Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: Develop a Behavior Plan of Action

I Have a Very Stressful Job!

Maintaining my inner peace can be difficult at times due to the fact that I have a very stressful job. I work with high risk male youths and I face all types of negative behaviors daily that opposes my mental state of peace. It is not uncommon for me to get cursed at, physical threatened and verbally challenged when I give a directive.

The facility where I am employed has a high turn over rate with the youth, so the dynamics of the residents are constantly changing. The ages of the youth range from 13- 18. Based on the dynamics of the facility, what I have discovered about myself is when the group has an occupancy of older males 16+ I am better able to deal with their behaviors because they seem to be more disciplined.

On the other hand, when the facility is occupied with younger residents and residents who are mentally challenged, I have a more difficult time maintaining my inner peace. I am usually mentally stressed out.

Tips To Help You Maintain Your Inner Peace at Work

It is important to understand that when you are working on maintaining your inner peace that you realize and come to terms with the fact that you may not be able to control the behaviors of others but you have total control over how you respond to the behaviors of others.

I have decided to write a Behavior Plan for myself so that I can:

1. Identify a Goal
2. Identify the Behaviors that triggers me to respond in a negative manner
3. Identify my emotional responses to these behaviors
   
4. Understand why these particular behaviors causes me to respond in a negative manner
5. Identify positive ways that I can respond when I am faced in a "trigger situation"
   

#1 What Do You Hope To Accomplish / What is Your Goal?

You must have a goal so that you can know what it is that you are working towards. Some people like to have their goals in their head, I would suggest that you write it down on paper. When you write your goals down on paper you can actually see what it is that you are working towards. When you can visualize your goal, it makes it "real".

My Goal is ...
I want to have peace and order at work

#2 What Are Your Triggers?

The type of behaviors that triggers me are:
There is one resident who I will call "D" the behaviors that he displays that off sets my state of inner peace are:

• he requires constant monitoring
  
• he is verbally abusive
• he instigates the other residents and causes them to become upset
• he constantly calls my name
• he asks numerous questions
• he demands my attention

The other resident who I will call "Z" also exhibits behaviors that challenges my inner peace. Those behaviors are:

• he always has to have the last word
• he challenges my directives
• when I am talking to other residents or adults he interrupts my conversations without saying "excuse me"
• he fabricates the truth when he does not get his way

#3 What Are Your Emotional Response to These Behaviors?

When I am faced with people:

• who challenge my authority without due cause,
• who are verbally abusive,
  
• display attention seeking behaviors and
• who are rude

I respond by:

• Heart pounds more rapidly
• My head starts to hurt
• I lose my patience
• My voice raise
• My breathing becomes more rapid
• Feeling annoyed
  

#4: Dig Deep to Understand Why These Behaviors Trigger This Response

What is it about attention seeking behaviors, rudeness, verbal abuse and people who challenge me that causes me to lose my mental state of inner peace?

The behaviors are harmless, in fact other people deal with these same behaviors and these behaviors do not cause them to lose their inner peace. We all have our own trigger points. You have to discover your triggers and then dig deep to understand why certain behaviors effects you in such a manner.

Well, the reason why the above behaviors challenge my inner peace is because...
When I am faced with:

• Someone who continually challenges my authority without due cause I feel like I am being disrespected. I was raised that young people are suppose to respect their elders
  
• Someone who curses or who is verbally abusive... Again I feel disrespected and I also feel like I am in a chaotic situation.
  
• Someone who constantly demands my attention..I feel like they are drowning me, violating my personal space and leaving me no room to breath
• Someone who fabricates the truth... I feel uncomfortable because I have to constantly make sure that I all of my actions are covered.

So in a nutshell, My inner peace is threatened because I feel disrespected, suffocated, uncomfortable and violated.

#5 What Steps Do You Need To Take In Order To Respond Positive When You Are In a Trigger Situation?

In the beginning of this exercise I ask you to identify your goal. My goal was to have peace and order at work. The peace and order that I desire to have a work is going to come as a result of how I respond to the behaviors that I perceive as "triggers". You see before I can structure the youth, they must first see me as a person who is calm and peaceful.

