why peace of mind is important essay

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

What really determines your peace of mind, the stoic philosophers of rome and greece got it right..

Posted July 18, 2019 | Reviewed by Matt Huston

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When I was a sulky teenager , my dad once told me that “attitude is the last freedom” (invoking Viktor Frankl ). His point was that it was up to me whether I was miserable when circumstances weren’t cooperating the way I wanted them to. I found this bit of guidance liberating at times, but also irritating. Couldn’t I just be sullen when I didn’t get my way?

Now that I’m a sulky adult, I still often forget the key to true and lasting contentment. You probably do, too. Most of us invest all of our energy in trying to force outcomes we ultimately can’t control, and none of our efforts on the only sure path to peace of mind.

Stoicism and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Our default belief is that our happiness depends on our situation. If we’re unhappy, it must be because something isn’t going right. If only things were better, then I could be happy . Accordingly, we tie our well-being to all kinds of things that are outside of us:

• Material wealth: a car, a house, your income, your clothing
• Prestige: fame, accomplishments, social standing, a job title
• Other people: their opinions of you, whether they agree with you, how they treat you, whether they appreciate you
• Other circumstances: politicians, the weather, the traffic, illness, how much sleep you got last night

“Just the world unfolding as it does can feel like some sort of injustice,” said Dr. William Ferraiolo, professor of philosophy at San Joaquin Delta College and author of several books on Stoicism (including his most recent, Meditations on Self-Discipline and Failure: Stoic Exercise for Mental Fitness ). I recently interviewed Ferraiolo on the Think Act Be podcast where we explored the overlap between Stoic philosophy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which has its roots in the Stoic teachings .

The key to finding true contentment, said Ferraiolo, is to “recognize the sorts of external events that tend to cause unpleasant psychological and emotional states.” This is exactly the approach we take in CBT, in which a person is invited to note the events that trigger painful emotions. I give the example of Susan getting a negative performance review in CBT Made Simple . At first pass, it seems that the bad review alone is what made her upset:

The next step is to look for the thought or belief that lays a path from the event to your emotional experience of it. “If you can identify the underlying beliefs and expectations,” said Ferraiolo, “typically you’re going to find irrational beliefs and unreasonable expectations.” Again, this is exactly the practice we encourage people to do in cognitive behavioral therapy. Continuing the example from the book, Susan figures out the interpretation of the event that upset her:

Once you’ve identified the trigger and the associated thought, you’re in a good position to take a hard look at the thought to see if it’s accurate. “If you can challenge those beliefs and expectations properly, you can diminish your suffering,” said Ferraiolo. “You can diminish the intensity of your anger , despair, etc., and also diminish the frequency with which you fall into those conditions.”

Another example: Imagine that you start getting sick the day before a big presentation or job interview you’ve been preparing for. If you’re like me you’ll probably think something like, I can’t believe this is happening—this is so unfair . The underlying belief is, This should not be happening to me . Not surprisingly, you’ll feel frustrated and probably bitter, and might believe that feeling contentment under these circumstances is simply not an option.

But if we take a look at those thoughts and beliefs, we’ll find that they’re not based in reality. Is it unusual to get sick, even on the eve of an important event? Is it a personal injustice? Does it exclude any possibility of happiness, equanimity, or even gratitude for everything else that is right in your life—including the fact that your body will heal?

Changing Perspective

We’re so used to assuming the way we feel is a product of our circumstances that it might seem strange to say that happiness doesn’t depend on those things. But a simple thought experiment shows that it’s true.

Imagine that you’re living your life, feeling vaguely disgruntled, perhaps a bit too hot or cold, and mildly disappointed about a couple of things that aren’t going the way you want them to. Just beneath your conscious awareness you blame your emotional state on what’s happening in your life and believe that you can’t feel contented until those situations improve.

Then imagine you learn that someone you love dearly might have a serious illness. You’re terrified that you might lose this person. And then, thankfully, you’re told it was a false alarm, and your loved one is well.

You immediately feel enormous gratitude for your life—which for all practical purposes is identical to the life you were unhappy about. You still have a healthy loved one, and you still have your life’s imperfections. The only thing that has changed is your internal experience and your awareness that things like our loved ones’ health are not guaranteed. (Thanks to Sam Harris , from whose lesson on mindful awareness I adapted this scenario.)

As this example shows, it’s really our internal perspective that is the final determinant of our well-being. Granted, external events may affect you—like having a massive head cold when you have to perform—and make it more challenging to find emotional equanimity. But ultimately the source of your happiness lies within.

Easy to Learn—and Forget

I’m often surprised by how easy it is to forget the principles from the Stoics, given how simple they are and how long they’ve been recognized. Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius lived in the first and second centuries CE. St. Paul, the writer of many New Testament epistles who lived around the same time, also seemed to espouse some Stoic principles—for example, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11). Buddha taught hundreds of years earlier and offered similar guidance: “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

Ferraiolo noted that the ideas of Stoicism can fade from general societal awareness, passing in and out of vogue over the years. He sees a resurgence of interest in these principles in the past couple of decades, with several popular books on Stoicism like A Guide to the Good Life and The Daily Stoic .

“The challenges of the human condition really haven’t changed that much over the past couple thousand years,” according to Ferraiolo. “Technology has changed, but we are still relatively small and frail and ephemeral, and the world is large and powerful and mostly takes no heed of our interests.” And like the Stoics, we still meet the same end. “The world is going to kill you,” said Ferraiolo, “and it’s going to beat the hell out of you between now and then.”

So why do we forget these truths? Ferraiolo blames the primitive parts of our brains. “The limbic system has been there longer than the prefrontal cortex,” he noted, “and it’s quicker and more powerful in many ways. If we’re not careful and attentive, it can send us into really powerful emotional states that are not conducive to good behavior.”

But as Ferraiolo found for himself, it’s possible to train the mind to respond differently.

Life-Changing (and Life-Saving) Practices

Ferraiolo said he was “a disastrous human being” for many years. “My two brothers and I inherited a fairly severe anxiety and depression disorder from our father,” he told me. “I lost one brother to suicide , and I may have been headed in that direction myself.”

He described himself as constantly angry, unable to sleep, and “not a pleasant person to be around,” with verbal and sometimes physical conflict a regular part of his days. “I was not at all happy or at ease, or comfortable in my own skin, and I had an enormous amount of pent-up nervous energy that I didn’t know what to do with.”

And then one day he came across the Discourses of Epictetus at a used book shop. After reading it for a few minutes, he realized it was what he needed. Since that time, Stoic practices have made an enormous difference in his life. “I’m now maybe only 25-30% as disastrous as I used to be,” he said. “I still have my dark moments. But now I can talk myself off the ledge, and get myself back to something like rationality and calm.”

Ferraiolo is now paying it forward through his own writings. I also found great relief in the principles of Stoicism when I first read an excerpt from his latest book . I was in a challenging period with my health and was feeling like my struggles precluded the possibility of contentment. Then I read these words:

“Everything that can suffer, does suffer. Everything that can die, will die. You have suffered, you will suffer much more, and a lifetime of your suffering will culminate in your death. When you can muster genuine gratitude for all of that, then you will have made the kind of progress that is not easily reversed. To develop sincere appreciation for this opportunity to be born in a brutal world, not of your making, to struggle and fail time and time again, to feel repeatedly lost, bewildered, frustrated, and hopeless, to swim in this ocean of misery, and, ultimately, to drown in it—this is the beginning of wisdom . You must embody overwhelming gratitude for the opportunity to fail repeatedly, with no guarantee of eventual success, and to wade cheerfully into a doomed struggle against time and your own limitations.”

While they weren’t easy words of comfort, I did find them deeply comforting; they brought tears to my eyes and a great sense of relief. I remembered that what I was experiencing wasn’t a personal tragedy, but instead an inescapable reality of existence.

“There will be bad days,” Ferraiolo said. “The world is a rough place.”

How to Get Started

Are you ready to benefit from Stoic teachings? Here are three keys to get you started:

• Be honest with yourself. If you’re going to make real changes, you need to see yourself clearly, including your limitations. “It’s difficult to develop an accurate assessment of oneself and one’s own character,” said Ferraiolo. “It takes brutal honesty about where we’re flawed and where we really need to work.” Acknowledge, for example, if you’re prone to feeling sorry for yourself or blaming your problems on others. Keep in mind that while the limitations are yours, they’re not personal. Like suffering, they’re a part of the shared human experience.
• Focus on controlling your own mind and actions. Leave aside useless struggles, like getting upset about the weather or the latest outrage by your political enemies. Ferraiolo recommends focusing instead on things that are actually yours to control. “Just by deciding that it be so, you can treat members of your family a certain way. You can govern yourself in a virtuous fashion.”
• Train your mind every day. It takes continual work to retrain yourself to respond differently to life’s challenges. Read a book like Ferraiolo’s or The Daily Stoic for daily reminders of the mindset you’re cultivating. “The Greco-Roman Stoics advised their students to have maxims at the ready,” said Ferraiolo—“brief, pithy reminders that they could recall at those moments when they most needed them. So even the masters who devoted their lives to this had to frequently remind themselves, ‘OK, listen, you’re angry, and that’s not going to help.’”

The full interview with Dr. Ferraiolo is available here: “ How to Train Your Mind Like the Stoics. ”

Ferraiolo, W. (2017). Meditations on self-discipline and failure: Stoic exercise for mental fitness . Croydon, UK: O-Books.

Seth J. Gillihan, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist and author specializing in mindful cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

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Essay on Peace

500 words essay peace.

Peace is the path we take for bringing growth and prosperity to society. If we do not have peace and harmony, achieving political strength, economic stability and cultural growth will be impossible. Moreover, before we transmit the notion of peace to others, it is vital for us to possess peace within. It is not a certain individual’s responsibility to maintain peace but everyone’s duty. Thus, an essay on peace will throw some light on the same topic.

Importance of Peace

History has been proof of the thousands of war which have taken place in all periods at different levels between nations. Thus, we learned that peace played an important role in ending these wars or even preventing some of them.

In fact, if you take a look at all religious scriptures and ceremonies, you will realize that all of them teach peace. They mostly advocate eliminating war and maintaining harmony. In other words, all of them hold out a sacred commitment to peace.

It is after the thousands of destructive wars that humans realized the importance of peace. Earth needs peace in order to survive. This applies to every angle including wars, pollution , natural disasters and more.

When peace and harmony are maintained, things will continue to run smoothly without any delay. Moreover, it can be a saviour for many who do not wish to engage in any disrupting activities or more.

In other words, while war destroys and disrupts, peace builds and strengthens as well as restores. Moreover, peace is personal which helps us achieve security and tranquillity and avoid anxiety and chaos to make our lives better.

How to Maintain Peace

There are many ways in which we can maintain peace at different levels. To begin with humankind, it is essential to maintain equality, security and justice to maintain the political order of any nation.

Further, we must promote the advancement of technology and science which will ultimately benefit all of humankind and maintain the welfare of people. In addition, introducing a global economic system will help eliminate divergence, mistrust and regional imbalance.

