Your Peace Is Non-Negotiable

We're living in a world that constantly demands more – more work, more success, more commitments – making it dangerously easy to sacrifice inner tranquility for productivity or approval. But at what cost? The science is clear: chronic stress leads to anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments like heart disease. Yet many of us continue pushing through toxic environments and unhealthy relationships, fearing disappointment or judgment.

Today I explore how true happiness comes from activities that enhance rather than drain our energy. You'll learn to recognize the warning signs that something's costing too much peace: persistent exhaustion, ongoing anxiety, compromised values, and stunted personal growth.

Most importantly, I share practical strategies to reclaim your mental wellbeing. From setting boundaries and learning the power of saying "no" to surrounding yourself with energizing people and redefining success on your own terms – your roadmap to peace starts here. Remember, it's never too late to change direction. Your speedboat might have become a cargo ship with responsibilities, but course correction remains possible. After all, happier people create happier societies.

What's draining your peace today? The time to reassess is now.

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Website: www.themikemuldoonpodcast.com
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey y'all and welcome to this week's episode of the
I'm Michael New podcast.
As always, thanks for joiningme.
Glad to have you.
It's awesome, man, it's alreadyThursday.
Again.
It's Thursday.
It's crazy.
How time is just flying by.
Am I the only one?
You know it's Saturday and it'sThursday and before you know
it's from Thursday and it's backto Monday.
Time is flying by.
It is crazy.
But you know what?
I'm happier because the weatheris getting better.

(00:22):
I know I talk about the weathera lot.
I get it.
It's funny.
It's a very English thing totalk about the weather.
You don't realize that untilyou actually live here.
But when you start seeing thesun again and it gets warmer out
, it really does change thingsand the days are getting longer.
So I'm sure everybody elselikes that.
When there's more sun out there, it's great.
It's great for all of us to getout there.
But anyway, again, hope you'redoing well, glad you're here

(00:43):
with me.
So listen, I want to talk aboutsomething today, you know,
because the thing is right.
When the sun's out, you'refeeling good and everything.
You kind of feel at peace,right, you kind of feel happier
about things.
Things seem to go a little bitbetter in your life.
You know, I don't know, maybethat's just me, that's how I
feel, but I want to talk aboutanything you're doing.
In your really good barometerfor whether or not this is
something you should be doingand whether or not it's going to

(01:05):
really keep you happy in thelong term, is this little thing
that says if anything costs youyour peace, it's just too
expensive.
See, the thing is we live inthis world that constantly
demands more from us, right?
More work, more success ifyou're comparing yourself to the
social media worlds or feelinglike you just have to keep up
with the Joneses.
More commitments, right, gosh,and the further along in life

(01:26):
you get, and you're married, andthen you have kids, and then
you have school, and you gotevents, and you get outside
sports, you get all these othercommitments.
It's very easy to fall intothis trap of sort of sacrificing
your peace for productivity oreven approval for a lot of
people.
But seriously, at what cost?
See, the idea that if it costsyour peace, it's too expensive
isn't just a catchy phrase.
It's a vital principle forreally living a fulfilled and

(01:50):
happy life, and that's what Iwant to talk about today.

(02:20):
So psychologists andneuroscientists have really long
studied the effect of chronicstress on the body and mind, and
I've talked about this beforeon podcasts in the past, and
actually there was an article inthe american psychological
association that basicallyreports and again we've talked
about this prolonged stresscontributes to anxiety,
depression and even high bloodpressure and even heart disease

(02:40):
in many cases.
There was a study actually donein 2021 that where research
found a strong correlationbetween high workplace stress
and an increased risk of burnout, which really is just leading
to severe emotional exhaustion.
Yet, knowing all of this andit's talked about, it's so
available now right?
Everybody knows stress can leadto these damaging effects, but

(03:02):
yet many people still pushthrough toxic environments, stay
in unhealthy relationships anddeal with overwhelming
obligations, and a lot of timesit's because they fear
disappointing others or, in somecases, just appearing weak.
But the truth is, sacrificingpeace for external validation is
a deal that never benefits youin the long run.
Dr Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi he'sa psychologist.

