Formula for Peace of Mind

This was something that I came across that I thought others might be interested in.

In a study by Duke University, 9 factors were found to be most likely to contribute to emotional and mental stability. Please note the similarity to the principles and teachings of AA.

1. Shun suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge has been found to pull down happiness levels an average of 50%.
2. Live in the present and the future. Most unhappiness stems from an unwholesome preoccupation with the mistakes and failures of the past. They are important only as your passport to a better and wiser today. Forgive yourself freely for past mistakes. It is as vital to your happiness as forgiving others.
3. Don’t waste time and energy fighting conditions you can’t change. There is little you can personally do for instance about stopping a war, healing the incurable disease of a loved one, or changing the nature of those with whom you live. So stop hurling yourself against stone walls.
4. Cooperate with life instead of either trying to demolish it or run away from it.
5. When you find yourself in the grip of emotional stress, force yourself to be outgoing to other people instead of retreating within yourself and building a prison of loneliness.
6. Refuse to pity yourself or seek self-justification in easy alibis that make you appear noble to yourself and others.
7. Cultivate the old fashioned virtues of love, honor, and loyalty.
8. Stop expecting too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between the standards you set for yourself and your actual achievement, unhappiness is inevitable. If you can’t improve the performance try lowering the demands instead.
9. Find something bigger than yourself in which to believe. Self-centered materialistic people score lowest on the Duke University tests for measuring happiness. While those who average high in altruism and religion attitudes generally come out with the top happiness ratings.

Reference:

https://ccchope.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/formula-for-peace-of-mind/

Enjoy!