It is also essential to encourage ethics that promote ecological prosperity and incorporate solutions to resolve the environmental crisis. This will in turn share success and fulfil the responsibility of individuals to end historical prejudices.

Similarly, we must also adopt a mental and spiritual ideology that embodies a helpful attitude to spread harmony. We must also recognize diversity and integration for expressing emotion to enhance our friendship with everyone from different cultures.

Finally, it must be everyone’s noble mission to promote peace by expressing its contribution to the long-lasting well-being factor of everyone’s lives. Thus, we must all try our level best to maintain peace and harmony.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of the Essay on Peace

To sum it up, peace is essential to control the evils which damage our society. It is obvious that we will keep facing crises on many levels but we can manage them better with the help of peace. Moreover, peace is vital for humankind to survive and strive for a better future.

FAQ of Essay on Peace

Question 1: What is the importance of peace?

Answer 1: Peace is the way that helps us prevent inequity and violence. It is no less than a golden ticket to enter a new and bright future for mankind. Moreover, everyone plays an essential role in this so that everybody can get a more equal and peaceful world.

Question 2: What exactly is peace?

Answer 2: Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in which there is no hostility and violence. In social terms, we use it commonly to refer to a lack of conflict, such as war. Thus, it is freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.

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Peace: Definition and Philosophic Meaning Essay

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Peace is the absence of agitation or any form of disturbances leading to a state of serenity within an environment or in a person. The calmness and serenity that lead to an individual sense of peace are known as inner peace. To a nation, it is the normal state of harmony without incidence of hostility, violent crimes, or conflicts.

Inner peace is achieved when there is no conflict within the three most important aspects of a person, that is the body, mind, and soul. The feeling of inner peace does not depend on any external forces, the place we are in, the time, the current situation, the environment surrounding us, or the attitude of the people we are associating with at a particular moment. One can experience inner peace amid a hostile environment brought about by the negative attitude of people, war, and/or sickness. A person who has inner peace experiences justice, inner life balance, restfulness, resolution, freedom, harmony, and contentment. This inner peace should be strong enough to overcome anything that opposes it.

Peace is the cornerstone element that makes all other elements exist. Without peace in an area, a Nation, or the world, no development can take place. Political, economical, and cultural developments only take place when there is peace. On the other hand, development brings about peace. A good example is a scenario in poor countries in the world. Without economical, cultural, and political development, these nations are characterized by war and unending conflict. Modernization, economic funding, and political support from developed nations bring about peace in these nations. When there is proper health care, good governance, improved infrastructure, and the rule of law, the peace of a nation is realized. In turn, this national peace promotes inner personal peace.

The concept of peace

Peace is not an end to itself, but a way to peace. This concept has been used by many political activists in their quest to demand justice from the governing authority. There can never be peace in a person or Nation, without justice. Just as Martin Luther observed when he led the civil rights movement back in the 1960s, “true peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice” To promote world peace, various organizations across the globe have been established. The United Nations Peace Keeping Mission is mandated in peace promotion in nations where there is internal conflict. The Nobel Peace Prize was established to award individuals who promote and help achieve peace through ethical leadership.

Peace is the absence of conflict or violence, within a person or environment. Peace contributes to the development and is also achieved by development. Peace is not an end to itself but a way to achieving it. When justice is done, peace is achieved, in essence, peace exists everywhere, it is only because of limitations put by human beings that peace is not felt and realized. Inner and outer peace can be realized and expanded in everything that we do, as we learn to change our way of thinking.

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December 2, 2021

Peace Is More Than War’s Absence, and New Research Explains How to Build It

A new project measures ways to promote positive social relations among groups

By Peter T. Coleman , Allegra Chen-Carrel & Vincent Hans Michael Stueber

PeopleImages/Getty Images

Today, the misery of war is all too striking in places such as Syria, Yemen, Tigray, Myanmar and Ukraine. It can come as a surprise to learn that there are scores of sustainably peaceful societies around the world, ranging from indigenous people in the Xingu River Basin in Brazil to countries in the European Union. Learning from these societies, and identifying key drivers of harmony, is a vital process that can help promote world peace.

Unfortunately, our current ability to find these peaceful mechanisms is woefully inadequate. The Global Peace Index (GPI) and its complement the Positive Peace Index (PPI) rank 163 nations annually and are currently the leading measures of peacefulness. The GPI, launched in 2007 by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), was designed to measure negative peace , or the absence of violence, destructive conflict, and war. But peace is more than not fighting. The PPI, launched in 2009, was supposed to recognize this and track positive peace , or the promotion of peacefulness through positive interactions like civility, cooperation and care.

Yet the PPI still has many serious drawbacks. To begin with, it continues to emphasize negative peace, despite its name. The components of the PPI were selected and are weighted based on existing national indicators that showed the “strongest correlation with the GPI,” suggesting they are in effect mostly an extension of the GPI. For example, the PPI currently includes measures of factors such as group grievances, dissemination of false information, hostility to foreigners, and bribes.

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The index also lacks an empirical understanding of positive peace. The PPI report claims that it focuses on “positive aspects that create the conditions for a society to flourish.” However, there is little indication of how these aspects were derived (other than their relationships with the GPI). For example, access to the internet is currently a heavily weighted indicator in the PPI. But peace existed long before the internet, so is the number of people who can go online really a valid measure of harmony?

The PPI has a strong probusiness bias, too. Its 2021 report posits that positive peace “is a cross-cutting facilitator of progress, making it easier for businesses to sell.” A prior analysis of the PPI found that almost half the indicators were directly related to the idea of a “Peace Industry,” with less of a focus on factors found to be central to positive peace such as gender inclusiveness, equity and harmony between identity groups.

A big problem is that the index is limited to a top-down, national-level approach. The PPI’s reliance on national-level metrics masks critical differences in community-level peacefulness within nations, and these provide a much more nuanced picture of societal peace . Aggregating peace data at the national level, such as focusing on overall levels of inequality rather than on disparities along specific group divides, can hide negative repercussions of the status quo for minority communities.

To fix these deficiencies, we and our colleagues have been developing an alternative approach under the umbrella of the Sustaining Peace Project . Our effort has various components , and these can provide a way to solve the problems in the current indices. Here are some of the elements:

Evidence-based factors that measure positive and negative peace. The peace project began with a comprehensive review of the empirical studies on peaceful societies, which resulted in identifying 72 variables associated with sustaining peace. Next, we conducted an analysis of ethnographic and case study data comparing “peace systems,” or clusters of societies that maintain peace with one another, with nonpeace systems. This allowed us to identify and measure a set of eight core drivers of peace. These include the prevalence of an overarching social identity among neighboring groups and societies; their interconnections such as through trade or intermarriage; the degree to which they are interdependent upon one another in terms of ecological, economic or security concerns; the extent to which their norms and core values support peace or war; the role that rituals, symbols and ceremonies play in either uniting or dividing societies; the degree to which superordinate institutions exist that span neighboring communities; whether intergroup mechanisms for conflict management and resolution exist; and the presence of political leadership for peace versus war.

A core theory of sustaining peace . We have also worked with a broad group of peace, conflict and sustainability scholars to conceptualize how these many variables operate as a complex system by mapping their relationships in a causal loop diagram and then mathematically modeling their core dynamics This has allowed us to gain a comprehensive understanding of how different constellations of factors can combine to affect the probabilities of sustaining peace.

Bottom-up and top-down assessments . Currently, the Sustaining Peace Project is applying techniques such as natural language processing and machine learning to study markers of peace and conflict speech in the news media. Our preliminary research suggests that linguistic features may be able to distinguish between more and less peaceful societies. These methods offer the potential for new metrics that can be used for more granular analyses than national surveys.

We have also been working with local researchers from peaceful societies to conduct interviews and focus groups to better understand the in situ dynamics they believe contribute to sustaining peace in their communities. For example in Mauritius , a highly multiethnic society that is today one of the most peaceful nations in Africa, we learned of the particular importance of factors like formally addressing legacies of slavery and indentured servitude, taboos against proselytizing outsiders about one’s religion, and conscious efforts by journalists to avoid divisive and inflammatory language in their reporting.

Today, global indices drive funding and program decisions that impact countless lives, making it critical to accurately measure what contributes to socially just, safe and thriving societies. These indices are widely reported in news outlets around the globe, and heads of state often reference them for their own purposes. For example, in 2017 , Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, though he and his country were mired in corruption allegations, referenced his country’s positive increase on the GPI by stating, “Receiving such high praise from an institute that once named this country the most violent in the world is extremely significant.” Although a 2019 report on funding for peace-related projects shows an encouraging shift towards supporting positive peace and building resilient societies, many of these projects are really more about preventing harm, such as grants for bolstering national security and enhancing the rule of law.

The Sustaining Peace Project, in contrast, includes metrics for both positive and negative peace, is enhanced by local community expertise, and is conceptually coherent and based on empirical findings. It encourages policy makers and researchers to refocus attention and resources on initiatives that actually promote harmony, social health and positive reciprocity between groups. It moves away from indices that rank entire countries and instead focuses on identifying factors that, through their interaction, bolster or reduce the likelihood of sustaining peace. It is a holistic perspective.  

Tracking peacefulness across the globe is a highly challenging endeavor. But there is great potential in cooperation between peaceful communities, researchers and policy makers to produce better methods and metrics. Measuring peace is simply too important to get only half-right. 

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The Role of ‘Peace of Mind’ and ‘Meaningfulness’ as Psychological Concepts in Explaining Subjective Well-being

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• Published: 23 June 2022
• Volume 23 , pages 3331–3346, ( 2022 )

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• Vandepitte Sophie PhD   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6965-6775 1 ,
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Although extensive research has been conducted to explain what contributes to subjective wellbeing, still a substantial part of its variance remains unexplained. This study investigated whether psychological concepts ‘peace of mind’ and ‘meaningfulness’ contribute to SWB beyond the basic and psychological needs while using several needs theories as a theoretical basis and thereby hypothesizing that both concepts are actionable and help enhance SWB.

The cross-sectional data (N = 3770) of the Belgian National happiness study (2018) were used. Three components of SWB (life satisfaction, positive and negative affect) were identified as predicted variables and used in threefold stepwise forward regression analyses.

As expected both basic and psychological needs explained a considerable part of the three SWB components. However, including meaningfulness and peace of mind in the last step of the models resulted in a substantially higher total variance that was explained in these components (i.e. 56.7% for life satisfaction, 37.2% for positive affect, and 56.1% for negative affect). More specific, in the final models: basic needs, feelings of autonomy and relatedness, peace of mind and meaningfulness were significantly associated with the life satisfaction component. For the positive affect component: psychological needs, peace of mind, and meaningfulness were the significantly associated factors. Finally, the negative affect component was most significantly associated with basic needs, psychological needs, and peace of mind, while meaningfulness did not play a significant role in explaining negative affect.

