Inner peace can be hard to find, especially when your thoughts are running at a million miles a minute. You worry about how to become an artist, your boyfriend, your dog, your job, your car... the list of things to worry about is literally endless. Think of a time you were completely at peace, inside and out. I bet you wen't thinking of too much. Happiness comes from when you have conquered your thoughts of the what are and what if's in your life. Control of your thoughts, and being able to shut them off when they are not needed is a huge asset to anyone, but it's obviously easier said than done. Sometimes you just have to tell your brain to shut up. No more should you float though the day lost in less than productive thoughts. Being able to shut off the mind and focus only on one thing is a challenge to say the least, but the best way to begin is learning to shut off your thoughts completely. The first step to getting rid of an unwanted habit is to be aware of it. This alone doesn't rid you of unwanted behavior but it's a great start. You must always remember you are not your thoughts, ideas or beliefs. They are tools you can use, but they are NOT you, so you should never let them control you. To everyone else in the world, you are your actions first, then your words. Take a moment to remember that NOBODY can read your mind, and if you're anything like me, the elusive nature of your own thoughts is just a big of mystery to you as they are to everyone else. Once you spend enough time being aware of your thoughts to shut them off, you'll also become aware of the words that you use, and how you can control every one of them, thus controlling people's outward perception of you, and who couldn't use a little more control of that in their lives? A trick I like to use to shut my thoughts off is to ask myself "what will my next thought be?", it gives me just the right amount of reality to regain control of my thoughts and emotions so no situation is too overwhelming. Also, never panic, ever.