Are you allowing the outside world to affect your life?
Do you make your own decisions, or do you let outside factors make them for you?
Do you accept other people’s opinions or do you form your own?
Are you allowing the news you hear on TV to affect your moods and state of mind?
How do you react to people and environmental factors, automatically, instinctively, and without thinking first?
Are you allowing the outside world to affect your life, how you think, and how you feel?
If you do, you need to reconsider!
There is no need to act like a sponge and soak in every negative feeling, thought and idea that the outside world transmits to you.
Is it reasonable to allow outside factors to affect how you think, feel and react? Of course not!
You can think, act and behave intently, with consciousness and awareness, choosing the way you respond. You can stop letting people and external influences push your buttons, manipulate you, and make you react automatically.
Be Boss of Your Life – Choose Your Reactions
Someone at work criticizes you, what do you do?
Do you respond in anger, yell and promise to get even?
If you do, you are not free. This reaction does not show strength or assertiveness. It shows instinctive reaction. It means that someone has pressed one of your buttons and you responded
This does mean that you are the boss of your life.
Did you decide about your reaction? Certainly not! Outside factors decided for you.
Someone says something you do not like. So what? What does it matter?
If you lose your temper, it means that you have no control over your life. It means lack self-esteem. This also means that you are not strong enough and that you allow other people to affect how you behave, think and feel.
This kind of behavior does not show inner strength. It shows lack of control.
It means that you are allowing other people and the outside world to affect your life and decide for you.
You Don’t Need to Disconnect Yourself from the World
It is possible to diplay and inner peace in the situations I mentioned earlier.
You might say that this is impossible, since you are living in this world, you are part of it, and you cannot avoid being mentally and emotionally impacted by the people around you, the news, the social media and the environment.
You might say that you cannot disconnect yourself from the world in order to avoid reacting instinctively and without thinking. There is no need to disconnect from the world.
You can take an active part in the world, and yet, keep your composure, without getting agitated. You can stop taking things personally, and begin to enjoy inner peace and poise.
This is not so hard as it might seem.
Get Out of the Mad Race
You don’t need to be in the mad race that creates stress and strain.
This does not mean that you give up on life. Not at all!
On the contrary, you can be ambitious, have goals, work, and be proactive, but without sacrificing your sanity and health.
You don’t have to act and behave as other do.
True, this might not be easy, due to social pressure, habits, and social norms.
You might be pressured by your boss, your customers or your family. Things move so fast nowadays that you might not have a moment to think and consider your actions.
If you wish to stop getting stressed, get out of the rat race, and live a happy, sane and healthy life, you need to take action, you need to think and act differently than the people around you.
Is this possible at all? Yes, it is!
Make Your Life Saner and More Peaceful
How to get out of the rat race?
Do you feel like you are tied with chains to your environment, habits and society’s norms, unable to free yourself?
Life is so hectic, the cost of living is high, and bosses put strain and pressure on their employees.
This situation increases stress and unhappiness, harms health, and takes the joy out of life.
You cannot leave your job, and you are not always able to stay away from stressful people.
Few are able to afford to leave everything, stop working or go to live in an ashram or a monastery.
So, what’s the solution? Setting boundaries, and developing discipline and detachment.
You can stop allowing the outside world squeeze out your energy. You can bring some control into your life. Life is more beautiful without stress and strain.
You can make your life saner and more peaceful. You can bring calmness into your life.
How to Stop the Mad Race of Life?
How to be the one who decides about your life, how to make your own decisions and how to decide how to react in various situations?
How to be unique, become the boss of your life, and stop acting like a robot?
What to do in order to get out of stress of work, the news, and daily life?
I will repeat what I said earlier. Among the things you can do are developing self-discipline, setting boundaries, and acquiring emotional detachment.
Let’s explore these requirements.
Developing Self-Discipline
Are you able to make a decision, and follow through with it, no matter what obstacles stand in your way?
Can you postpone immediate gratifications for a bigger goal, which might take time to accomplish?
If you do, you possess self-discipline, and if you don’t, it’s now the time to develop this skill.
I’s quite simple to strengthen your discipline. In this process, you will also increase your willpower, since these two skills are interconnected.
You can improve these skills by practicing suitable exercises. The exercises are quite simple, and do not require doing anything difficult or risky.
I don’t intend explain here how to develop self-discipline, since I have written many articles on this topic, which you can find at this website, as well as in the book, Build Up Strong Willpower and Self Discipline, which includes guidance and exercises.
Setting Boundaries and Emotional Detachment
Setting boundaries is a wise thing to do. It can protect from stressful people, manipulations, and from people who waste your time and energy.
It’s okay to say NO sometimes. Your life and interests are no less important than other’s people.
On many occasions, setting boundaries does not mean being unkind and inconsiderate. It means protecting yourself.
It’s great to help other people, but sometimes, it’s not help. It’s allowing other people to take advantage of you. You need to use your common sense and sound judgment before acting and reacting.
There are people who are manipulative or just lazy, and want you to do things for them.
Don’t feel bad for refusing, and saying NO.
Setting boundaries requires a certain degree of emotional detachment.
Emotional detachment is the ability to take a back step. It imparts a sense of calmness, balance and confidence. It is a skill, which can be learned like any other skill.
With the help of this skill, you can enjoy inner peace and poise in difficult situations. It helps you avoid letting what people say or do agitate you emotionally and disturb your state of mind.
Emotional detachment can also help you avoid taking things personally.
When you are calm, in control of yourself, and not taking things personally, you are in a better position to set boundaries.
I don’t wish to delve into this topic, since I have written a few articles about emotional detachment, as well as book about this topic, with guidance and instructions, titled Emotional Detachment for Happier Life.
