The biggest lesson I have learned so far this year in 2024 is the importance of unlocking my inner-peace—to find the unexplainable joy of the inner-peace I didn't know I had stored in me.
After years of constant trails and ups and downs, I can finally say that I have found my own strength and peace, and when you find these two things, you will be able to confidentially walk through any trail or obstacle that comes your way with your head held high—and it's an amazing feeling!
I felt in my heart that I couldn't hold back my journey of finding my inner-peace, and how every single reader on this page should know what is stored inside of them. . . and unlock it.
Hi everyone! It's Lexi here and welcome, or welcome back, to The Teen Safe Zone where it's safe for teens to be themselves. I know, looong time no see. Just a quick life update; all is well! I want to apologize for not being active on the blog this year. I recently finished my junior year of high school (I can't believe I'm entering my High School Musical 3 era aka senior year in August!), and spent most of the final semester studying for the SATs.
Aside from school and studying taking a big portion of my time, something almost magical, unexplainable, happened this year—and no, it wasn't a teenage romance or anything else under the umbrella—it was finding my peace. I remember praying on New Year's for God to allow me to find peace this year and to let go of anyone who should no longer be in this season of my life, to give me strength to let go of toxicity and strength to walk through this year and any of its obstacles with my head-held-high. . . and just a few weeks into the year (late January-February), my prayer came into effect!
I found joy and peace in myself that I didn't know was stored in me. I can admit that since 2020 and onward, life hasn't been sunshine or rainbows for anyone. Each year bought even harder trails and obstacles, and it felt never-ending. However, 2024 was off to a much different start—and I could feel it. The thing about life is that there will always be a new obstacle or trail for us to face. Though what we should realize is that they are only made for us to grow stronger. When I prayed for me to find peace and strength this year, I didn't mean for the trails and obstacles to stop altogether—because that's not how it works—I meant that I wanted God to show me my strength and allow me go through the trails without coming to a breaking point.
That's the view you should have in life.
Since that moment forward, this year has been much different for me mentally. I'm no longer stressing about things as much as I did before. I know that some things are out of my control, and therefore I can only navigate around it the best way I can. I have learned to let things come on God's timing. I know that God is only preparing me for the things He has stored, and it when it happens, I will be 100% ready for it. I finally understand that God has everything written out in His perfect plan, and that the things I'm worried about won't matter 1 year or even 5 years from now. I have learned to just sit back and enjoy the moment—I will never be sixteen again, even if things aren't exactly how I planned. In fact, around this time next year I'm going to be packing for university and life how I know it will change...drastically.
As you can see, this experience has changed the way I view life, and I want it to be the same for you too! I knew that this topic is what I needed to write first when I came back to this blog, and after months in the making: Here's how to unlock your inner-peace!
Scripture Inspiration:
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NIV:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort
After months of trying to write this blog, I finally got the confirmation I needed a few weeks ago with this scripture. I didn't know why I felt that this particular topic was what I needed to write, or even how to explain it, and this scripture explains it perfectly.
What I got from this scripture in context was that God spiritually strengthens His people through trails and obstacles in life so that they can encourage and strengthen people in similar situations as them. I have this small blog platform in which I am grateful for all of the readers, and I knew that with this experience it was too good to not share. I know that I can inspire people with my story, and I felt now is the time.
This is why not only sharing your testimony is important, but also sharing the trails you were put through to get to that point. Living in this world isn't always easy, but hearing the goodness God has done for others can encourage the next person that He will do the same for them.
Understanding The Importance Of Peace:
Going back to the inner-peace topic, it is important to understand the importance of finding your inner-peace and why it's so beneficial. What I've learned is that having your inner-peace allows you to move through life with your head held high despite all of the chaos around you and obstacles that will come your way. Finding inner-peace reminds you that during an obstacle, it is only given to make you become stronger mentally and spiritually. There's no obstacle that God will allow to come your way if He knew that you weren't strong enough or ready for it. Every obstacle you face help build you into who you are today.
Obstacles are not meant to break you, and you shouldn't allow them to. Remember, you hold the power over them. It is up to you on how you react to them.
Think About It:
You are sailing in the middle of a large body of water. Yes, there are things that may shake your boat, but there's nothing that will come your way that will be able to sink you (metaphorically in life).
Enjoy Every Moment:
Another factor that helped me find my inner-peace was learning to enjoy every moment. And yes, this may sound really cliche, but when you fully comprehend how precious and valuable time is, you'll learn to understand it. There will never be another today. We can't go back in the past to fix things, and why spend your present worrying about the future? We have the future, to think about the future.
Once again, what triggered this mindset for me was mostly the realization of how much time I have left before my life completely changes with graduating high school and going off to college next year. My life is soon marking the end of an era, and the last thing you'll want to happen is for a chapter in life to end only for you to regret not enjoying the moment—even if at the time it wasn't the best memories. If you're constantly reminiscing on the past and overthinking about the future, where's the time for the present?
Finding my inner-peace allowed me to enjoy slow-living and the present moment. I learned the mindset of "Holding my head up for whatever today brings". Here's a reminder to live your life for you. Do things because you enjoy to do them. Don't be afraid to learn new hobbies, or even rekindle old hobbies, watch your favorite TV show, read your favorite book, etc. You don't need to have paragraphs of explanations or stop doing it because society says so. Stop putting your self-care and mental health on the back-burner or treating it as a "reward".
Detaching Yourself From Toxicity:
Going back to the factor of detaching yourself from toxicity helped me a ton in my inner-peace journey. Detaching yourself from toxicity not only allows you to find your peace, but also if you are currently dealing with toxicity in your life, it can drain your peace.
We can't pour from an empty cup—but oftentimes we pour what we don't have into everyone else's cup before our own. We sometimes unknowingly surround ourselves with people who only take, but never give. This is a situation many people, including myself, have dealt with before or are currently dealing with. I started to really reflect on my life and realized that these types of people have no reason to stay in your life any longer. They're just "there" taking time and space away from people who truly has your best interest. You know what they say, you have to drop the zero to get the hero lol. This applies for everyone in your life—not just relationships but also friendships as well.
If at any point you doubted yourself, here's a reminder from me that you deserve better than someone giving you their "sometimes". I think deep down we all know this, but in order to truly find your inner-peace, you have to believe it and take action on it. You don't deserve for someone to just "tolerate" you, or for you to tolerate their inconsistencies. One main lesson I've learned in life is that people will only treat you the way you allow them to. This goes back to remembering that you hold that power and it's up to you how you react to it.
Distancing myself from these situations helped tremendously with my inner-peace journey. It's almost like I forgot my own strength, but when I was reminded of it, I came back like a boomerang (lol pun intended). It was a long process and it wasn't easy, but it was so worth it. Remember that you shouldn't feel bad for asking the decency of being appreciated. Make it clear to yourself and also to others that ending the friendship/relationship/etc doesn't mean that they are necessarily a bad person, they're just no longer meant for you in this season of your life.
If you're interested in this topic, I wrote a full blog post about toxicity here: It's Time To Move Forward From Toxic People
About The Blog:
The Teen Safe Zone is a blog created in 2021 by then-14-year-old, Lexi, in an effort to share real teenage experiences and advice to fellow adolescents trying to figure out this thing called "life". Being a teenager or young adult isn't easy with having your entire life at your footsteps. On The Teen Safe Zone, you can read relatable content tailored from friendships, relationships, peer pressure, high school, self-esteem, social media, and more! Join the blog for free by becoming a member. Use the "Contact Us" tab to reach out, and we will respond as soon as possible. New posts on the blog every Monday at 3 PM CST!
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