The way that I can respond to the above behaviors in a positive manner is by:

1. Reinforce Positive Behaviors: A point sheet is a great way to reinforce the behaviors that you desire. The point sheet is a sheet which lists the behaviors that you desire to see improved through a rewards system. You can reward the youth with special privileges such as more phone time and unsupervised outings if they display appropriate behavior for a specific length of time. The point sheet will also help to discourage unwanted behaviors because if the residents do not display the behavior that is desired then they will not be rewarded privileges.
2. Ignore Behaviors: I also learned that if you ignore attention seeking behaviors the residents will usually stop.
   
3. Spend more time listening: I will devote at least 15 minutes a day to actually sit down with each resident and listen to their concerns. Listening helps the residents to feel like they are not being ignored. If the resident's feel like they are being heard then they will less likely act out.
   

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: Learn How To Relax

I work with high-risked adolescent boys and today we worked on teaching the boys how to maintain their Inner Peace through muscle relaxation. The exercise that we used is called "Progressive Relaxation" and was developed by the renowned physician Edmund Jabobson.

I wanted to share this exercise with you because it is a great technique that you can use to help you can calm down and refocus when you are stressed

Muscle Relaxation Exercise To Help You To Maintain Your Inner Peace

Part I.
The first part of this exercise will help you to with maintaining your Inner Peace because you are going to learn how to relax.

1. Sit in a chair and breathe in and out slowly
2. While you are breathing in and out, count slowly from 1 to 10
3. As you breath in and out slowly pay attention to your hands
4. Clench your fists as tight as you can
5. Let go and relax your hands


Part II.
The second part of this exercise will help you to maintain your Inner Peace because you are going to pay attention to the tension that you have stored up in your body and then you are going to learn how you can release it.

1. Imagine all of the tension leaving your hands down to your finger tips
2. Notice the difference between the tension in your hands and when you are totally relaxed
3, Now bring your awareness to your arms
4. Curl your arms like you are doing a bicep curl
5. Tense your fists, forearms and biceps
6. Hold the tension and release
7. Let your arms unfold and your hands float back to your thighs
8. Feel your tension drain out of your arms

More Useful Tips
Pay Attention To Your Thoughts
Relax

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: 4 Ways You Can Relax and Release Your Tension

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Stress and Spiritual Awareness
Whenever I am feeling stressed and I need a Mental Booster, I look at God's Beauty for spiritual inspiration and encouragement.
















#1 The Sky and My Spiritual Journey

Too often I get so caught up in my life, my affairs and the stress from my job that I forget to see that there is a bigger picture at work in the world. What helps me to regain my peace and become aware of my spiritual awareness is when I look up at the sky and I see so many stars that I can not even count them or when I attempt to measure the length of the sky with my eyes but I can not because the sky stretches as far as I can see.

When I search the sky and count the stars, I am awed by God's awesomeness and I reminded that I too am a part of God's plan. In fact, my Inner Peace and my spiritual journey depends on me learning how to get in tune with God's plan for my life.
















#2 The Moon and Spiritual Inspiration
Moon watching also helps me to manage my stress. I enjoy looking at the size of the moon and how it changes phases from full moon to a half moon and then to a new moon. The moon is so huge and although it seems to be so close to the earth, it is so far away. When I look at the moon and the way that this great mass is suspended in the sky I am awed. I say to myself, that their is a Higher Being that is at work in this world and this Higher Being has a good plan for me and the world.

Looking at this marvel inspires me and it helps me to regain my Inner Peace because surely you and I play a part in God's plan. In order to understand our part, we just have to slow down and hear what God is saying.














#3 Flowers and Spiritual Guidance
I love looking at flowers because they are so colorful. Whenever I have had a stressful day, I like going for a long walk in the park and admiring the different types of flowers that bloom during the different seasons. My favorite season is Fall because I get a chance to witness so many beautiful colors.