This study reconfirms the value of several needs theories in explaining the components of SWB and the role of universal needs. The final steps of the models also indicate that different needs contribute independently to the different SWB components. This is the first study demonstrating that ‘meaningfulness’ and ‘peace of mind’ contribute substantially to SWB beyond the typical basic and psychological needs.

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1 Background

Over the last 50 years there has been a growing interest in the subjective well-being of individuals and nations in several research fields ranging from scientific and public policy environments to popular writing (Ngamaba, 2017 ; Diener et al., 2018 ). As such, subjective well-being (considered as the scientific counterpart of happiness) has increasingly being used alongside objective economic data to investigate social progress and prosperity, to evaluate public policy, and to predict outcomes in individuals and societies (Diener et al., 2006 ; Ngamaba, 2017 ; Vik & Carlquist, 2018 ). Indeed it is known that ‘happy people’ live longer and healthier lives, have more rewarding and stable relationships, are more productive, are more resilient against negative life events, donate more for charity, and are more likely to help others (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005 ; Diener & Chan, 2011 ; Diener et al., 2018 ).

According to Ed Diener’s definition (1984) subjective well-being (SWB) contains both life satisfaction and an affective dimension. As such, high subjective well-being can be defined as a reflection of positive emotions and thoughts about life in terms of frequent positive affect and infrequent negative affect and a sense of high satisfaction with life as a whole (Diener, 1984 ; Diener & Chan, 2011 ).

Early research into explaining what contributes to subjective well-being mainly aimed to answer research questions, such as what universal physiological/basic needs (such as: living conditions, health, income) are correlated with subjective well-being (Diener et al., 1999 ). These basic needs strongly correspond to the lowest levels of Maslow’s needs hierarchy which depicts a five stage motivational theory whereby lower hierarchical needs must be satisfied before satisfaction of higher hierarchical needs can be accomplished (Maslow, 1943 ). As such, based on this approach, Wilson already concluded in 1967 that happy people were well-paid, young, educated, religious and married (Wilson, 1967 ). Later, because only a relatively small part of variance in SWB could be explained, the focus shifted towards a more psychological approach for explaining SWB (Diener et al., 1999 ) which again can be related to Maslow’s universal needs theory, but also to the self-determination theory of Ryan & Deci ( 2000 ) and the six-factor model of psychological well-being (Ryff & Keyes, 1995 )This approach thus focused on internal psychological structures and social processes that also contribute to an enhanced SWB, such as: the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness, and competence according to the self-determination theory) (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ), personality traits, aspirations, comparisons, and processes of adaptation to certain life events. Consequently, these studies mainly concluded that ‘happy’ people have a positive temperament, are extroverted, tend to see things from the bright side, have better social relations, can better deal with bad events, and have the necessary resources for personal progress and to accomplish their goals (Diener et al., 1999 ; Diener, 2012 ).

In the recent years, the idea of universal needs revived after it faded for years because researchers were more convinced that socialization and adaptation shapes what contributes to well-being (Tay and Diener 2011 ). In 2011, Tay and Diener conducted a cross-sectional study into the association between the fulfillment of basic (food and shelter, safety and security) and psychological needs (social support, love, respect, pride, mastery, and autonomy) and SWB (Tay and Diener 2011 ). They also used the discussed needs theories as a guide to investigate whether these universal needs explain SWB. Based on their conducted analyses they concluded that fulfillment of different needs is largely independent of whether other needs are fulfilled. They also concluded that correlates differ among different types of well-being (life satisfaction and affective components). As such, basic needs correlate most strongly with life satisfaction and negative feelings whereas social and respect needs more strongly correlate with positive feelings and autonomy and respect with negative feelings. They also compared people with high fulfillment of needs with people who had low need fulfillment and concluded that fulfillment of needs is a prerequisite for SWB, but not enough to ascertain high subjective well-being. As such, the authors argued that other additional factors are relevant beyond the investigated basic and psychological needs.

This conclusion forms the starting point of the current study. In other words, this study picks up where the authors left off by investigating if psychological concepts further contribute to SWB after controlling for the lower basic and psychological needs (focus on: autonomy, competence, and relatedness as defined by the self-determination theory). In this light, two psychological concepts derived from the Ancient Greek philosophy were considered: ‘meaningfulness’ (as part of ‘eudaimonic well-being’) and ‘peace of mind’ (linked to a key characteristic of ‘ataraxia’: equanimity).

First of all, ‘peace of mind’ (PoM) can be defined as an internal state of peacefulness and harmony (Lee et al., 2013 ). The choice for this psychological concept as potential contributing factor of SWB is linked to several philosophical movements. First, it is linked to the Pyrrhonist practice where ataraxia was considered as a necessary prerequisite of happiness (Warren, 2002 ). Next, in the tradition of Epicurus, equanimity - as a key feature of ataraxia - can be defined as an even-minded state (being calm and stable) towards several experiences despite their emotional valence (unpleasant, neutral, pleasant) and therefore manifests as a balanced reaction to both misery and joy and protects against negative emotions or events (Desbordes, Gard et al. 2015 ). As such, unpleasant emotions can be experienced without denying, aversion or judging, while pleasant emotions can be experienced without overexcitement and the tendency to get addicted to those moments (Grabovac et al., 2011 ). Although peace of mind does not fully capture this philosophical construct, it serves as a valuable approach for its empirical measurement as it is closely linked to equanimity which, as discussed, describes the capacity to find inner peace or an even-mind. Further, PoM has always played a central role in the science of happiness of Eastern cultures, such as Buddhism (Lee et al., 2013 ). Nevertheless, it has been understudied in SWB research of modern Western cultures (Lee et al., 2013 ) although recent evidence indicates that peace of mind also contributes to SWB in Western cultures. For example, a recently conducted study by Sikka and colleagues ( 2018 ) has shown that PoM generates enhanced affect regulation, which can be considered a prerequisite of better SWB (Sikka et al., 2018 ). The study of Lee et al., ( 2013 ) that developed a Peace of Mind Scale concluded that PoM is highly correlated with mental health and recommended to further elaborate on the role of PoM on SWB (Lee et al., 2013 ). Based on the available evidence, we argue that PoM should be studied as a potential contributing factor of SWB.

Next, ‘meaningfulness’ was identified as the second psychological concept. This concept is linked to the Aristotelian philosophy of eudaimonia. Although traditionally most SWB research focused on the hedonic perspective (affective or ‘feeling good’ dimension) of well-being, there has been a growing interest in the eudaimonic perspective of well-being (the ‘living well’ dimension) (Schotanus-Dijkstra et al., 2016 ). Eudaimonia, as Aristotle understood it, is living a complete human life by realizing one’s full human potential through virtuous activity (arête) (Fowers, 2012 ). Despite Aristotle’s objectivist approach to assess the good life, modern psychological sciences rely on subjectivist measures of the good life, such as meaningfulness. According to the philosopher Susan Wolf ( 2012 ), a good life is a meaningful life. Such a sense of meaningfulness emerges from the fulfillment of meanings or values – the things people find important in life (Baumeister, 1991 ; Bauer et al., 2015 ). The concept of meaningfulness can thus be interpreted as a subjective sense of living a good life, as a subjective impression of eudaimonia, and in that way, meaningfulness represents a sense of eudaimonic well-being. Eudaimonia - including ‘meaningfulness’ - has theoretically most often being approached as a SWB outcome (Diener et al., 2018 ). In contrast to this approach, we agree with the growing evidence suggesting that eudaimonic well-being is actionable (Ryan & Martela, 2016 ; Ryff, 2017 ; Diener et al., 2018 ) because it should not be considered as a kind of happiness, but as a good way of life that provides ingredients - such as ‘meaningfulness’ - that contribute to an enhanced SWB (Ryan & Martela, 2016 ; Diener et al., 2018 ). Moreover, when absent there is a substantial risk for mental illness (Ryff, 2017 ). As a result, awareness is also growing that promoting positive mental health is important in treating mental health problems (Ryff, 2017 ). An example of this is the use of ‘well-being therapy’ where the eudaimonic well-being approach is actively used by promoting positive psychological experiences to prevent mental illness or relapse (Ryff, 2017 ). More information on well-being therapy interventions can be consulted in (Ryff, 2014 ). Hence, this rationale indicates that eudaimonic well-being -including meaningfulness- can contribute to a higher subjective well-being.

In summary, this study further builds on the research of Tay and Diener ( 2011 ) and aims to investigate the potential additional roles of two psychological phenomena in further explaining the different types of SWB (life evaluation, positive and negative affect) in individuals. In other words, this study investigates to what extent ‘meaningfulness’ and ‘peace of mind’ contribute to explain life satisfaction and positive and negative affect beyond the well-known basic needs and the psychological needs. ‘Meaningfulness’ thus represents a (cognitive) evaluation that a particular value or meaning has been fulfilled (Bauer, 2016 ), whereas ‘peace of mind’ is closely related to ‘equanimity’ which can be seen as an adaptive form of affect regulation (Desbordes et al., 2015 ). As both psychological constructs (potentially) tap into different routes to enhanced SWB – a cognitive and an affective route – we deem them relevant candidates to further the research of Tay and Diener ( 2011 ).

2.1 Data source

The present study uses the cross-sectional data based on a sample (N = 3770) of the Belgian National NN-UGent happiness study that was held between December 6th, 2017 and January 3rd, 2018 (Annemans, 2018 ). After the researchers obtained approval from the Ethical Committee of the Ghent University Hospital the data-collection phase started during which people completed an online anonymous questionnaire. Inclusion criteria to participate were living in Belgium and sufficient understanding of Dutch or French. More detailed information on the Belgian National NN-UGent happiness study and the published reports can be consulted elsewhere (Annemans, 2018 , Annemans L 2020 , Annemans & Vandepitte, 2020 ). The participants’ characteristics are outlined in Table  1 .

2.2 Measures

2.2.1 components of subjective well-being.

Life satisfaction (the evaluative component of SWB) was identified as the predicted variable and was measured with the widely known Cantril Ladder (Cantril 2001, Bjornskov 2010 , Veenhoven, 2012 ) which asks the following question: “Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to ten at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder do you feel you personally stand at the present time?”( OECD 2013 ). This one-item question has proven reliability. As such, a correlation of 0.75 between the Cantril Ladder from the Gallup World Poll and life satisfaction as measured in the World Values Survey was found (Bjornskov, 2010 ).

Positive and Negative affect (the affective component of SWB) were questioned using an abbreviated version of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedules (PANAS) (Watson et al., 1988 ). Positive affect was the sum of positive emotions items divided by the number of items, while negative affect was the sum of negative emotions divided by the number of items. As a result their respective scales ranged between: 0–4 (never to always). The Cronbach’s alpha of both affect scales was 0,798 in the negative affect scale and 0,661 in the positive affect scale.

