Did you know there are 2 types of stress?

Eustress (positive): It motivates & excites.

Examples: Working on a meaningful project, a first date, a new client.

Distress (negative): Causes anxiety & concern.

Examples: Work pressure, relationship problems, illness.

Can you guess which one people have the most of?

If you guessed distress, you nailed it.

Imagine this:

You work at a job you hate.

You have to stick around because it pays your bills… but you dread it the second you wake up.

Because of this, you fight with your partner in the morning because you're crabby.

All these relationship issues are causing extreme anxiety.

Not to mention your boss breathing down your neck.

Next thing you know you start getting panic attacks.

You go to the doctor, and he says your blood pressure is at dangerous levels.

He then asks you:

"What are your biggest stressors right now and what do you do for peace?”

I think you can see where I'm going here...

Not limiting distress has some serious negative effects on your life.

While it's impossible to completely get rid of all distress (we don't live in a fairytale world),

We can limit it through:

•Diet & exercise

•Getting more sleep

•Leaving toxic relationships

Once we do this, we welcome peace into our life.

& a peaceful life leads to higher quality moments with loved ones, a calmer mind, & better health.

"But Darion peace is unrealistic in today's world."

Oh yeah?

How long have you held a meditation practice for?

How often do you practice mindfulness?

How many times a week do you go for a walk in nature without your phone?

The answer is simple, but doing it is hard (at first).

Which is why I've come up with the best 5 practices you can adopt to bring more peace into your life.

Combine these with limiting distress and you'll be a modern-day Buddha.

5 Peace Promoting Habits

1. Meditation

Everyone has heard about it, but have you actually tried it?

This one practice alone will:

•Calm your mind

•Lower blood pressure

•Improve mental clarity

Just to name a few benefits.

If you haven’t received my guide you can grab it free here:

2. Emotional Regulation

Do you react with emotions to everything before taking time to think?

The best ways to help with this:

Deep Breathing

Use the 4-7-8 method.

Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds.

This helps reduce the body's stress response and can calm anxious feelings.

I do this once in the morning and right before bed to flatline my emotions throughout the day.

Structured Problem-Solving:

Write down a problem hurting your peace.

List all the possible solutions.

Evaluate the pros and cons of each.

Then decide on a course of action.

This forces you to think before reacting.

3. Empathy & Compassion Practice

Connecting with others is what we’re wired to do.

Start with:

Active Listening:

It's about being present and engaged without judgment during conversation.

When you chat with others, practice focusing entirely on what they're saying.

Nod in acknowledgment, don’t interrupt, and paraphrase what they said to confirm understanding.

Directed Compassionate Acts:

Actively seeking out opportunities to help or be kind to others.

It shifts your focus from your stresses to the well-being of those around you.

Shoot for one small act of kindness every day.

It could be as simple as sending a supportive message to a friend or smiling at a stranger.

When you spread positive energy, you welcome it back to yourself.

4. Adaptability Training

Being able to welcome change is a superpower of peaceful people.

Work on these 2:

Incremental Exposure to Change

Start with small adjustments in your routine or environment.

Pick one small change you can make in your daily routine.

Ex:

•Try a new food

•Take a different route to work

•Change your morning routine

Once you're comfortable with one, gradually introduce bigger changes.

Develop Your Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that you can develop abilities through dedication and hard work.

This creates a love of learning and coping with change.

Whenever you face a setback or challenge shift your perspective to view it as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Replace thoughts of "I can't do this" with "I can't do this yet, but I can learn."

5. Mindfulness

There’s no faster path to peace than being grounded in the present.

These techniques will get you there fast:

Sensory Engagement:

Focus on one or more of your senses as you go about your day.

Choose one routine activity, like showering or eating a meal.

Focus on the senses involved, such as the water's temperature on your skin or the flavors and textures of your food.

If your mind wanders, gently bring your focus back to the sensations.

Body Scan (My Favorite)

Nothing will ground you faster than feeling the energy of your body.

While you sit, walk, or lay down, focus on feeling your feet on the ground.

Slowly start to bring your attention to your legs, then up for your belly, then arms & fingertips.

End with bringing your attention all the way up to your head.

I do this before every writing session and just before I fall asleep.

Boom!

I’ve been doing some of these practices for years for 1 reason… they work.

Let 2024 be the year you take your peace back.

*Remember:

Eustress (positive): It motivates & excites.

Distress (negative) Causes anxiety & concern.

Seek peace & limit distress.

Your future self will thank you.

—

Thanks for being here again this week.

Oh, and happy new years to you!

Until next week,

Darion.

---

PS.

I’m taking on new content consulting clients in the new year.

If you need help with:

•Building an engaged audience

•Developing a winning content strategy

•Writing/ideating content that gets people excited

Then let’s get to it!

All you have to do is respond to this email with the word “content” and we’ll get started.