When I look at the all of the beautiful colors that God has provided for my enjoyment I am able to release my stress and focus on how awesome God is. Anything that puts my focus back on God and off of me helps me to regain my status of Inner Peace.















#4 The Ocean and Spiritual Meditation
Out of all of God's natural wonders, the ocean is my favorite because of it's roaring waves and it's smell. There is something about the ocean that captivates me! I actually go to the ocean to pray and mediate.

If you have ever been to the beach, you can bear witness that it is a marvel how the ocean roars and yet it too is under God's command. The ocean stops on point and does not cross the shore line. The ocean also helps me know that I am a part of God's plan and that God's plan is a plan of order. When I look at the ocean, I am reminded that my Inner Peace is going to be based on my ability to get in order with God's plan for my life.

Summary
When you take the time to witness God's natural beauty it will help you to maintain your Inner Peace because you are reminded that there is a Higher Power at work in your life and all you have to do is align yourself with God's plan.

More Useful Tips
3 Natural Ways To Reduce Stress

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: 3 Natural Remedies For Stress

Stress Control, Stress Management and Stress Reduction Techniques

Three natural remedies that you can do to reduce stress and relax when you are feeling stressed, angry or just plain ole sick and tired of being sick and tired are: 1)Take a warm bubble bath 2) Aroma Therapy and 3) Listen to Music





#1: Natural Remedy For Stress: Take a Warm Bubble Bath



My favorite tool to help me calm down after a hectic or a stressful day is to take a warm bubble bath. I also like to place candles along side the tub. If I am really feeling like treating myself I sprinkle rose pedals in the water as well.I don't stop there!

Before I get into the tub, I place my favorite soft drink beverage , which is a "Vault", in a chilled wine glass and I turn on my favorite "Oldie but music CD. Then I relax for about a half hour.It never fails, after I finish taking my warm bubble bath I am focused and back to my peaceful and calm self.


#2 Natural Remedy For Stress : Aroma Therapy



Stress, Anxiety and Depression Remedy
Oils from plants can actually calm you down when you are under a lot of stress and help to bring you back to a relaxed state of mind. You just take the essential oil and dip it in cotton and inhale.

To treat stress, anxiety, tension or mental fatigue try one or a combination of the following:

• Chamomile: Reduce stress, Anger and Anxiety
  
• Clary Sage: Useful for relaxing, Depression, Anger and Anxiety
• Lavender: Release and relieves stress, Anger, Anxiety, Depression
  
• Geranium : Reduce stress, Anger, Anxiety and Nervous Tension
• Frank Incense: : Anger, Anxiety and Nervous Tension
• Juniper Berry : Anxiety and Anger
• Basil : Anger, Anxiety, Depression
  
• Jasmine: Anger and Anxiety
  

#3 Natural Remedy For Stress: Listen To Music





A stress reduction exercise you can do to help you reduce your stress is to build a list of calm music. Music helps you to reduce stress and anxiety by helping you to calm down when you are agitated.

Stress Reduction Exercise : Build A List of Calm Music

1. Start paying attention to how the music you listen to affects your mood
2. Check your mood before you begin listening, while you are listening and after you listen to the music
3. Make a list of all of the music that you listen to that is calm and relaxing
4. Upload those songs on your Ipod or make a CD


More Useful Tips
Count Slowly

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: 4 Things You Can Do To Help You To Remain Calm

Your emotions are going to be your number one indicator to let you know if you are at a state of inner peace or if you are at a state of dis-ease.When you are stressed, angry, depressed, sad etc. you are in opposition of feeling calm, joyful and peaceful. Once you recognize that you are not experiencing a state of Inner Peace, then you have to be responsible for taking the necessary steps to position yourself back in to a peaceful state of being. I have listed four things that you can do to calm down when you are feeling stressed. They are: 1)Play Cards 2) Write 3) Go for a walk and 4) Listen to Mellow Music


#1 Play Cards

One of the reasons why you may be experiencing stress is because you are focusing your thoughts on the stressful event. If you want to calm down and return to a peaceful state of being then you must change what you are focusing on. Playing cards is a great activity to help you change what you are focusing on because when you are playing cards you are concentration on the activity and not on what it is that is stressing you out.