2.2.2 Sociodemographics

The following sociodemographic variables are controlled for in the model: age, gender, educational level, region, occupational status, and equivalised income. Educational level was divided in three groups according to the International Standard Classification of Education: low educated (from early childhood education to lower secondary education), medium educated (upper secondary education to post-secondary non-tertiary education), and high educated (short-cycle tertiary education to doctoral degree or equivalent). Gender was divided in three categories: woman, man, trans person. The variable region distinguished between Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia. Occupational status contained the following categories: professionally active, unemployed, unable to work, retired (or early retirement), student, housewife/husband, informal caregiver, career break, or other situation. Household income was calculated based on the OECD-modified equivalence scale (EUROSTAT 2018 ) that assigns one adult household member a value of 1, while each other adult member receives a value of 0.5, and each child member a value of 0.3.

2.2.3 Basic needs

Satisfaction with one’s safety (circumstance), living conditions, financial situation, daily main activity (job, voluntary work, studies, chores), sleep and subjective health were questioned. To obtain information on the first four variables, a question was asked about how satisfied one was with a certain life domain nowadays on a 11 point Likert scale ranging from 0 (totally unsatisfied) to 10 (totally satisfied). Subjective health was also evaluated with an eleven point Likert scale whereby ‘0’ represented the worst imaginable health and ‘10’ the best imaginable health. Finally, sleep deprivation was evaluated with a five point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).

2.2.4 Psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness

According to the Self-Determination Theory (concerned with human motivation and personality) three basic intrinsic psychological needs were identified that determine the well-being and growth, the intrinsic motivation and the self-regulation of individuals: autonomy (a sense of psychological freedom), competence (sense of effectiveness and mastery) and relatedness (sense of connection with important others) (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). When these three innate psychological needs are fulfilled, this stimulates intrinsic motivation and leads to enhanced internally regulated motivation, well-being, creativity and performance, while a lack of fulfillment of these needs causes diminished motivation (more externally regulated) and well-being. In this study, the basic psychological needs were measured with a shortened version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (6 items) (Chen et al., 2015 ). This scale combines a balanced combination of satisfaction (positively formulated) and frustration (negatively formulated) items of which the latter are especially predictive of ill-being (problematic behavior and psychopathology) (Vansteenkiste & Ryan, 2013 ). Each psychological need was evaluated by combining a positive and a negative item on a 5-point Likert scale ranging between 0 (never) and 4 (always). Scores for each psychological need were then calculated by subtracting the positive item from the negative item of each particular need. This resulted in a score between − 4 (high frustration) and 4 (high satisfaction). The correlations were respectively: 0.57 for the autonomy items, 0.61 for the competence items and 0.58 for the relatedness items.

2.2.5 Peace of mind

To collect data on the peace of mind an abbreviated version of the recently developed “Peace of Mind Scale“ was used (Lee et al., 2013 ). As such, the following two statements were questioned in Dutch (based on forward-back translation) using a 5 point Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to 5 (all of the time): ‘my mind is free and at ease’ and ‘I have peace and harmony in my mind’. The scores in this scale, by combining the two questions, ranged between 0 (very low peace of mind) and 10 (very high piece of mind). A correlation of 0,868 indicated good reliability.

2.2.6 Meaningfulness

Meaningfulness data were based on Diener’s Flourishing scale whereby only the item referring to having a purposeful life was selected and divided in two items because in the Dutch language (forward-back translation) ‘purpose’ and ‘meaningfulness’ are not the same concepts (Diener et al., 2010 ). As such, two questions were asked: ‘my life has a purpose’ and ‘what I do in life is meaningful’. To answer these questions a 5-point Likert scale was used ranging from completely disagree to completely agree. The total score on this scale, by combining the two questions, varied between 0 (no meaningful living) and 10 (very meaningful living). A correlation of 0.79 indicated good reliability.

2.3 Statistical analysis

The eligible variables for the model were included in the multiple regression model using a three step forward selection process starting with the basic needs and sociodemographic variables, second, including the psychological needs and finally, adding the ‘meaningfulness’ and ‘peace of mind’ variables. Additionally, for each step, the Adjusted R squared was reported in order to evaluate if the model improved when adding new variables while correcting for the higher number of parameters relative to the sample size.

Alongside building the model, collinearity diagnostics (Variance Inflation Factor, Tolerance) were performed and correlations (see correlation matrices in Appendix 1) were analyzed to test for potential multicollinearity (Posada & Buckley, 2004 ). Based on these analyses, none of the variables had to be removed. Also, the assumptions underlying the use of multiple regression analysis were checked via graphical plotting of the residuals. All analyses were conducted in IBM SPSS statistical software (version 24.0).

3.1 The role of basic needs in explaining subjective well-being

As discussed above threefold stepwise forward regression analyses were conducted after inspecting the univariate associations (consultation based on request). Based on these analyses, equivalised income was removed due to multicollinearity (equivalised income and financial satisfaction).

Next, in the first step of the models basic needs were entered whilst controlling for several demographics (age, gender, educational level, region, and occupational status). The results of this first step are displayed in Table  2 . The adjusted R squared (explained variance) was 45.4% in the predicted variable life satisfaction, 16.3% in the dependent variable positive affect, and 33.8% in the predicted variable negative affect. For all the three SWB components (life satisfaction, positive and negative affect) all the included basic needs (subjective health, sleep deprivation, satisfaction with financial situation, satisfaction with living conditions, satisfaction with safety) were significantly associated with the dependent variable. For life satisfaction: subjective health (p ≤ 0.001), satisfaction with the financial situation (p ≤ 0.001) and with the living conditions (p ≤ 0.001) were identified as factors with high relative importance in relation to life satisfaction as the standardized beta coefficients of these factors were nominally the highest (Siegel, 2016 ). For positive affect: subjective health (p ≤ 0.001) and satisfaction with living conditions (p ≤ 0.001) were identified as strong positively associated factors. Finally, for the predicted variable negative affect, sleep deprivation was identified as a strong positively associated factor (p ≤ 0.001) with the nominally highest standardized beta coefficient.

3.2 The role of psychological needs in explaining subjective well-being

In the next step of the models the adjusted R squared increased towards 50.6% for life satisfaction, towards 27.9% for positive affect and towards 48.9% for negative affect. The strongest increases in the explained variance were thus detected in the dependent variables positive (+ 11.6%) and negative affect (+ 15.1%). Further, all the basic needs that were already included in the first step of the models remained significant despite two exceptions: satisfaction with the financial situation was no longer significantly associated with the positive and negative affect components and sleep deprivation was no longer significantly associated with positive affect while it remained a significantly associated factor of negative affect (p ≤ 0.001).

The newly added psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness, competence) were significantly associated with all three SWB components. However, the strongest associations were found between competence and the predicted variables positive affect (p ≤ 0.001) and negative affect (p ≤ 0.001). For both predicted variables, competence was the predictor with the nominally highest standardized beta coefficient.

3.3 The additional role of ‘peace of mind’ and ‘meaningfulness’ in explaining subjective well-being

In the final models the adjusted R squared increased towards 56.7% for life satisfaction (+ 6.1%), 37.2% for positive affect (+ 9.3%), and 56.1% for negative affect (+ 7.2%) with the strongest increase detected in positive affect.

In this final step of the model, peace of mind became one of the strongest associated factors in all three SWB components compared with the other basic needs and psychological needs, more specific: life satisfaction (p ≤ 0.001), positive affect (p ≤ 0.001), and negative affect (p ≤ 0.001). For all three SWB components, the standardized beta of peace of mind was nominally stronger compared to those of the other basic and psychological needs.

Next, meaningfulness also played a crucial role in the life satisfaction (p ≤ 0.001) and in the positive affect (p ≤ 0.001) components of SWB. Nevertheless, in the negative affect component, meaningfulness was not an associated factor.

Regarding the earlier included basic needs, the results of the final step of the models indicated that basic needs became less important in explaining positive and negative affect compared to life satisfaction. For both positive and negative affect, the standardized beta coefficients of the basic needs were nominally among the weakest in the model. This corresponds to the findings in the two earlier steps of the models where basic needs already played a more important role in life satisfaction than in positive and negative affect. However, while subjective health, satisfaction with the financial situation and satisfaction with the living conditions remained important in explaining life satisfaction, sleep deprivation and satisfaction with safety were no longer significantly associated. The latter two factors did however remain significantly associated with negative affect (both p ≤ 0.001). Regarding the psychological needs, especially competence remained important in explaining positive (p ≤ 0.001) and negative affect (p ≤ 0.001), while this factor was no longer significantly associated with life satisfaction. Autonomy and relatedness remained significantly associated with all dependent variables.

4 Discussion

This study investigated whether the psychological concepts ‘meaningfulness’ and ‘peace of mind’ contribute to SWB (in terms of life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) beyond basic and psychological needs of which it is accepted that they play an important role. Next, this study provides detailed evidence about the importance of the different needs in relation to the different SWB components. As a starting point the evidence and conclusions discussed in the research of Tay and Diener ( 2011 ) were used where six basic and psychological needs and their relation with the different components of SWB were investigated. However, the current study goes one step further by investigating whether two psychological concepts further contribute to SWB.

In order to answer this research question three 3-step multiple regression models were built, inspired by several needs theories (Maslow, 1943 ; Ryff & Singer, 1998 ; Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). As such, in a first step factors corresponding to lower basic needs were entered in the models, followed by including factors related to the typical psychological needs (derived from the self-determination theory), and finally including meaningfulness and peace of mind in the latest step. The latter was done under the assumption that both meaningfulness and peace of mind additionally contribute to achieve SWB.

Based on the results of this study several conclusions can be drawn that form a first theoretical basis for future policy recommendations. First, in congruence with the study of Tay & Diener ( 2011 ), this research reconfirms that using needs theories as a starting point was appropriate and has led to an increase in the variance that was explained in SWB by this stepwise procedure (Tay and Diener 2011 ). Next, as Ryan & Deci ( 2000 ), and Maslow ( 1943 ) argue, these findings also indicate that universal needs exist and that fulfilling them is related to enhanced SWB (Maslow, 1943 ; Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). Further, our evidence is also in congruence with Tay & Diener ( 2011 ) who concluded that fulfilment of the classical basic and psychological needs is a prerequisite, but is not enough to achieve a high level of SWB (Tay and Diener 2011 ). As the authors argued that other factors are relevant in explaining SWB as well without simply attributing those to genetic components, this study indeed confirmed this hypothesis by showing that peace of mind and meaningfulness also substantially contribute to SWB.

The first step of the models indicated that basic needs play an important role in the different components of SWB and especially in life satisfaction where already 47% of its variance was explained by these needs. This finding is again in line with Tay & Diener ( 2011 ) who also concluded that basic needs are most important in explaining life satisfaction. A novel and remarkable finding is that sleep deprivation is highly related to negative affect, while its role is rather limited in the other SWB components.

