Tag: inner peace

How to Discover Life-Changing Power Through 7 Simple Daily Reflection Exercises – Week 2

(Week 2 — Clearing Mental Clutter)

Cabo San Lucas

A Still Moment

During today’s walk, my mind was louder than the world around me.

Lists. Plans. What-ifs. All of it looping like static.

Then a breeze brushed across my face, and in that instant, everything paused.

I couldn’t feel the wind and worry at the same time.

That tiny interruption reminded me that peace doesn’t always need perfect circumstances—just a little space to notice the now.

What Simplicity Taught Me Today

Mental clutter doesn’t disappear because we “think harder.”

It softens when we stop long enough to see what truly needs our attention.

Sometimes, the act of stopping and processing reveals that what we thought was urgent… isn’t.

And what truly matters has been waiting quietly beneath the noise.

Clearing space isn’t only about silencing thoughts. It’s about sorting them. It’s about seeing what belongs. It’s also about letting the rest drift away.

Sometimes that means stepping outside, closing your eyes, and letting the air do its quiet work.

Reflection Prompt

Where does your mind feel most crowded right now—your schedule, your emotions, or your to-do list?

Pause and ask yourself: What really needs my attention right now?

Write it down or speak it out loud, and let the wind have the rest.

Keep Walking

Next, we’ll explore how outer order supports inner calm in Day 3 — Declutter Your Space, Calm Your Mind.

Join the Walk

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Author’s Note

Written after a breezy morning walk. Silence spoke louder than thought. Clarity came from realizing what actually mattered.

#ConfidentStrides | #SweetNSocial | Written by Tonia Tyler

Before You Go

You’re invited to take the free Kahoot! Self Study, Interactive Reflection Quiz inspired by today’s post.

Take the free Clearing Mental Clutter Quiz Here: https://bit.ly/47tP1XB

October 15, 2025
On Your Terms

Quite often we put a hold on our dreams based on the conversation that someone may have said to you that “you can’t do that.” When you hear that phrase “you can’t” it actually means “they can’t” and that is true. Only you can do you with the gifts and talents that are within you. Develop those talents and gifts in order to live the best possible life for you on your terms, not by someone else’s.

Photo credit: click here.

March 27, 2017
Quiet and Focused

A quiet mind is a focused mind. Life offers up tons of distractions everyday. Use the quiet moments throughout the day to relax and reflect on what is important to you. The more you can quiet your thoughts the more clear and focused you become. Consciously focusing on your breathing or just simply sitting still are great tools to use.

Photo credit: click here.

December 30, 2016
Excess Baggage

At some point in time, we all have to take inventory of the baggage we have picked up and have been carrying throughout this journey called life. I found if we learn to identify ours and put down the ones that belong to others, the journey gets easier. I encourage you to sort through the bags you’ve been carrying, find your baggage and let others carry their own.

Photo credit: click here.

November 28, 2016
I Want to be Drama Free
This post was inspired by a conversation I had with my daughter:

She was upset when I picked up from work and was ready to quit her job because of the “drama” of her co-workers. The advice I gave her was that yes at times you do have to move on but no matter if you change schools, change jobs or even change spouses, the drama free life you are looking for won’t happen until you do some changing within yourself. You have to learn to let go!

I am still amazed how we can allow one person to affect us in our daily lives and in how we see ourselves and view success. I want you to see that you have the power of choice on your side and show you that it’s not the situation that’s important, but how we choose to react that will make a world of difference.

I let go of other people’s “drama” by learning three things:
1. We all have the power of choice
2. Happiness begins by eliminating as much negativity as possible
3. Practicing daily mindfulness cultivates self-awareness
Truly, no one has power over you unless you give it to them.

#1 Harness the Power of Control:

For years I was concerned about what people thought of me, if they liked me, was a doing a good job, but then I realized that I have the power of choice on my side. It wasn’t until I went to Oprah’s Live the Life You want to Live Weekend Tour in August of 2014. I went to this event by myself and realized that some trips are best taken alone! It caused my perspective of life to shift. It was a 3 day event in Detroit. We were given the cool battery operated LED wristbands that light up during the event. I wore mine for several months despite the fact that battery died shortly after the event. On the wristband, it says “Oprah’s the Life You Want Weekend” It became a daily reminder to me that we all have a choice in every second, of every minute of every day in how we choose to live our lives. As the sun rises each day so are the chances to make new choices.

The more happiness I experienced, the less I wanted to it relinquish it because of someone else’s “drama”.

#2 Eliminating as Much Negativity as Possible:

I love how The Late Dr. Maya Angelou has so eloquently expressed… “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” I first had to stop calling what we so often refer to as failures and setbacks in our lives as mistakes and realized they were learning opportunities. They became my lessons learned.

In life’s lessons there are so often things that we need to learn from them to prepare us for the next challenge. In learning that I can’t control other people’s thought, actions or emotions, life started to become more fun and interesting. I was able to laugh at myself more freely and with less judgement. The more I become aware of my behaviors the more I seem to pick up on the behaviors of others. As my self-awareness expanded the more empathetic I became. Being more empathetic opened the door to identifying with the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of others, which simply meant I could relate more to others

#3 Practice Daily Mindfulness:

I am not free of judgmental thoughts but I am more aware of when these thoughts and attitudes arise. With expanded awareness you’re able to make more conscious decisions that can lead to better choices. By making better choices I have had more desirable outcomes and more meaningful relationships.

I don’t react to people, to the news and to life’s everyday situations that would “back in the day” set me off. With the power of choice comes the freedom to live life on your terms. I find myself no longer bound by the thoughts or opinions of others. I am not where I would like to be, but I am not the person I was. And if success can be measured by liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. Then I am truly successful!

In Jack Canfield’s Success Principle’s he expresses this in a simple and easy to remember equation: E + R =O. (Event +Reaction=Outcome). In this equation the only thing you have control over is the R (your reaction to the event).

As I stated in the beginning we so often give power to people by allowing them to affect our moods, our days and our lives. By harnessing the power of choice, choosing to eliminate as much negativity as possible from your life and practicing mindfulness to expand your self-awareness you are able to put your life back into focus.

It’s like rebooting yourself back to your original default setting. When you harness that power, you will honestly proclaim:

I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.

–Invictus – Poem by William Ernest Henley

Poem Credit: http://poemhunter.com/poem/invictus/
December 4, 2015
You Can’t Steal my Joy!

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” ― Dalai Lama XIV

By meditating on a regular basis I become aware of my thoughts. The more aware I became of my thoughts the more I started making wiser choices on what I paid attention to and where I focused my efforts.

The first thing that captured my attention was the commercials during television shows. I started paying more attention to what was being advertised and I realized that most of the commercials are fear-based messages that try to coerce you into some type of action, which is primarily to sell their product like the latest dish washing liquid doesn’t kill enough germ causing bacteria. Another thing I started noticing was a commercial with a catchy jingle isn’t quite so annoying by the 3^rd time you hear it. I started putting the commercials on mute.

The next thing that I started noticing was the amount of negativity in everyday conversation. The more I tried to focus on eliminating negativity from my conversations the more I found reasons to celebrate even the littlest things. I found myself singing to the radio and actually dancing around the house as I did such things like vacuuming and cooking. I eventually stopped watching TV all together.

My days have been more productive and less stressful. I have more time to relax and enjoy things like lying in my hammock, taking morning walks in the park and spending quality time with my family. I started exercising and found a desire to start cleaning out my garage that has been on my to-do list for two years.

What I found is that when you find the joy and appreciation for who you are there is no way anyone can steal that joy from you because it comes from deep within.

October 2, 2015