#2 Write


If you are a person who likes to write then you should try writing down your feelings when you are feeling stressed, angry or sad. Writing out your feelings on paper is a great way to release your negative energy in a positive way. You can also try blogging or as a means of expressing yourself. Squidoo is a free and fun site that allows you build a web page and write about whatever your interests are.

Build Your Free Web Page on Squidoo


#3 Go For A Walk
Walking is another way that you can release negative energy in a positive way. The great thing about walking is that you can bring along your ipod and listen to music, a word of inspiration or anything soothing while you walk out your frustrations

#4 Create A Play List and Play Mellow Music

When you are feeling stressed out, a great way to get your focus back is by listening to some mellow music. Music is an easy way to calm you down and help you to return back to a peaceful state of being.

More Useful Tips
Play Video Games

Inner and Joy Tip #93: Identify Trigger Events

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 16-20 for a Spirit Booster!

A great tip on how to maintain a peaceful and calm state of mind is to identify the events that causes you to become upset in the first place. When you are able to identify the events that triggers you to become upset, then you can work on developing a "Plan of Action" or ways that you can respond in a calm, peaceful manner the next time you are in that particular situation.


What are your triggers? What gets you to escalate to become angry?

• Is it long waits in a line at a grocery store, department store or the place where you pay your bills?
  
• Is it being on a crowded elevator, on a crowded bus or in a crowded building?
• If a friend were to joke about a sensitive topic, would that trigger you to become upset?
• What if you were wrongly accused, would you get upset?
• If you continually had to clean up someone's mess, how would you react?
• What if you had an untidy roommate, would that upset you?
• How would you respond if you had a neighbor who plays their music way too loud?
• Do you get upset when you are on a telephone call and you are placed on hold for long periods of time?
• How would you respond if you asked someone for directions but you later found that they gave you the wrong directions?
• If someone was to spread a false rumor about you, would that trigger you to become upset?
• Would you respond peacefully if you found out that your money or property was stolen from you?

The event that use to trigger me to get upset before I started working on maintaining my Inner Peace was being around mean spirited people who would say things to intentionally hurt my feelings. My normal response was to shut down and think negative thoughts about the person such as "They are so mean, I am not going to talk to them any more" or "I can not wait for them to say something to me again because when they do I am going to give them a piece of my mind"


It was not until I started paying attention to all of the things that caused me to become upset that I was able to actually pin point the events that triggered me to get upset. After that, I was able to practice positive ways that I could respond the next time I was face to face with a mean spirited person who tried to hurt my feelings .

I have came in contact with many mean spirited people since I have been on my journey to maintain my Inner Peace and the way that I respond now is instead of shutting down when someone tries to hurt my feelings, I just say to myself, "They are mean but I will pray for them" or "Thank God, I do not have to live in the house with that person".

What Events Triggers You to Become Upset?

More Useful Tips
Practice to Maintain Your Inner Peace
Know Your Triggers

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 90: Call Your Mother

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 1-5 for a Spirit Booster!


Release Your Frustrations
Have you ever had a bad day at work, school or just a plain ole bad day in general? How did you feel? What did you do to release the energy that you were feeling? Did you release the energy in the form of frustration, agitation or anger?

When you are working on maintaining a mental state of peace you are going to have to find positive ways of expressing your energy when you are feeling stressed out. You should not keep all of your frustrations bottled up inside because what ends up happening when you keep your emotions bottled up is that they will just keep building up and building up until one day you will have an emotional explosion.

Talk to Someone/Call Your Mother
One positive way that you can release your energy and maintain your Inner Peace is by talking to someone. When you talk to someone it will help you to remain calm and peaceful because it will give you a chance to let off some of your steam. When I am in a stressful situation, sometimes all that I really need to do to keep my peace is to have someone who I can vent to. Usually after I vent I feel a lot better.

One person in particular that stands out as a great person to talk to is your mother. Mom's are great because they seem to have a natural tendency to listen and to understand their children when they are upset. Mother's always seem to know the right words to say to calm their children down. If you do not have access to your mother you should work on building a circle of friends that you can confide in.