Next, including psychological needs caused an additional increase in the total variance explained in the three components, with the highest increase in positive and negative affect. First, the results in this step underpin the extensive evidence into the importance of fulfilling psychological needs besides fulfilling basic needs as claimed by the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ; Vansteenkiste & Ryan, 2013 ). Further, this evidence also corresponds to the earlier research of Tay & Diener ( 2011 ) who also pointed out that psychological needs where more strongly associated with positive and negative affect (Tay and Diener 2011 ) than with life satisfaction and with Steverink et al., ( 2020 ) who also concluded that different social needs (here focus on: affection, behavioral confirmation, and status) contribute to different types of well-functioning (defined as: psychological strength, life satisfaction, positive affect, and the absence of loneliness and negative affect) (Steverink et al., 2020 ). Based on both studies and our new evidence it becomes clear that it is not only important to look at both basic and psychological needs, but also to focus on different social needs independently as they contribute differently to our overall well-being. Finally, while not measured in the study of Tay & Diener ( 2011 ), the current study also pointed out that competence is most strongly related to positive and negative affect, more than to life satisfaction.

The most novel finding of this study was that including meaningfulness and peace of mind resulted in a substantial increase in the total variance that was explained in the different components of SWB. More specific, the explained variance in life satisfaction increased towards 56.7%, in positive affect towards 37.2%, and in negative affect towards 56.1%. The latter thus confirms our hypothesis that additional factors related to psychological concepts do play a role in explaining SWB beyond the typical basic and psychological needs. Remarkably here is that while both concepts were associated with life satisfaction and positive affect, in the negative affect component only peace of mind was strongly associated and meaningfulness was not associated with negative affect. A possible explanation could be that meaningfulness, or the cognitive evaluation that a particular value or meaning has been fulfilled (Bauer, 2016 ), predominately provokes positive evaluations about one’s life (i.e. life satisfaction) and positive feelings. With regard to negative emotions, however, emotion regulation or PoM might be a more effective strategy than meaningfulness to diminish these emotions. Indeed, as the meta-analysis of Berking and Wuperman ( 2012 ) suggests, maladaptive emotion regulation is related to various forms of psychopathology. Moreover, several other conclusions can be drawn based on the final models without claiming the direction of causal relationship between the predicted SWB components and the needs. First, it should be noted that several basic needs (satisfaction with living conditions, satisfaction with the financial situation, and perceived health) remained important in the latest step of the life satisfaction model which was not the case in the affective components. This shows that the life satisfaction component of SWB highly depends on basic needs even when psychological needs may be fulfilled. Moreover, this finding contains a clear policy message to keep investing in health for all and ‘good societal livability’. Further, the results in the final positive affect model suggest that especially feelings of competence, peace of mind and meaningfulness had the highest relative importance in relation to positive affect. This is an important finding as it shows that people must experience feelings of competence, have inner peace and experience meaningfulness in what they undertake in order to report high levels of positive affect even when other basic and psychological needs are fulfilled. Finally, the final negative affect model indicated the apparent importance of good sleep, feelings of competence and high peace of mind for experiencing low negative affect independently of whether other basic and psychological needs have been met. This finding again contains an important message. If we want to avoid or prevent negative feelings/emotions which lead to lower levels of SWB it is important to have enough sleep, experience inner peace and feel competent.

Some strengths and weaknesses should be mentioned allowing to better understand the context of these findings. A first strength is that this study had a notable large sample size based on a sample of Belgian citizens. Although we also constructed a representative sub-sample of this sample (N = 1700), we decided to use the full sample for two reasons: the main purpose in the research was to investigate associations between variables and the models were controlled for demographic characteristics. A second strength is that many variables and concepts potentially related to SWB were questioned, as such allowing to build these three step models and to consider a wide range of factors. Third, the results of this study have contributed to new evidence into this research field by introducing meaningfulness and peace of mind variables as potential and actionable contributing factors of SWB. Fourth, we were able to draw some clear conclusions based on the results of our models that can be further investigated and translated into valuable policy recommendations.

Our study also had some weaknesses. First, although it was certainly a major strength that many concepts were questioned, this approach resulted in the necessity to shorten or slightly adapt several measurements in order to limit the time to fill out the questionnaire to avoid response bias. As a result, several measurements were no longer strictly validated measures and the reported Cronbach’s alpha’s were lower (but still sufficient) because only a restricted number of items were selected to measure several constructs. Also, when Dutch versions were not available in the literature, we had to translate them using a forward back translation method. Second, due to the cross-sectional nature of our data no causal relationship or bidirectional causality between variables could be investigated. Therefore, in future studies, experimental interventions targeted to fulfill certain needs is highly desirable. Third, we did not include interaction terms in our model as a previous similar high-quality study concluded that there was a large independence of needs in affecting SWB (Tay and Diener 2011 ). Fourth, we only used self-report questionnaires which can induce bias from a person’s mood or social desirability bias. However, social desirability bias should have remained limited because the questionnaire was strictly anonymous. Nevertheless, future research could benefit from using additional measurement methods to obtain information about needs and SWB. Finally, because an online questionnaire was used, only people who have access and who are familiar with internet participated. Also, as people were recruited via social media and a research and consulting company, we have no data on the non-response.

Next, important to mention as well, is that income was excluded from our model due to its high conceptual overlap with ‘satisfaction with the financial situation’. The latter was chosen over income because it is a wider concept also taking into account the impact of loans and debts and because it has been argued that once needs are taken into account the role of income disappears in explaining SWB (Tay and Diener 2011 ).

Finally, although a large percentage of the total variance was explained by our model, there is still room for improvement in explaining SWB. As such, additional factors that we have not captured in our model could also contribute to subjective well-being. One hypothesis is that a person’s tendency to experience ‘joy in life’ (not measured in this study) could be added. The latter could be conducted under the assumption that this concept covers a certain personal emotion or state that also contributes to SWB, but that was not yet captured by other variables. Finally, it would have been interesting to add a person’s intrinsic aspirations (such as: meaningful relationships, personal growth, and community contributions) and extrinsic aspirations (wealth, fame, and image) to our model because previous research has already revealed that having strong extrinsic aspirations is negatively associated with well-being, while having strong intrinsic aspirations is positively associated with well-being (Ryan et al., 1999 ). Therefore, future research investigating the potential added value of these concepts to SWB could complete our model.

In conclusion, this study contributed to today’s knowledge about SWB by explaining a large amount of its variance based on three models that integrated elements of several needs theories. Next, the results confirmed that meaningfulness and especially peace of mind contribute substantially to SWB beyond the typical basic and psychological needs. Further, this study strengthens the existing rationale for approaching peace of mind and meaningfulness as actionable factors that are related to high SWB, instead of rather approaching them as SWB outcomes. Finally, this study showed that different types of needs play an independent role in the different components of SWB. As such, life satisfaction is seemingly the most correlated with basic needs, peace of mind and meaningfulness; positive affect is seemingly most strongly related to high feelings of competence, peace of mind and meaningfulness; and negative affect is seemingly most strongly associated with sleep deprivation, low competence and low peace of mind. These insights can serve as a starting point to develop adequate interventions and policy measures in order to enhance SWB.

Availability of data and material

The data supporting this article can be made available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code Availability

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Sophie, V., Sara, C., Jellen, T. et al. The Role of ‘Peace of Mind’ and ‘Meaningfulness’ as Psychological Concepts in Explaining Subjective Well-being. J Happiness Stud 23 , 3331–3346 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-022-00544-z

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11 Benefits of Peace of Mind and Tranquility

Peace of mind is a state of tranquility and inner calm that brings numerous benefits to one’s overall well-being.

The benefits of peace of mind are numerous. It enhances mental health by reducing stress and anxiety levels. When the mind is at peace, it can focus better, think more clearly, and make decisions with greater clarity and confidence.

This heightened mental clarity also promotes creativity and problem-solving abilities, as worries or distractions do not cloud the mind.

A peaceful and tranquil mind is often associated with yogis, hermits, or monks sitting alone in a far-off place, in an ashram, cave, or monastery, praying or meditating all day.

The truth is that peace of mind can be attained and enjoyed here and now, even while leading an everyday, ordinary life with a job and family.

A peaceful mind means a mind that is calm and tranquil and stays poised in the various situations of daily life. A person with such a mind is more focused, stable, and efficient. This is a habit you can develop. It is a most helpful skill that can positively change one’s life.

Peace of mind sharpens the five senses, calms down the mind and the emotions, and enables you to focus more easily on mental and physical activities.

“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” – James Allen

11 Benefits of Peace of Mind

What are the benefits of peace of mind?

Peace of mind, which is inner peace, offers countless benefits:

• Better concentration ability, meaning you can focus on anything despite distractions.
• You become more efficient in handling your daily affairs of life. A tranquil mind makes better judgments and better decisions.
• It contributes to a sense of inner strength and confidence.
• It increases patience, tolerance, and tact.
• A peaceful mind reduces and eliminates stress, anxieties, and worries.
• There is a sense of inner happiness and bliss when there is calmness.
• With a peaceful mind, there are no disturbing and uncontrolled thoughts, and this helps you fall asleep easily and sleep soundly.
• When your mind is at peace, you are not affected by what people think or say about you.
• A peaceful and tranquil mind is free from restless thinking and running from one unimportant thought to another.
• With a peaceful mind, you stop being swayed and agitated by events, problems, or difficulties.
• A tranquil mind helps you maintain a state of inner poise and clear judgment in all situations.

This is just a small list of the benefits of peace of mind, but I hope it is enough to let you consider gaining this skill.

Release stress and enjoy inner peace in daily life Formats Available: PDF and EPUB.

Additional Benefits

Peace of mind fosters better physical health. The mind-body connection is powerful, and when the mind is calm, it positively impacts the body.

A peaceful mind can boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, and improve overall bodily functions. This creates a positive feedback loop where a healthy mind supports a healthy body and vice versa.

In addition, peace of mind enriches relationships and enhances social interactions. When you are at peace with yourself, you are more patient, empathetic, and understanding towards others. This helps improve relationships with family, friends, and colleagues.

A peaceful demeanor can be contagious, spreading positivity and harmony.

Quotes About the Benefits of Pace of Mind

“Peace is the inner nature of humankind. If you find it within yourself, you will then find it everywhere.” – Ramana Maharshi

“When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities.” – The Dalai Lama

“The life of inner peace, being harmonious and without stress, is the easiest type of existence.” – Norman Vincent Peale

“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.” – James Allen

You can find many articles on peace of mind and tranquility on this website , as well as books that teach this topic in detail.

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Join him on a fabulous journey to self-improvement, success, positivity, inner peace, and meditation through his website, articles, and books .

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Why Self-Preservation Is Key to Protecting Your Peace Every Day

Hold on to those moments that are just for you

Olga Rolenko / Moment / Getty

Understanding Self-Preservation

Self-preservation in different contexts.

• Self-Preservation and Personal Growth

Developing Self-Preservation Skills

Most afternoons, I enjoy a hot cup of tea with a splash of milk while sitting in silence at the dining table. It’s 10 minutes of solitude before my husband and kids come home and chaos ensues where I have to jump from snack-making, dinner-prepping, and sock-picking to errand running.

I protect this time like my life depends on it. Here’s how that kind of self-preservation may be the key to maintaining peace in your mind and body every day.

