A 5-Step Routine For Instilling Peace Into Your Chaotic Schedule

After I was diagnosed with clinical depression and began suffering from chronic anxiety, I knew something needed to change. I spent time untangling myself from hustle culture by learning more about my daily habits and questioning why it was so hard for me to slow down. This, in turn, invited me into a more nurturing way of living.

You may feel like you aren't where you are supposed to be or that things aren't going the way you want, but learning how to tame your inner world will help calm some of the chaos in your outer world.

To help end the cycle of feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, I started to implement daily routines for turning inward in search of peace. In my new book, Return to You: 11 Spiritual Lessons for Unshakable Inner Peace, I share the following step-by-step process for connecting to calm:

The more you can disengage from the drama happening outside of you in the world, the easier it will be to go inward and focus on your own healing. So often the world tries to pull us in different directions. Daily demands and to-do's can keep you from being fully present on your journey. Instead of giving your attention away to these outside forces, declare, "Peace is my priority, and I detach from drama."

Begin by paying attention to what you are consuming—what you watch on TV, what you read on social media, and who you listen to for advice. What you consume will ultimately consume you because we always get more of what we focus on. Be aware of your thoughts and intentions. Stop focusing on situations, people, or things that tank your energy, and instead focus on your inner world and actively choose peaceful thoughts. Cultivate kind thoughts and see fear for what it is: a distraction and an illusion that tries to manipulate our reality.

One of the most important ways to navigate stress and reclaim your personal power is to be present. Often we get triggered by situations and we go into reaction mode, but this can be a trauma response. Instead, take a moment to pause. There is no need to judge what comes up, but rather allow and surrender to the current moment. You will find unbelievable peace in the present moment when you take a moment to pause and focus on your breath.

Our thoughts are powerful directives. They will either help us or hurt us, depending on where we give our attention. The mind will analyze, judge, blame, and try to make sense of the world, but your heart trusts, allows, and loves. There is no point in trying to change the world, but there is a point in changing your thoughts about the world, and this happens when we drop from our head into our heart.

Once you have a sense of your intuition type, develop a plan to increase your communication with it. As you start to trust your inner guide, you'll see that you have a clear path forward that's free from fear, always. 

Even if you are not aware of all the things blocking you, you can set the intention to release them so you can begin to step into your power. Lesson 281 in A Course in Miracles says, "I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts." The beliefs you have about yourself and the world are important, as they direct your outcomes. Work on aligning all your beliefs to love so you feel empowered and purpose-driven, no matter how chaotic the things around you may be.