Build A Network Of Friends
It is going to be a good idea to start developing an inner circle of friends that you can talk to when you are having a stressful day. Call up a few of your friends and ask them if it will be okay if you could call them from time to time when necessary just to vent. You need to make sure that your circle of friends will be patient with you, will sincerely listen to you and will not judge you when you are releasing your frustration to them.

Here is a suggested list of people you can call to help you calm down:

• Your Mother
• Your Parents
• Your Spouse
• Your Siblings
• Your Pastor
• Your Significant Other
• Your Best Friend
• Your Spiritual Adviser


If you have someone who you confide in and they help you to calm down, please feel free to add to this list.



More Useful Tips
Know Your Triggers
Surround Yourself Around Positive People

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 89 : Bury Your Grudges

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 146-150 for a Spirit Booster!



I have a friend, who has been holding on to a grudge for over fifteen years with a person who once was a dear friend of hers. One day, I asked my friend, why it is that she is not speaking with the person who once her friend any more? Do you know that because the incident had occurred so long ago, she had forgotten the reason why they were not speaking anymore. She just remembered that they were not speaking anymore. Wow!

Do You Hold Grudges ?
How many of you hold grudges? Many people do. Did you know that if you hold grudges for an extensive period of time that you will not successfully be able to maintain your mental state of peace and live your life full of joy?

Here Is Why
When you mentally hold on to the wrong doings that some one has done to you or you have done to someone else for an extensive period of time you are actually hurting yourself because you are mentally holding inside of your mind negative emotions of anger, grief and sorrow. When you hold on to anger, grief and sorrow for an extensive period of time, you mind is troubled and you are not at a state of Inner Peace.

Now I am not saying that if someone has harmed you that you should not feel any type of emotions after all you are human. What I am saying is that for the sake of maintaining your Inner Peace you must find a way to release your negative emotions and bury your grudges.

How To Bury Your Grudges

• Forgiveness: When you forgive someone for the wrong that they have caused you or for the wrong that you have caused them you actually have agreed to mentally "let go" of all of the painful feelings that you are holding on inside. Only then will you be able to experience permanent Inner Peace.

• Face to Face Contact: Face to Face contact is a great way to express yourself when it is done peacefully. It is possible that you may be holding on to a grudge with someone due to a lack of communication and if you get a chance to just talk through your issues you will find that you can resolve your problems and regain your Inner Peace.

• Have a Funeral : If you are you are not able to contact someone who has wronged you or you have wronged because they are no longer alive or you have lost contact with them, you can write that person a letter and tell them that you forgive them or ask them to forgive you. Next say a prayer over the letter, dig a hole and bury the letter. When you bury the letter make sure that you bury your negative feelings with the letter.
  

More Useful Tips

See Only The Good
Love Your Enemies

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 86: Count Sheep

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 121-130 for a Spirit Booster!





What are Stressors ?
When you are practicing "How to Maintain your Inner Peace ", you must be able to identify what it is about yourself, people, your circumstances and places that causes you to be stressed out. Following are a few of my stressors that I have identified about myself. You are welcome to share yours.
1. Obnoxious People
2. Negative Music
3. Complainers
4. Disrespect
5. Loud Noise

When I see the signs that I am in a stressful situation, I immediately try to remove myself from the situation. Sometimes removing yourself from out of a stressful situation is not possible. For example: If I were at work and I was around a bunch of complainers or loud noises, then I would not be able to just walk away from the situation without losing my job.

What happens when you can not remove yourself from a stressful situation?
When you can not remove yourself from your stressful situation you can still maintain your Inner Peace by focusing on something positive instead of focusing on your stressor. I would suggest that you try "Counting Sheep."

Counting Sheep
Do you remember when you were a child and your parents asked you to count sheep when it was difficult for you to go to sleep? Do you also remember that once you started counting sheep, it did not take you long to doze off.