Liz Hughes, MEd, LPCC , founder and therapist of Mind Body Therapy explains that self-preservation is our innate biological instinct to stay alive.

Basic Instinct of Self-Preservation in Organisms

When I was pregnant with my son, I went hiking with my sister. Halfway through our trek, my sister’s face suddenly turned white. She spotted a bear about 30 feet from us. My hands immediately grabbed my belly and without thinking, I speed-waddled backwards until the creature was out of sight and started sprinting. 

Self-preservation doesn’t just occur for humans. All animals have a biological instinct to avoid harm, evade predators, and do what it takes to survive.

Fleeing the scene gave me and my unborn child the best chance of survival. If I was closer to the bear or dashed towards it, it may have mauled me for its own self-preservation.

Psychological Aspects of Self-Preservation

There are several psychological responses such as flight, flight or freeze which may coincide with emotions such as anxiety, panic or fear.

“Some people are more resilient to physical or psychological threats while others may be severely impacted. Researchers today continue to explore the reasoning behind the resiliency of humans but some research suggests there are genetic and personality components that lead to better outcomes in the face of adversity,” Hughes says.

The Role of Self-Preservation in Mental Health

Self-preservation has an important role in mental health. It helps us protect ourselves from emotional and psychological harm—it doesn't just mean running way from bears!

Self-preservation can look like any number of things like the following:

• Setting boundaries
• Practicing self-care
• Adopting healthy coping mechanisms
• Taking breaks at work
• Avoiding certain people or social situations you’ve had negative experiences with

Self-preservation can look different depending on the context. 

Self-Preservation in the Workplace

Hughes shares that at the workplace, someone can use self-preservation by pausing before reacting to a difficult situation.

“If your tendency at work is to immediately take the blame for something even if it isn’t your mistake, you can try pausing and sitting in awkward silence. Conversely, if you usually jump to blame others at work maybe you can try pausing and taking a breath before speaking your thoughts,” explained Hughes.

Self-Preservation in Relationships and Social Interactions

Ricki Romm, LCSW , a psychotherapist who helps individuals and couples explains that self-preservation means protecting your own well-being as part of maintaining a healthy relationship with a partner. 

“That might mean setting and maintaining personal boundaries, expressing or advocating for your own needs , or taking steps to preserve your sense of self and individuality. The goal is to build a relationship where both parties can thrive, rather than prioritizing one’s needs over another’s,” Romm says.

Self-Preservation in Challenging or Dangerous Situations

Hughes shares that in a dangerous situation, it may be counterintuitive to slow down and consider the best option available to you; however, it might be more helpful to do this than making an impulsive decision rooted in anxiety or fear.

For instance, when paramedics first enter a scene, they do not immediately rush to the injured person. Their first step is to check for danger and assess the environment to ensure it’s safe before approaching.

Not every difficult situation you encounter in your life will be this dramatic. With luck, you'll never face an inherently dangerous situation at all! Even so, following those steps to stop, breathe, and think will be a huge boost to your self-preservation toolkit, even if your own personal danger zone is your living room after everyone gets home in the afternoon.

Self-Preservation and Personal Growth

Self-preservation can be used as a personal development tool. This involves consciously prioritizing your emotional and physical well-being and safety.

Overcoming Fear

Romm shares that self-preservation can help to overcome fear and self-doubt by building resilience and confidence. 

“When you take care of yourself, you have a greater capacity to navigate challenges," Romm says. "And the more you see yourself as capable of navigating challenges, the less you fear them or doubt your ability to do so."

Cultivating Self-Compassion

When you focus on self-preservation, you become more mindful of your needs and feelings. This allows you to respond to yourself with kindness rather than self-criticism.

Setting boundaries to protect your mental and emotional health reinforces the idea that you deserve care and respect. This helps you build a compassionate attitude towards yourself.

Stress and burnout are threats to our well-being. Engaging in self-preservation can make it easier to give yourself a break and practice self-care since you’re less likely to be overwhelmed or reactive.

Nurturing Self-Acceptance

Self-preservation encourages acceptance of your limits, imperfections, strengths and vulnerabilities without judgment. It recognizes that it’s okay to prioritize your needs and not always meet external expectations.

When you preserve your well-being, you’re creating a safe space to grow and heal. It gives you permission to accept who you are now while you work on becoming your best self.

Romm advises that for many people, the hardest part about developing self-preservation skills is doing the internal work.

“First, being honest with yourself about what your needs are is often easier said than done, especially if you were taught to focus on or prioritize others," Romm says. "And then understanding what gets in your way of taking care of yourself.

She says that beliefs about what you deserve, should need, or should can make it more difficult enact self-care or find support.

Hughes shares that it can be difficult to challenge our biological response to things like fight, flight or freeze. However, if someone wants to improve their self-preservation skills, she recommends working on emotion regulation practices. 

Healthy emotional regulation means recognizing and understanding your emotional responses. Learn to accept your emotions without rejecting or fearing them, even when they aren’t socially accepted such as anger or sadness.

Use strategies to reduce the intensity of emotions when necessary. This allows you to maintain control and behave constructively when you feel triggered . Lastly, resist impulsive behaviors that might come up when you’re upset, such as lashing out.

Therefore, leaning into your biological instincts may be the key to protecting your peace. The next time you face a challenge, stop and take a moment to listen to your body. It might just tell you what you need to do.

American Psychological Association. APA Dictionary of Psychology Self-Preservation Instinct .

By Katharine Chan, MSc, BSc, PMP Katharine is the author of three books (How To Deal With Asian Parents, A Brutally Honest Dating Guide and A Straight Up Guide to a Happy and Healthy Marriage) and the creator of 60 Feelings To Feel: A Journal To Identify Your Emotions. She has over 15 years of experience working in British Columbia's healthcare system.

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5 Reasons Why Inner Peace Is Important

So many of us are seeking inner peace that the question of why inner peace is important comes to the forefront. Inner peace is a concept which I speak and write about quite frequently. For me, the pursuit of inner peace is more important and vital then the search for happiness or success. Happiness is nothing more but a fleeting emotion, and success can be taken from us just as easily as it can be gained. But true inner peace is permanent.

Inner peace is not just for those who dedicate their lives to prayer or spirituality. Inner peace is attainable regardless of our lifestyle or occupation. As I have previously written, inner peace can be found as we learn to mindfully view ourselves and the world around us.

I define inner peace as a state of emotional and mental peace without disturbing thoughts, and recognizing our control over our moods and reactions. It is essential for inner peace that we believe it’s possible and that we believe we are in control of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Once we truly believe and acknowledge this, the foundation for inner peace has been built.

When one attains inner peace you find that you are able to cope, in a healthy way, with any event or situation happening around you. inner peace does not take away or eliminate our anxieties or fears, rather inner peace allows us to cope with those anxieties and fears, through which we learn and move beyond those anxieties. Neither anxieties or fears are possible to be eliminated, but anxieties and fears can be utilized as a means for further growth.

In my private practice and in speaking with people in general, I find that most people do not believe that inner peace is possible. I can understand why this feeling exists since many of us don’t have inner peace. But just because we don’t have it does not mean that it’s not attainable. Please refer to some of my previous writings to learn how to attain inner peace as this article is not focused on the how but on the why. It’s my hope that if we understand why inner peace is important we may be encouraged to strive to attain inner peace.

Here are but a few of the reasons that I feel inner peace is important. I’ve reflected on these in my own experience along with the experiences of my clients. This in no way is an exhaustive list but rather a start for you to add on to.

• It improves our ability to focus our mind. In today’s world there are many distractions which cause us anxiety and worry. The anxiety and worry which we feel is not productive and causes us to lose focus on ourselves and our families. Inner peace teaches us the proper coping  methods so that we can turn our anxiety and worry into action steps while maintaining the focus of our mind on what is truly important in our lives.
• It helps us to show patience and tolerance. If you have any dealings with social media you are fully aware of the lack of tolerance and patience people seem to have these days. Inner peace allows us to be patient and tolerant of the views of others without the need for anger reactions or responses. Inner peace teaches us that through patience we can better understand the situation and therefore better understand solutions to the problems.
• It provides us the ability to sleep better. Many of us do not get the proper amount of sleep either because we are overworked or our minds are overworked. Since inner peace helps us to cope with our stresses and anxieties it allows our minds to not only focus but to slow down thus enabling us to gain a good night sleep.
• It enables us to enjoy happiness. Happiness is but a fleeting emotion although an emotion which does not happen easily these days. Having an inner peace and therefore less stress and anxiety allows us to more deeply feel our happy moments. As we practice mindful living and a sense of inner peace those moments of happiness feel greater and seem to last longer.
• It improves our relationships with others. How we feel about ourselves is how we perceive the world around us. That perception of the world guides our responses and actions. If I am feeling an inner peace my view of myself will be improved, therefore the world around me will seem better and brighter which will lead to more positive reactions and actions on my part. The more positive that I can be in my relationships the more positivity I will receive from the other.

I know from experience that finding and living with inner peace is possible. I’m not speaking academically or theoretically, but personally. Once you can believe that inner peace is attainable for you then you too can work toward gaining inner peace. The reasons why inner peace is important are many! It’s my hope that as you work on your own inner peace you will add to my list.

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Essay on Importance of Peace

Students are often asked to write an essay on Importance of Peace in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Importance of Peace

The essence of peace.

Peace is a state of harmony, free from conflict and violence. It is crucial for the overall well-being of individuals, societies, and nations.

Peace and Individual Growth

Peace promotes individual growth. It allows people to focus on their goals, fostering creativity and innovation.

Peace in Society

In a peaceful society, people can live without fear. It encourages cooperation, leading to societal progress.

Peace and Nations

For nations, peace ensures stability and prosperity. It allows resources to be used for development rather than warfare.

In conclusion, peace is vital for personal, societal, and national growth.

250 Words Essay on Importance of Peace

Peace, often misconstrued as merely the absence of conflict, extends far beyond this simplistic definition. It is a complex, multifaceted concept, encompassing aspects such as social justice, economic equity, and political freedom. The importance of peace, therefore, is inextricably linked to the overall well-being of individuals and societies.

Peace as a Catalyst for Progress

Peace serves as a catalyst for societal progress. In peaceful conditions, individuals are better equipped to focus on activities that foster personal growth and societal advancement. Peace facilitates the creation of a conducive environment for innovation, creativity, and intellectual pursuits. It is the bedrock of thriving civilizations and the prerequisite for the evolution of society.

Peace and Social Cohesion

The role of peace in promoting social cohesion cannot be overstated. Peaceful societies are characterized by respect for diversity, mutual understanding, and tolerance. These elements are vital for fostering social cohesion, facilitating cooperation, and promoting harmonious coexistence among diverse groups.

Peace and Sustainable Development

Peace is integral to achieving sustainable development. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals underscore the importance of peace, justice, and strong institutions. Without peace, efforts towards sustainable development are likely to be undermined by conflict, instability, and social unrest.

