Four Steps to Gain Peace

Ever get that feeling that people are out to get you? Ever wonder why everybody seems to tick you off on one of those bad days? Are they out to get you? Or is it just your imagination running wild? I'm not here to answer those questions, but I do know some methods to helping calm those angry thoughts of yours on one of those bad days where everything seems to go wrong at the worst possible moments.

The first step: take a long, deep breath. I find that after getting some oxygen to those over-worked arteries, my blood pressure cools a bit. When your blood cools, so do your thoughts. Sometimes, all it takes is one deep breath to turn a bad situation into a good learning experience.

Step number two: talk about it. Ever wonder why your friends are there? It's to listen and advise you. You may even find that after talking about what made you made and why it made you mad your thoughts will simmer down and your anger disappears. That's because after talking about it, you release your feelings and let go of them, if you don't talk about your feelings they remain bottled up and build up even more negativity.

Step three: forget about it. Ever heard that saying "forgive and forget"? Well there is more wisdom in that than you may think. Don't roll your eyes, it is true. Let me put it this way: how can you be angry when you forget why you are angry? If you are angry, forgetting about what made you angry is a good way to get over it. So your sister wore your favourite skirt but did she ruin it? or sell it? Why remain angry when, at the end of the day, you get your skirt back. It sounds cheesy, but releasing your anger creates a peaceful state of mind.

Step four: forgive. This is the last step and by now you must be thinking I should be in the loony bin, but this advice does work. If you are angry at your best friend for kissing your crush, who is the one suffering from it? You are. Those sleepless nights where you seethe in anger at the two of them, you are the one hurting yourself. If you forgive them, than you can set your sights on someone else. If you hold onto your anger, you may do something stupid. By forgiving them, you are helping yourself. If you are brave enough to forgive someone for their wrongs, you end up the better person because you don't hold grudges or act out in a jealous rage. Need more encouragement to forgive? Forgiving your enemies for their misdeeds puts you in a better light.