In the world of today, a lot of people are so concerned about their image; that is how they appear to others, their reputation, how successful they look, and even how much attention and validation they get from people. In fact, social media and appearance have made it seem like image is very important. But why you might impress people temporarily with image, there is something that offers a more valuable thing to you; this is your inner peace. It is what gives you genuine happiness, stability, and clarity. You will be surprised, but the truth is that someone who has Internal peace is more likely to live a far healthier and more fulfilling life than someone who only looks successful on the outside.
There was one of my friends that I observed her lifestyle and I understood that it is not everything you see on social media that is what it is. We are friends on social media and also offline, but her life in both are entirely different. She would buy expensive things and borrow some, just to snap and make videos, then post on her social media handles with a lot of catchy titles. All these were to appear classy in the eyes of others and to feel "belonged." But the people that know her closely know that she was struggling financially and emotionally too, because she was more concerned about public image instead of her peace of mind.
Image is external, and it is how others see you. But peace is internal, because it is how you feel within you even when no one is watching you. Trust me, no matter what you portray to be, you know who you really are. Someone may appear confident, rich, popular, successful on the outside, yet may be struggling with pressure, anxiety, emptiness, or even one form of emotional instability or the other. How someone looks on the outside does not always show how they are in the inside. I remember what a mentor once said; "true peace is not a function of what happens around you, but a reflection of who you are in the inside."
One of the dangers of living for image is that it puts you under undue and continuous pressure. This will lead to the feeling of desperation to do anything just to maintain your public image. A lot of people have trapped themselves trying to impress others, or to maintain their appearance, or to even gain approval. They may even spend more than their limit, pretend that everything is fine, compare themselves to others, and at the end, they will feel empty within. This is because, over time, the lifestyle they are trying to pretend to be living will become unsustainable and exhausting, because it is built on the quest for external validation.
Inner peace makes one to live with calmness and with contentment. Not because they have everything, but because they value what they have, and they make the most of them. Inner peace also comes from self-awareness, emotional balance, having healthy values, being free from the need for unhealthy comparison. Someone who has achieved inner peace does not need constant attention to feel valuable. Their confidence is not built by what people will think of them nor on public opinion, but it is built from within.
Inner peace affects the emotional and mental well-being of an individual positively. When you have a peaceful mind, it will help you to think clearly, make better decisions, and also handle the issues of life better. Without peace of mind, a lot of things about life will cease to make meaning, including success and achievements. What brings satisfaction is not just about what you have achieved, neither is it the quest to achieve more, but the peace of mind that you have over what you already possess. You will not feel the need to compare yourself with someone else, you will not feel jealous or insecure about what others have, and you will not have the desperation to have what others have. This does not mean that your life is without challenges, but it simply means that you have achieved a form of emotional stability even in the presence of challenges.
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