In conclusion, peace is not merely desirable, but essential. It is the foundation upon which societies thrive, fostering progress, promoting social cohesion, and facilitating sustainable development. As we navigate the complexities of the 21st century, the importance of peace becomes even more pronounced. It is our collective responsibility to promote and sustain peace for the betterment of humanity.

500 Words Essay on Importance of Peace

Introduction, the role of peace in individual development.

Peace plays a crucial role in individual development. It provides the conducive environment necessary for individuals to grow, learn, and reach their full potential. In a peaceful environment, individuals can focus on their personal development, exploring their interests, and cultivating their skills without the constant threat of violence or chaos. Peace, therefore, ensures the mental and emotional well-being of individuals, which is crucial for their overall growth.

Peace and Economic Prosperity

Economic prosperity and peace are intrinsically linked. Peaceful societies provide the stability necessary for economic activities to thrive. Businesses can plan for the long-term, invest in new ventures, and expand their operations without the fear of sudden disruption. Furthermore, peace promotes trade and international cooperation, which are vital for economic growth. Without peace, economic development is stunted, leading to poverty and a lower quality of life.

Peace as a Catalyst for Social Progress

Peace and environmental sustainability.

The importance of peace extends to environmental sustainability. In times of conflict, environmental conservation often takes a back seat, leading to environmental degradation. Peace allows societies to focus on sustainable practices, preserving natural resources, and combating climate change. Thus, peace is essential for the survival of our planet.

In conclusion, peace is not just the absence of conflict, but a condition that nurtures the holistic development of individuals and societies. It is the backbone of economic prosperity, social progress, and environmental sustainability. The pursuit of peace, therefore, should be a priority for all, as it is the foundation upon which a prosperous and sustainable future can be built. The importance of peace, as highlighted, underscores the need for individuals, communities, and nations to work tirelessly towards its establishment and preservation.

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7 Reasons Why Peace of Mind is More Important than Money

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Since we have done away with the barter system, we’ve developed various forms of currency and coins. Money is one of the most important factors determining one’s success and life in today’s world.

• Peace of Mind Achieves Happiness

Tips for Maintaining a Peace of Mind

But is money more important than peace of mind ? It’s actually quite the opposite.

1. 40% of Our Happiness Depends on Our Actions

It is true that 40% of our happiness depends on our actions. Out of the remaining 60%, 50% is via the genes and 10% via uncontrollable factors. You can’t lose the important 40% determiner of your happiness for something called money, can you?

2. Life isn’t Infinite

While you may keep putting off the things that lend peace to your mind for eternity, the truth is that life is finite. All you have to do; you have to do now itself. The time on earth is limited for everyone. If you have a dream, it will take the time to build. Even if in a backdrop, work on making it true and the peace of mind will be incomparable.

3. Peace of Mind is About Contentment

While a certain amount of money is important, if one develops greed, no amount will appear sufficient. However, there will be no contentment. Greed will keep you on your toes all the time and anything that you make will feel inferior.

4. Tithing is Important

Even the Bible states about tithing. In most cases, you need a basic support to be able to make a good amount of money. However, many of the unfortunate people in the world don’t get that kind of support. The art of tithing is to bring a leveller and give some funds for education and daily needs of the poorer of our society. It also brings more peace of mind.

5. Money Can Vanish!

Money can simply vanish anytime in your life. Many of the big names in the world have seen bankruptcy. Sometimes, there is even mass bankruptcy like in the times of great depression. Money won’t help you there, your peace of mind can bail you out.

6. Dreams are Important

Dreams are what keep you alive and what separate you from the rest. You can be like others or you can live your dream. You might not get as much money in the start, or anytime. But you’ll live a happier and more content life doing something meaningful.

7. Rat Race is for Rats

The rat race for earning money is for rats only. You’ll eat in expensive restaurants, buy costly phones, have luxury cars, all because the successful people are supposed to do all that. Instead, you could carve a niche for yourself and drop the rat race following. Create your own path and make the world follow you, don’t look for material comforts all the time.

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Why is Peace Important: Unlocking the Key to Global Harmony

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on Published: July 3, 2023  - Last updated: July 5, 2023

Categories Society

The importance of peace in our world cannot be overstated. It serves as a foundation for social stability, human rights, and the well-being of individuals and communities across the globe. By fostering a culture of peace, we can create an environment where everyone has the opportunity to prosper and live fulfilling lives.

Understanding the critical role of peace in global society can help us recognize its immense value and motivate us to work towards creating a more harmonious world. Peaceful societies ensure their citizens’ safety and security and create a fertile ground for economic development, education, and cultural growth. By promoting dialogue, diplomacy, and understanding among nations and within communities, we can strengthen the bonds that hold us together and reduce the chances of conflict arising in the first place.

Key Takeaways

• Peace is vital for the well-being and growth of individuals, communities, and nations.
• A peaceful environment fosters social stability, human rights, and economic development.
• Diplomacy and understanding are crucial tools in the pursuit of harmony and peace globally.

The Role of Peace in Social Stability

Preventing conflicts.

Peace plays a crucial role in maintaining social stability by preventing conflicts. When societies prioritize peace, they actively attempt to address the root causes of conflicts, such as unequal resource distribution or ethnic tensions. Addressing these issues can create an environment that fosters mutual understanding and discourages violence.

For example, peacebuilding efforts can promote dialogue between groups with differing perspectives, fostering a shared responsibility for resolving conflicts. When individuals feel heard and respected, they are more likely to engage in constructive communication instead of resorting to violence.

Facilitating Economic Progress

Another important aspect of peace for social stability is its ability to facilitate economic progress. In times of peace, your society can focus on critical areas like infrastructure development, education, and healthcare. As a result, your country becomes more prosperous and provides better opportunities for everyone.

In a peaceful environment, businesses can thrive, and people can invest in their future without fear of losing their assets to violence or unrest. This fosters innovation, creates jobs, and ultimately raises the overall standard of living. By emphasizing the importance of peace, you can help usher in economic progress and social stability for future generations.

Peace and Human Rights

Protection of civilians.

Peace plays a crucial role in safeguarding the lives and well-being of civilians. In a peaceful environment, you are less likely to face threats of violence, and your fundamental human rights can be better protected. For example, during times of peace, governments, and societies can dedicate more resources and attention to establishing respect for the rule of law , which is instrumental in achieving long-term stability and securing the effective protection of human rights.

Moreover, peaceful societies provide a safe space to pursue your aspirations, practice your beliefs and express your opinions without fearing violence or persecution.

Promotion of Equality

Peace also prioritizes promoting equality by providing opportunities for all individuals to live without discrimination. Establishing and maintaining peace create a conducive environment for addressing societal inequalities and fostering social harmony. As a result, you benefit from a more inclusive and just society where your rights and needs are acknowledged and respected.

For example, peacebuilding efforts often emphasize the human rights dimensions in their initiatives, which encourages member states to recognize and address the human rights issues underlying conflicts. Consequently, your right to equality and non-discrimination can be better protected and promoted in a peaceful society.

Psychological Benefits of Peace

Improved mental health.

Experiencing peace in your life can significantly impact your mental health. Peaceful environments positively contribute to a more stable emotional state, allowing you to think more clearly and make better decisions. When surrounded by peace, managing stress, anxiety, and other negative emotions is easier. You can boost your immune system and overall emotional well-being by cultivating inner peace.

There are many simple ways you could improve your mental health by embracing peace:

• Practice mindfulness meditation
• Engage in regular exercise
• Connect with nature
• Cultivate positive relationships

Reduced Rates of Crime and Violence

Peaceful societies typically report lower rates of crime and violence. Reducing conflict and hostility creates a safer environment where people can thrive. This fosters a sense of community, trust, and collaboration among individuals.

As you live in a less violent community, you benefit directly from reduced crime rates. You’ll likely feel safer, more secure, and more connected to your neighbors. This promotes social cohesion, which is vital for overall well-being.

In conclusion, promoting peace in your life and in society offers numerous psychological benefits. Fostering improved mental health and reducing the rates of crime and violence will lead to a more fulfilling, happier life.

The Global Impact of Peace

Encouraging cultural exchange.

Achieving peace plays a significant role in promoting cultural exchange. When conflicts and wars subside, you can learn from other cultures and appreciate their customs and traditions. As a result, global understanding and respect for different cultures can improve proliferating conflicts . Harmony between nations and communities paves the way for intercultural cooperation, leading to advancements in various sectors, including arts, science, and education.

Sustainable Resource Management

Peaceful nations have better chances of ensuring sustainable resource management. Conflicts often lead to economic difficulties and lack of food and water , which pose significant challenges to the sustainable development of a region. Without war, you have better opportunities to focus on resource management, conservation, and fair distribution. A stable environment crucially assists you in implementing proactive measures that promote long-term sustainability and resilience against potential future crises. Peace can help you develop more sustainable approaches for your population, economy, and natural resources.

Pathways to Achieving Peace

Education and awareness.

To achieve peace, one of the critical steps you can take is through education and awareness. By equipping individuals with knowledge about different cultures, religions, and perspectives, you foster an environment of tolerance and understanding 1 . Also, promoting education about conflict resolution and communication can help address issues before they escalate into violence.

As a society, investing in educational programs that teach empathy and compassion is essential. This can be achieved through extracurricular activities, workshops, or subjects integrated into the curriculum. Additionally, raising awareness of the importance of peace and its benefits can assist in changing the societal mindset and creating a more peaceful world 2 .

International Cooperation

Another crucial element in the pursuit of peace is international cooperation. By working together, countries can address global issues contributing to conflicts, such as poverty, inequality, and climate change 3 . Collaborative efforts towards a common goal can help build trust and understanding among nations.

Forming international alliances and partnerships can also play a significant role in maintaining global peace. These can take shape through diplomatic relations and joint efforts in addressing conflicts and crises 4 . Encouraging dialogue and negotiation to resolve disputes peacefully can contribute to stability.

By focusing on education and awareness and fostering international cooperation, societies can pave the way for a more peaceful world. As individuals, it’s essential to recognize the role you can play in this pursuit and take the necessary steps to promote and maintain peace in your daily life.

Importance of Peace and How to Achieve It ↩

The Importance of Peace – Positive Peace ↩

Why is World Peace Important – Change Care Foundation ↩

Identifying Pathways to Peace ↩

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is peace important for society.

Peace is essential for a thriving society, fostering trust, cooperation, and stability. You can focus on improving your well-being and pursuing opportunities in a peaceful environment. A well-functioning government is one example of how peace contributes to social progress. Low levels of corruption, equitable distribution of resources, and acceptance of the rights of others also demonstrate the importance of peace in society.

How does peace contribute to development?

Peace contributes to development by creating a favorable investment, infrastructure, and innovation environment. It also promotes education and human capital , which are crucial elements for societal progress. In peaceful conditions, resources can be allocated toward achieving sustainable development goals to create more prosperous and resilient societies.

What role does peace play in our daily lives?