(03:25):
He's basically known fordeveloping the concept of flow.
You may have heard this termthrown around a little bit, but
he basically found that peopleare happiest when they're
engaged in activities that bringthem deep focus and fulfillment
, things that enhance ratherthan drain their mental and
emotional energy.
This means that prioritizingpeace isn't about avoiding
challenges.
It's really about ensuring thatthe things you invest in bring

(03:46):
genuine meaning and joy to yourlife.
It's similarly to basically,you're probably familiar with
Maslow's hierarchy of needs,which really suggests that once
your basic needs are metpsychological well-being,
including self-fulfillment,inner peace become a top
priority.
See, people who neglect this inpursuit of external achievements

(04:06):
often find themselves feelingempty, even when they basically
have it all right.
They have it all by society'sstandards and yet they feel
empty.
They feel lost, stressed,anxious.
So how do you know whensomething's really costing you
too much peace?
What are those red flags, mike?
Well, you probably know right,because you're probably sitting
around going.

(04:26):
You know what I'm feelingconstantly drained.
I mean, if something or someoneis really leaving you feeling
exhausted more often thanenergized, it might be time to
start thinking about how muchmore they're taking from you
than they're really giving.
You know, if you're experiencingpersistent anxiety or stress,
you know, in your job, yourrelationship, a commitment that
causes ongoing distress.
It isn't worth your mentalhealth.

(04:48):
You know, are you losingyourself right, when you start
compromising your values, yourboundaries or that joy, just to
maintain in a situation, it'stime to reassess that situation.
See, there's no room forpersonal growth if you're stuck
in a cycle of stress, with notime to pursue what truly
matters to you.

(05:09):
That cost is too high.
You know, when I talk to peoplewho find themselves in these
situations, I just oftenencourage them to sort of you
know, look at peace in your lifeas like a non-negotiable value.
Set clear boundaries withpeople.
Learn to say no to commitmentsthat don't align with your
well-being or something that youwant to be doing.
Nothing's worse than committingsomething you really don't want
to be doing and, to be honestwith you, it's not fair because

(05:30):
you're doing something, youdon't want to be there and then
you're really not putting theenergy into it anyway.
Recognize toxic patterns.
Identify and step away fromsituations that drain you
without adding value to yourlife.
Prioritize yourself.
We talk about this all the time.
This is probably the number onething that most people don't
spend time on, but true peacereally comes from within.
So I don't know, maybe for someof you.

(05:50):
I am not a big meditation guy.
I can't really get into it, butmaybe meditation is good for
you.
Maybe that works for you.
Journaling exercise is probablyone of the best things you can
actually do for yourself, andreally the simplest thing is
just try to surround yourselfwith the right people.
Energy is contagious.
Spend time with those whouplift and inspire rather than
those who deplete you, and maybe, just maybe, redefine success.

(06:11):
See, success isn't about howmuch you accumulate.
It's about how aligned you feelwith your purpose and the
values and how you feel when youget out of bed every morning.
What you're thinking, you know.
Are you energized becauseyou're excited about what you're
about to do, or are you justmiserable?
See, at the end of the day,your peace that is priceless.
There's no amount of money,status, approval that can

(06:35):
replace a life lived inalignment with your values and
well-being.
If something is costing youyour peace, it's too expensive.
Period, the key to truefulfillment is really learning
to invest in what brings you joy, balance and a deep sense of
inner calm, because when youprotect your peace, you protect
your happiness.
So if you're struggling withthis balance, you know, just try

(06:58):
to take some time to find thatclarity.
Take steps towards a life thatyou know generally starts
feeling good right.
You know it's never too late tochange For some people.
You know it may be a littleharder, right?
If you want to go, maybe a newdirection in your life, a new
career, do something else.
You know I always say you know,when you're young, in your 20s,
you got no attachments oranything going on.
You're a speedboat going acrossthe ocean.
You want to change directions.

(07:19):
You turn around right back asyou get, you got more
responsibilities, maybe marriage, kids, mortgages, all this
other stuff.
You're more like one of thosecargo containers moving across
the ocean, but it doesn't meanit can't turn around.
It just might take a little bitlonger, but ultimately, you
know, let's work together tomake peace more of a top
priority, because the thing is,happier people make happier
societies.
All right, all right people.

(07:40):
That's all I really got for youtoday.
Thank you so much for beingwith quick to the point.
Make sure you're sharing thiswith your friends.
Hit that like button.
You know reviews are alwaysgreat, whether it's on Spotify,
apple, wherever you're listeningto.
Again, I appreciate you forbeing here.
Have a great weekend and, asalways, I got another below.
We'll see you next time.