Calm is a feeling we often crave but also frequently forget that we can consciously create for ourselves. In this article, business and social media coach Linda Pollock shares five ways on how to add more calm in our lives.

Calm is the antidote to stress, anxiety, and anger. It’s the stillness in a busy world. It’s the quiet of mind after a long day of thinking. It’s often found in moments in life where no irritation of the mind, body, or soul exist or penetrate our being. To seek calm is to acknowledge we are without it.

It’s no surprise that in this modern world of constant connection, glorified busyness, consumerism overload, and striving to achieve, that we don’t make time to experience the joy of calm.

Life is busy. Our minds are busy. Our roles are many. The demands placed on us by others are time-consuming. Our own expectations of ourselves are exhausting, and experiencing calm can often feel out of reach.

Many of us even start to believe that calm is something only experienced by those with no problems or those who are fortunate enough to experience it by a waterfall in Bali, Indonesia; those with no health worries; no financial struggles; no self-esteem issues; no kids, family or pets to take care of; and those with big houses, fancy cars, and fat paychecks.

The truth is calm is available to all of us and the more worries you find yourself having, the more you should consciously create moments throughout your day to experience calm.

Consciously choosing to experience calm is to deliberately set aside your worries, your fears, and your frustrations. It’s not pretending they don’t exist, but placing them to the side for a period of time each day for you to experience the joy of just being. It’s setting aside time for you to allow your mind, body, and spirit to relax.

As a mother of two and an entrepreneur, my lifestyle is naturally busy. However, at times, the fruits of success created by this busyness have come at a cost to my mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing.

I have experienced the stress of being a parent of a child who was seriously ill. I have had several breakdowns. Following the death of my dad, I have experienced grief that literally crippled me and prevented me from walking and talking. I have experienced the struggles of living on the breadline as a single parent. I have high-functioning anxiety as a result—something I have learned to hide pretty well over the years. I have had my business collapse twice and faced financial ruin as a result. I have felt broken many times, yet here I am, writing my first book and feeling more at peace with myself and my life than I have done for many years.

The key to this was finding my calm by creating the right environment in my day to consciously experience it and invite the feeling into my life frequently.

Here are the top five ways I create calm in my life to inspire you.

1. Create a soul-nourishing morning routine.
I light an organic, scented aromatherapy candle, sip my coffee, and write a gratitude list. Then, I sit for a few minutes, watching the wildlife in my garden. This time in the morning, before the kids get up, is just between me and the universe.

2. Get out in nature.
Whether it’s your back garden, a walk in the forest or by your favorite river or beach, nature teaches us not to rush. Nature holds a magical healing and when we immerse ourselves in it, we can forget time and lose ourselves in the moment.

3. Cuddle up on a comfy chair and read a book.
This is pure escapism from the demands of the modern world. I have a few favorite books that always bring me comfort. One of which is my childhood favorite, Catwitch by Una Woodruff). It’s filled with magic and mystical illustrations. I bought it a few years ago as a treat to myself and it instantly transports me to a place where life was simpler and my worries were few.

4. Banish technology from the bedroom.
Running an online business meant I check my phone a lot. It happens not just during the day but it’s also the last thing I do at night, the first thing I do in the morning, and, sometimes, even during late at night if I happen to wake up from sleep. Returning to an old-fashioned alarm clock removed my excuse of needing my smartphone in the bedroom to wake me up on time.

5. Spend quality time having simple and meaningful conversations with the people you love.
No technology. No TV in the background. No distractions. Our favorite places to spend quality time is on the sofa when we snuggle, around the dinner table when we eat our evening meal, or outdoors in the garden while we drink tea and toast marshmallows.

Enjoy Calm
If you would like to introduce more calm into your life, feel free to contact me. In a small, private, group setting, I can coach you on how to find your calm to improve your well-being. I do this by helping you create new habits to cultivate calm in your life and supporting you in making them long-lasting so you can experience fully the benefits of calm as an antidote to modern-day problems. I can share with you my expertise to help you transform your life from chaos to calm.

The original version of this article was published on the Mindful Wishes blog.

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