265: Steps to Creating a Peaceful Mind

There's actually a Stanford University study that found that participants who walk through nature show lower levels of blood flow to the parts of the brain associated with rumination. Rumination is what we do when we can't stop thinking negative thoughts about ourselves, and we get stuck in this mental pattern, such as how depressed we are, how sad we are, and what's causing it.

I notice when I'm going out for a run, even as a jog or brisk walk, I enjoy the wonderful way my mind lets thoughts just drift by with every step that helps me to clear my mind. There's actual research in neuroscience that's identified a strong link between aerobic exercise and cognitive clarity [and] that exercise also leads to neurogenesis, the birth of new brain cells.

When your brain is scattered, you can slow it down in seconds if you make those seconds count. So, slow the pace of your breathing to ensure your exhalations are longer than your inhalations. This technique activates your parasympathetic nervous system ... Basically, it tells your brain, 'Hey, everything's going to be okay. You could rest right now. You could recover right now. You could take a break right now.'

Another benefit of meditation, by the way, according to the UCLA Laboratory of Neuroimaging, suggests that people who meditate show more gray matter in certain regions of the brain. They show stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy. In other words, meditation could make your brain bigger, faster, and also younger.

In a way, our brains are like supercomputers. They're installed with this operating system, and it is this overwhelm, and it is this distraction. And to create a peaceful mind, we need to reinstall what's more in our nature: calm, harmony, balance.

Notice that when you ask questions, it directs your focus. So, if you want to be able to just calm your mind and control your focus and concentration, ask better questions. It helps to clear out the noise. It helps you to be able to concentrate on what's most important.

I am hearing more and more and more from people they're not measuring success in terms of profit or prestige but rather peace of mind ... Your brain isn't designed to work at full steam all the time. So, regularly simmering down with a few science hacks is a really brilliant move for your well-being and really for your life and your career.

The hustle 24/7 approach tends to be that constant intense work is positive and that breaks equate to laziness—and it's simply not true, because science disagrees. There's a lot of benefits to performance, productivity, and certainly peace of mind.

Neuroscience tells us to be more peaceful productive, creative, we need to give our brains a break. And so, this quiet time often produces the best insights and, also, I find, the most inspiration.

Here's a secret: A sense of calm, peace of mind is not something you have; it's something you do. It's something that you can create.