A Mind that Knows How to Be Grateful Knows Inner Peace
A mind that knows how to be grateful for everything it has experienced, felt and witnessed through its life is a mind that has balance and inner peace.
Each of us has our own unique story to tell. However, there are times when we can get carried away by life’s chaos. We set our priorities to the side, and even forget about the need for inner peace.
It’s worth taking some time to reflect on this important part of our personal growth. Being grateful is a skill that teaches us to accept ourselves and the path we’ve traveled up to now.
People without a grateful mindset resent their shortcomings, every mistake they’ve ever made and every failure they’ve ever experienced.
Your life story is a wonderful book, with complex twists and turns. It needs to be read with gratitude for the ability to write new chapters with the wisdom gained from your experiences.
We’ll show you how.
The mind that knows how to be grateful can be free from inner noise
By mental “noise,” we mean the psychological mechanisms that make us obsess over the past. We’re talking about the ones that feed those limited beliefs that we repeat over and over. Thoughts such as: “I can’t,” “I should have done this,” “I should have said that” or “I’ll never be able to.”
Each of us has lived with these internal processes for awhile. Stress or anxiety that persists for weeks or months generates a lot of mental noise that, little by little, destroys your ability to be happy.
Let’s take a look at some more interesting facts that will help us find internal balance.
Stress and physiological changes in our brain
The amygdala is a small, yet powerful structure in the brain that’s directly linked with our emotions.
- It’s linked to survival instincts like fear and certain neurotransmitters, like dopamine, adrenaline, noradrenaline and glucocorticoids, that have a major impact on our bodies and behavior.
- Under high stress levels, the amygdala is more active and releases high concentrations of these neurotransmitters. In turn, this leads to restlessness, activation of the flight response, worry and physical exhaustion.
- Another factor to consider is that it’s impossible to connect with ourselves when these neurotransmitters flood our brain.
- The amygdala is connected to the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for decision making, reflection and analysis. Under stress, our ability to calmly analyze our needs and set priorities suffers.
It’s a subtle and very complex process.
Learning to be grateful for inner peace and happiness
How can I be grateful for who I am and what I have if all I feel is sadness, fear and desperation? This is the main problem that we face when we start taking steps towards finding inner peace.
Making small, but powerful changes is necessary for that reason.
You’ll be pleased to know that your mind and, consequently, your brain, have an exceptional ability that we often take for granted: neuroplasticity.
You should read:
8 Tips to Naturally Overcome Sadness and Depression
Simply modifying your behavior, picking up new and healthy habits, and learning to think about things in a different light establishes new connections between neurons, strengthens the mind and allows you connect with your essence, your very being.
The key habits
Here’s how to do it, so pay attention:
- Eliminate conditional thinking. This means you should stop telling yourself things like: “If only I had done this,” “if only I had only had that,” “if that person would have done this or told me that instead.”
- Learn to open a dialogue with yourself in the present: “What is going on with me right now?” “What do I need?” “I can do it,” “I want,” “I desire,” “I see,” “I feel.”
- Now furnish your mind with positive thoughts. Don’t be afraid to be positive and don’t think that by fostering positivism that you are somehow less responsible. Seeing the good in things allows you to put on your rose-colored glasses, the perfect prescription for treating the nearsightedness of fear and insecurity.
- Be grateful for everything you have, everything and everyone around you, and all that defines you.
- Learn to value everything that forms a part of you, instead of grieving over what you don’t have, what has happened and even the stuff that didn’t happen.
Those who live their lives from a perspective of gratitude know inner peace and tranquility.
Try putting this advice into practice. Promote inner calm by reuniting all your broken pieces and remembering just how beautiful and valuable you truly are.
