The best feeling in the world is when we feel peace. We can have all the people and things we could ever ask for and still feel uneasy; something is not quite right. Perhaps there’s that spark that keeps us up at night thinking or doing late-night snacking when you’re physically full but emotionally starving. What we are missing is peace.

That pesky monkey (distractions, overthinking) can take over our lives and steer us on the same path without veering off to grow and evolve. But all we have to do is return to the present moment and pay attention to what we think. Then we fling the monkey off and take back control. Nice!

Peace of mind is “it.” It is where happiness resides, and being calm and relaxed becomes your superpower.

Wow, mind blower, right? I just blew my mind typing it!

You know, this great advice and words come out of me on the screen, but most days, I am tense, wound up like a spring that at any moment might unravel. I keep it together by doing all the things I write about, most recently, getting a lot of good exercise to clear the mind, body, and soul. The stress stems from many years of denying myself the privilege of being the real me.  And, you guessed it, I have not had much peace of mind. Hey, I’m being honest. If I’m not honest, then what’s the point of writing these words? I thought bullshitting was not in my DNA, but I was wrong. Hiding and limiting myself was bullshit.  I deserve peace of mind, and so does everyone.

So, let’s make a pack to allow 2023 to be different. Take tiny steps when you can and inch towards the ultimate goal: peace of mind.

Here are my thoughts on what I believe can help throw that monkey off the helm, take back control of your life, and by golly, have peace of mind:

* Know you are worth it.

* Tell yourself every single day (at least once – come on, that’s not too much to ask) I can choose what comes of my life.

* Use your imagination to conjure up the life you want. See it. What does it look like? Create details. Don’t let anything distract you from seeing it in your mind. Keep out naysayers’ voices and old negative beliefs.  Focus like your life depends upon it because it does. This will help you start believing you can have it. Think you deserve it.

That’s my two cents for our New Year start. Let’s have peace of mind.

Thank you very much for reading.

To a life of peace,

Francesca