The reason why counting sheep helped you to go to sleep was because when you counted the sheep it took your mind off of focusing on not being able to go to sleep and it helped you to focus on something else. This same principle works when you are working on maintaining your Inner Peace in a negative situation.

How to Count Sheep in a Stressful Situation
When you are in a stressful situation, you are not just going to start counting sheep out loud. Instead, you should:
1. Take a seat
2. Breath in and out slowly for about a minute.
3. Breath in and out and softly say "one"
4. Now, use your imagination and picture a sheep in as much detail as you can
5. Breath in and out and softly say "two"
6. Now, use your imagination and picture a sheep in as much detail as you can
7. Repeat the process until you count "10"

The entire process of counting and visualization should take about 15 minutes. These 15 minutes should buy you enough time to calm down and refocus on maintaining your Inner Peace.

More Useful Tips
Relax Your Muscles
Patience

Inner Peace and Joy Tip # 71: Listen to Music

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation Tip: The Book of Psalms will uplift your soul. Read Psalms chapters 41-45 for a Spirit Booster!


A great tip for helping you to calm down when you are agitated is listen to music.

I like to listen to the jazz station when I am riding home from work because instrumental sounds calms me down and it helps me to release and relax.

I also noticed that when I listen to loud music or music with negative lyrics, I have to work extra hard on maintaining my Inner Peace.

Exercise: Build A List of Calm Music

1. Start paying attention to how the music you listen to affects your mood
2. Check your mood before you begin listening, while you are listening and after you listen to the music
3. Make a list of all of the music that you listen to that is calm and relaxing
   
4. Upload those songs on your Ipod or make a CD

Whenever you are having a chaotic day or if you need to just release and relax, you can take a few minutes and listen to your "calm" music to regain your mental state of peace.

How do you calm down?

More Useful Tips
Count Slowly
Relax

Inner Peace and Joy: Tip # 15 Be Slow To Anger

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation: The Book of Proverbs is loaded with wisdom nuggets. Read Proverbs 15, pull out the wisdom nuggets and apply them to your life

The way that you are going to maintain a mental state of inner peace is by being peaceful. You do not want to get angry. People are going to try your patience but you have to be able to always be in control of the situation. Here are some tips to help you remain peaceful
Sharp Words. If someone is getting on your nerves and you want to give them a whipping with your words. Before you give them a sharp answer, take a minute and think about what would be an appropriate response. When you take a minute before you reply, that gives you enough time to calm down and reply with a peaceful answer,

Spontaneous Speaking. You have to take control of what you are going to say instead of speaking spontaneously. When someone is speaking, wait for them to finish. Do not be rude and butt in while they are still talking. You have to exercise restraint. If you do not like what they are saying you are not obligated to respond. A better response is just smile.

Stay Away From Troublemakers: Do not entertain troublemakers. Troublemakers keep strife going. If you are around people who keep chaos going all the time, you will not have peace. Surround yourself around peaceful people. If you can not find any peaceful people be by yourself.

More Useful Tips:
Read Your Bible Daily
Know Your Triggers
Use Wisdom
Control Your Emotions

Inner Peace and Joy: Tip #3 Smile More

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Meditation: The Book of Proverbs contains nuggets of wisdom. Read Proverbs 3, pull out the wisdom nuggets and apply it to your life

Inner Peace starts on the inside and is reflected outside. You can identify a person who has inner peace just by their demeanor. Here is an exercise that will help you experience inner peace daily.

Smile More:
Focus on all of the things that make you smile throughout the day instead of all of the things that makes you upset.

Try this exercise to help you increase the number of times you smile daily: Write a list of 50 things that makes you smile. This can be a joke, the names of special people in your life, favorite places to vacation etc. Throughout the day review at least one item from off of your list and smile.

Results:
Guess what? If you focus on all of the things that makes you smile all day long; then all day long you are smiling and if you are smiling your are experiencing inner peace and joy

Likewise, if you focus on all of the things that make you upset all day long; then you are upset and frowning all day long and you are not experiencing inner peace and joy.

More Tips:
Laugh more
Be Slow To Anger
Know Your Triggers