What Destroys Our Peace of Mind and How to Combat It

The wise person recognizes that establishing and maintaining peace of mind in life is of the utmost importance, perhaps more important than anything else; thus, they investigate what’s responsible for peace of mind, how it can be destroyed, and how to circumvent those obstacles, in its’ achievement and ongoing possession.

Peace of mind is a state of consciousness that arises when all negative thoughts – which then elicit negative emotions, making us feel stressed and in distress – have been prevented from entering our mind and being entertained. And because this is true, it is important to know what triggers these negative thoughts, such that it empowers us to gain the awareness required to stop these thoughts before they translate themselves into a state of strife and grief.

With that said, let it be known that we are essentially triggered by just three stimuli in this regard. And when we are not aware of what they are, and are thus operating on autopilot, we tend to go into unconscious reactions to them when we encounter them, which then throw us into negative states of mind. Then, in that moment, we are no longer at peace with ourselves and the world.

The problem with this is not only that it deprives of us peace of mind, it is also communicated to others and infects them, reflecting itself in disharmonious relations with them.

So let us take these cursed triggers up one by one so we can identify them when they are transpiring in our lives, and also propose means and methods for combating them whenever we encounter them.

First, we tend to get triggered when others view us or accuse us of thinking or acting in foolish or stupid ways. If we’re prideful, this tends to upset us, which then, through our reaction to them, deprives us of our peace of mind as it can lead us to often harboring ill will and malice towards them, which we then let consume our thoughts and mind for perhaps prolonged periods.

The solution to not letting ourselves get triggered when others view or accuse us of being foolish or stupid is to conquer our fear of criticism. The fear of criticism is an obsessional dread of being thought of or looked at in a negative light by others. But the confident person doesn’t give a damn about what others think about them. Instead, they look at an accuser’s allegations objectively, to see if they are indeed guilty or innocent. If they are guilty, they seek to correct themselves. And if they are innocent, they recognize the other’s ignorance but make no issue of it.

Second, we tend to get triggered when we judge or condemn others for what we perceive to be their foolishness or stupidity. This also tends to deprive of us peace of mind for as long as meditate on it, because in that moment we’re wound up over someone else’s actions (which we have no control over). Not only that, but we are imperfect people too, so who are we to judge and condemn others for being filled with follies and foibles in other ways than we are ourselves?

The solution to not letting ourselves get triggered by the foolishness and stupidity of others, or our perception of it, is to accept all people as imperfect, and susceptible to folly; it’s to view them in the same light as we do ourselves, and that is that we’re all doing the best we can and are seeking to be good, upstanding people based on our current beliefs and understanding.

Third, we tend to get triggered when someone wrongs us, or we perceive them to have wronged us. This tends to cause us to sabotage our peace of mind, perhaps to a greater degree than all the rest. Then for as long as we feel ill will towards the person for attacking our happiness, or as long as we hold a grudge against them for it, our mind will be incapable of peace of mind.

The solution to not letting ourselves get triggered by people wronging us is to perfect the art of forgiveness. Great insults and offenses can be a challenge, but it would be wise to start then with the smaller ones and work our way up. Again, the ability to forgive comes with the recognition that we are all imperfect, and that we all wrong others. We ourselves are a part of that group; and if we desire forgiveness when we offend others, shouldn’t we be willing to do so of others?

The person who becomes aware in the moment when they are facing one of these three triggers and then inhibits themselves from going into reaction for encountering them, and they practice until they become proficient at preventing themselves from reacting and mulling over that reaction, is the person who will most experience peace of mind in life and find their bliss.