceful day. When you meditate in the morning, even if it is for just 5 minutes, you bring about an awareness and clarity throughout your day. This will prevent you from being "hooked" by certain situations and events that may upset you or that you disagree with. With meditation, you cultivate the awareness and peace of mind to recognize the situation for what it is, and this recognition will prevent you from getting so wrapped up in it all. Also, keep in mind, that it's important to focus on the positive events during the day and try to not to focus so much on the negative events as they have a way of hooking us as well. This can be done through increased awareness provided by meditation.

This may be a lot easier said than done, because the news and social media have done a magnificent job vying for your attention in order to keep you hooked on their stories. In my own home, I don't want watch the news or regular TV all day long. If I want to see a news story or am curious about an event in my town, I will search for the story on YouTube or on Google. I no longer allow the media outlets to dictate what stories I watch, nor do I allow them to rent space in my head so that their sponsors can try and sell me a car. I recognize it's hard, but realize that it's your peace of mind that is most important here. When you become aware of just how hooked these media outlets have us all on their stories, you begin to realize that your attention is important and should be safeguarded. You decide what stories you bring into your home, and if it's Cinderella instead of CNN, so be it, it's your house!

When I see my patients in their homes and they are not feeling well, I always ask them this question, "Are you taking care of your basics." What I mean by this is simply:

1. Are you getting enough sleep?

2. Are you eating healthy whole foods?

3. Are you staying hydrated throughout the day?

4. Are you taking your medications and vitamins as ordered by your doctor?

5. Are you exercising or at least moving everyday?

Usually, when we examine these factors, one of them is off and one of these factors is not being tended to properly. So pay attention to this factors, as they may seem so simple, but each one of these factors may wreak havoc on your peace of mind as well as your body.

Remember when you were a kid and you could just play all day without a care in the world? You were consumed with getting the highest score on your video game, or who would be able to come out and ride bikes with you? You were just happy doing fun things. No goals, no deadlines, no projects. You just did fun things. I'm not saying to quit your job and just do things that bring you joy all day. I'm simply saying to set aside a little bit of time every week to do something that brings you joy for the sake of doing it, without being attached to the outcome. Just have fun and enjoy the moment for what it is.

With all of our responsibilities and the added stress of everything that is happening in our world in 2020, it is vitally important for your physical and mental well being to tend to your mental well being. Following some, if not all of these tips that I have offered in this article should provide some peace of mind throughout your day.

Feel free to leave a comment down below if you have tried any of these tips and what the outcome was.