A very wise man once said "When you lose money you have lost something of little consequence. When you lose health, you have lost something of a little greater consequence. But when you lose peace in your life you have lost the greatest gift you have been offered." As humans, peace in our day to day is the greatest commodity we have, we must protect it and prevent things in our life from taking it away from us. Here are 4 areas you can focus on that will help you live more peacefully each day.

1. Stay Present in the Moment
   The average human being spends most of their time dwelling on the past, and when they are not dwelling on the past they are projecting into the future. That leaves very little of them to be in the present. The reason that this robs us of our peace is that when we are dwelling in the past, it is usually with regret and or guilt about what we didn't get ourselves to do or what we did that didn't turn out too great. When we project into the future it is most often with fear about what might occur. The secret here is to force ourselves to be present in the here and now. In the present there is very little guilt or regret or fear.
   
   When all of your energy is focused in the here and now, you are at your best and able to accomplish the most in your life. When you feel yourself drifting to the past or into the future, give yourself a command; "Back to the present" or "Be here now"

    

2. Operate From Your Heart, Not From Your Head
   The challenge here is that as humans we are most comfortable operating in what is known as our mental realm. The reason this robs us of our peace is that in our mental realm everything that occurs around us is processed through a filter. This filter consists of all our fears, our self-esteem, self love, self worth issues, our past similar circumstances etc. It is what is known as "round peg, round hole processing". If something comes into our mental realm that doesn't fit with our current way of processing, it is discredited or molded and modified in a way that it will fit into one of the existing holes.
   
   In our heart there are none of these filters. We can just be. It is from our heart that our passion for what we do in our lives can flow forth most freely. When you see the warning signs that you are in your head (fear, doubt, anxiety, guilt) a great tool to remedy this is called a "pattern interrupt". This is self-talk that can put you in the right place at the right time. Something like "Back into my heart" or "Out of my head and into my heart."

    

3. Control the Things You Can Control and Stop Allowing the Things You Can't Control From Causing You Pain, and Have the Wisdom to Recognize the Difference
   This is a big area in which we as humans rob ourselves of our own peace. Trying to control things that we have no control over. Things like outcomes or results, the weather, traffic or other people's actions, etc. The secret is to be clear aboutthe things we have control over. If you drew a line down the middle of a page and another line across the top, and on the left side wrote, things I can control, and on the right side wrote, things over which I have no control. What things do you think would go on the left side (things you can control?) If you were being honest with yourself, there would be two things listed on this side of the paper: I can control my actions and my reactions. And on the right side (things I can not control) there would be only two words: Everything else
   
   Once this message truly sinks in and you develop the wisdom to recognize which category things that occur around you fit into, there is far more peace in your day to day. A tool to help you in this area is something called a "control mantra", it is self talk that says: "I control the things I can control and no longer allow the things I have no control over to cause me pain, and I have the wisdom to recognize the difference". Say this to yourself throughout the day every time you feel yourself getting upset about something over which you have no control.

    

4. Manage Your Expectations
   Expectations are another area we allow our peace to be diminished. The very concept of creating an expectation, or an attachment to an outcome, sets us up for dissapointment or let down. The secret is to eliminate or modify our expectations into preferences. The difference is that a preference is something I would like to see occur but have no attachment to. Also when we set up a preference we can add a caveat that says "this or something better now manifests in a way that best serves the world"

So the next time something upsets you and or robs you of your peace, ask yourself: Am I in the present or am I dwelling in the past or projecting into the future? Am I operating from my heart or am I in my head (the warning signs are fears, doubt, guilt, anxiety) Am I trying to control thing over which I have no control? Have I set myself up by creating an expectation or an attachment to an outcome? If so, you now have the tools to right your ship and create more peace in your day to day.