5 ways to experience daily peace

Inner peace – its almost a cliche how much people want this and talk about this. Yet we often avoid doing the simple things that can help us achieve it. Inner peace isn’t some strange fantasy that only the pious experience. Sure, they experience much more often and deeper than we do. But there are many tiny things we can do daily to experience inner peace on a daily basis.

However, before we discuss these, I need to clarify something. Experiencing inner peace doesn’t mean you never feel sad or pain again. No! Rather, inner peace is like every other feeling something that comes and goes in waves. These tips will just help you increase how often you experience it on a daily basis.

1. Wake Up Early

The first step is to start your day early. This may seem very obvious. Two of the main Islamic sources of inner peace are early in the morning (Tahajjud and Fajr), so obviously the early morning is linked to inner peace.

But it is not only the prayer that brings peace. It is the quiet, the light humming of the morning birds, the beauty of the sunrise. It is also the feeling that you can wake up, relax and then start work without rushing or stressing out. All of this leads to a beautiful glorious blast of inner peace before your day even begins.

2. Make time for productive alone time

Even if it is just for an hour or thirty minutes. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate), take a break from the busy stressful world, and do something meaningful to you. For it, it means making time daily to write. I find it relaxing, motivating and fulfilling all at the same time. You need to find something that brings the same feelings to you, and make time daily for it.

It could be anything from extra acts of worship to reading a book, to drawing some art. Find what you enjoy doing alone and make time for it daily. That time spent doing what you love may be the most peaceful you will feel all day.

3. Talk a walk in nature

I am lucky that my home is surrounded by a forest, and I live two blocks away from a beautiful park. So I always have nature to look at when I want to feel at peace. If you haven’t made time for nature in a while, you may be surprised at how much peace it fills you with.

No matter how busy your day is, pull away during your lunch break, after work or early in the morning and just talk a slow, relaxing walk in nature. Breathe the fresh air, feel the wind, hear the birds and experience the inner peace that comes with all of that. You will need it to tackle the rest of your day.

4. Establish the prayers

Our inner peace is fundamentally linked to one thing: our relationship with our Creator. The stronger this relationship, the more often we experience inner peace. The very foundation of this relationship is to pray five times a day. Make it a habit and stick with it for life.

In the beginning it will be hard. But over time, you will learn to appreciate it, seek sanctuary in it, treasure it and enjoy it. The Islamic method of prayer (Salah) is one of the most powerful ways to experience inner peace, if done properly and with sincere intentions. Get it right and it becomes your daily treasure.

5. Make a list of things you are grateful for

Finally, make sure you begin each day from a place of gratitude. I have a daily habit of starting each day by writing down three things I am grateful for, and thanking God for each of these things. It doesn’t matter how bad a day I had, I still make sure I begin the next day by finding three things to be grateful for. This way each day begins in a state of peace and gratitude that supercharges the rest of the day.

Make it a habit to find things to be grateful for daily. It can be big stuff like your life, family and job or little things like a beautiful tree near your home or a nice gift your friend sent you. The point is that most of us always can find something to be grateful for. And that should be our focus, not the things we want to complain about. There will always be good and bad in our lives, but if we stay grateful for the good, we will have more energy for overcoming the bad.

Want to learn more about gratitude? Read our list of 25 ways to show gratitude or our detailed explanation of the art of gratitude.