Peace plays a vital role in your daily life by providing a safe environment to work, learn, and interact with others. It reduces stress and anxiety and allows you to concentrate on personal growth and the well-being of your loved ones. Peace also encourages community harmony, promoting goodwill and understanding among diverse groups.

Why is peace crucial for the community’s well-being?

Peace is crucial for a community’s well-being because it enables individuals to live in a safe, supportive environment that fosters social connections, economic development, and shared understanding. Good relationships with neighbors and cooperation among community members contribute to collective well-being, creating social cohesion and minimizing tensions.

How does peace promote growth?

Peace promotes growth by providing a stable environment where businesses can thrive, individuals can pursue education and skill development, and communities can build strong social networks. A strong business environment combined with adequate human capital increases productivity, innovation, economic expansion, and social improvement.

Why is peace significant for maintaining stability?

Peace is significant for maintaining stability because it minimizes the risk of violence, civil unrest, and international conflicts. Governments can concentrate on addressing societal needs and promoting development when peace prevails. Stability creates a foundation for progressive policymaking and supports a balanced distribution of resources, reducing inequalities and tensions within and between nations.

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A short essay on peace

Peace is one of the important human values. It refers to silence or reconcilement. It means to live together in harmony. Without it, society can't progress. It is very necessary for the growth of society as well as a nation. Peace is similar to nonviolence. This article describes how it is important for the nation as well as society.

Introduction Peace is a human need. Maintaining peace of mind helps us to achieve goals in our life. Peace is the way for bringing growth and prosperity in life. If there is peace in every human's mind then this world will go on peacefully. Without peace, any kind of development is impossible. Peace is vital for the survival of human beings. According to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's words " peace is a precious commodity, necessary for any progress". Right from the beginning, we Indians are fond of peace. Whenever war happened in any country, we tried to solve problems through peace. Nowadays, It is not an easy task to maintain peace as new generation people believe in violence. As you know in our country multilingual and multi-religion people reside still we live together happily. But in another country, the condition is not favourable. In a European country, there is much bias between black men and white men. They are never treated equally. But in India, we provide equality to every people irrespective of caste, creed and religion. In our country, Mahatma Gandhi was against violence and believed in peace only. He wanted to get independence with peace. He used to preach to the people if someone slaps you on one cheek then you should forward the other cheek to take another slap which means he was a very peace-loving human being. Besides, The Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, and Saint Francis de Sales are known as peace idols. They tried to make this world understand that peace is the strength of mind. We can conquer this world through peace only. War always brings destruction in life. Nobody can be happy by violence. Oftentimes you would be felt that we could not do work due to a lack of peace. Peace is necessary not only for progress in life but for good health also. A peaceful mind can do good work. If you create a peaceful environment then only work will happen properly. Peace helps us in preventing violence. Why peace is Important for society? Peace is important because it brings unity, optimism, and collaboration among society. Peace increases our concentration of mind. when our mind is in peace position then we are not affected by other people what they think about us. A peaceful mind helps us in learning and understanding things faster. Peace keeps us mentally and physically fit. Peace provides strength to society. Peace brings brotherhood, happiness, and integrity to society. Peace develops job opportunities in society. No society can exist without peace. Conclusion Peace is the accurate way to maintain love in society. Peace is essential for protecting our society from being damaged. Peace can make our nation healthy, wealthy, and strong. Without peace, It is impossible to imagine a prosperous and developed nation. Peace can be achieved only by mutual understanding. And It is the responsibility of every person to maintain peace in society.

True. peace is a very important virtue one should have. When there is peace in and around. our mind will be pleasant and we work very efficiently. Without peace, progress is very difficult. The main reason for our country not developing fully is due to the lack of peace in the country. Our country is having some neighbouring countries who always try to create unrest and disturb the situation in the country. Because of these acts we have to be alert always which is taking away peace from us. If we have friendly neighbours we need not spend such a huge amount on defence and that money might have been used on the development of the country. Even in such adverse conditions also, we tried to maintain peace and tried to make agreements with the neighbouring countries. In such attempts, we have lost great leaders like Lal Bahadur Shastri. When there is peace around we will be happy and the whole environment around us will be pleasant. But many politicians try to disturb peace in the society by creating a difference between the people so that they will get importance.

Peace is an elusive entity. Since time immortal from the dawn of civilization our leaders, scholars, and saints had always preached about peace and tried to achieve it in this world but it always seemed to be difficult to achieve peace in totality among the various tribes and societies existing in the world. There could be many reasons for not having peace in this world but some of the main reasons are attributable to the difference in cultures, difference in religions, difference in ideology, and difference in the way the different societies live and aspire to expand their own kingdoms or country boundaries. Ambitions and aspirations for winning on other countries and ruling over them is the root cause of creating disturbance and unrest in this world. Though number of such invaders might be less in the world in comparison to the peaceful people but small number of bad people is enough to spoil the atmosphere throughout the globe. So this is a very difficult situation where most of the people in the world are peace loving but at the same time there are few pockets where some terrorists or ill minded people live and are creating all source of problems for the people all around the world. These ill minded people are stubborn in their thinking and approach to the other societies and are beyond repair in the sense that even after teaching and explaining them the modern way and modern life of living they do not agree to that proposition and remain in their mindset of fighting and attacking others.

In this run-of-the-mill world, every country has become so engrossed in proving itself as the top that it does not even realize that humanity and peaceful life are being lost in the meaningless disputes between countries over borders and land, etc. . The person who wants to live in peace is also sacrificing his life in these disputes and the peace is lost. Thinking about one's own progress is a natural common behavior, but it is wrong to prove oneself high by destroying the interests of others or their religions and the same is happening in some parts of the world. India is really a great example, where people of different religions and cultures live together in brotherhood, give respect to each other. When a person thinks about the interests of others along with himself and is also happy with the happiness of others, then his life automatically becomes peaceful and people who live such a peaceful life become a symbol of peace in the society as well.

Yes, very nicely define the theme of peace by the Author. All our sages have preached the message of peace. Because they realized how important the need for peace is for a nation. We have at least learned something from them, so at least as Indians we are proud of it. In this context, the words of the seven sages are not to be forgotten. The modern famous personnel in India also teaches us the words of peace. The names of Gandhiji, Mother Teresa, Vivekananda, etc. are significant. Some of their quotes are very much relevant at the present situation like- “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind" by Gandhiji, “Peace and war begin at home. If we truly want peace in the world, let us begin by loving one another in our own families. If we want to spread joy, we need for every family to have joy" by Mother Tressa, and “It is a privilege to serve mankind, for this is the worship of God. God is here, in all these human souls" by Swami Vivekanand. So peace makes everyone happy both physically and spiritually. In the modern world, the word peace is so important in recent times, it is my personal opinion that there has been a communal intolerance all over the world, the consequences of which could be horrific. Moreover, with the recent withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban have taken over Kabul and we are witnessing various acts of violence, which are never desirable. So above all this is the place of peace, so it is possible to solve all this only through the proper application of the message of peace. When can we all forget the violence and go to peace?

Nice try from the author and the subject matter is very strong. The essence of everyone's life is to live in peace and no one wants to get disturbed or distracted from the peace of life. Whoever has attained wisdom in life have always advocated for peace and those who are saints and scholars always referred to the holy books citing peace as the main plank of living in harmony. Lord Krishna has played a major role in trying to avert the possible Kurukshetra war and just asked for five villages in the name of Pandavas but that could not be digested by Duryodhana and thus the great war was announced. Even our country is for wholesome peace in the region and does not tolerate the overtures of China and Pakistan. As long as human beings stay, peace is going to stay as what they want the most.

Peace within can create peace outside the world. The other way around is not possible. However, the irony is that despite knowing that we have to create it to experience it, we keep looking for it outside. It is just that we have forgotten how to be peaceful. When we realize that we are peaceful, we will experience stillness within us. We will come at peace with ourselves and at ease with ourselves. When we discover it, we will not be able to again get distracted no matter how many efforts others make to bring disturbance into our lives. As we have forgotten that we can create it and experience it, we feel that it is others who will bring it for us. We have made it dependent on others. When someone speaks loudly and creates chaos, we blame him for disturbing our peace. We don't want to do the inner work because it is difficult. Also, it requires us to take personal responsibility. When we are disturbed, it denotes that we failed to remain at peace. We don't want to admit it, and therefore, we lay the responsibility on another person.

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More From Forbes

Why Building Passive Income Is Essential In Today’s Economy

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It’s important to build financial security through passive income. The traditional model of earning money through a 9-to-5 job is becoming less reliable as economic shifts and technological advancements continue to disrupt industries. That’s why passive income has become necessary.

But what exactly is passive income , and why is it crucial for your financial future?

What Is Passive Income?

Although passive income requires effort to establish, once set up it is money earned with little to no effort. Unlike active income, which requires continuous work (like a salary or hourly wage), passive income streams can continue to generate revenue over time without your direct involvement.

Common examples include rental income, dividends from investments, royalties from books or online courses, and revenue from affiliate marketing.

The Importance of Passive Income

Establishing passive income is essential for securing your financial future, providing a steady stream of revenue that can support you over the years. It is important for these reasons:

1. Financial Security

Best high-yield savings accounts of 2024, best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024.

One of the most compelling reasons to build passive income is financial security. Relying solely on active income can be risky, especially in times of economic uncertainty. A passive income stream provides a safety net, ensuring that you have money coming in even if you lose your job or face unexpected expenses.

2. Increased Financial Freedom

Passive income allows you to break free from the traditional work-for-money cycle. With multiple income streams, you’re less dependent on a single employer or job, giving you more freedom to pursue your passions, travel, or even retire early. Financial freedom means you’re in control of your time and choices, rather than being tied down by financial obligations.

3. Wealth Building

Building wealth often requires more than just saving money; it requires making your money work for you. Passive income is a powerful tool in wealth accumulation. By reinvesting your passive income, whether it’s dividends, rental income, or interest from savings, you can exponentially grow your wealth over time. This is the essence of compounding, where your earnings generate even more earnings.

4. Diversification of Income Streams

Relying on a single source of income is a financial risk. By diversifying your income streams through passive income, you reduce the risk associated with job loss or market fluctuations. Whether it's through investments, real estate, or side businesses, multiple income sources provide stability and resilience against economic downturns.

5. Peace of Mind

There’s a unique peace of mind that comes with knowing your bills are covered, even if you’re not actively working. Passive income can reduce financial stress, improve your mental well-being, and allow you to enjoy life more fully. It provides a buffer against the unexpected and ensures that you’re not living paycheck to paycheck.

6. Retirement Planning

For many, passive income is a key component of retirement planning. Social security benefits and pensions might not be sufficient to maintain your desired lifestyle in retirement. Passive income streams, such as dividends from stocks, rental income, or royalties, can supplement these traditional income sources, ensuring a comfortable and secure retirement.

The bottom line is that building passive income is more than just a financial strategy; it’s a path to greater financial freedom, security, and peace of mind. By diversifying your income sources and making your money work for you, you can achieve long-term financial stability and even live life on your terms. Whether you’re looking to supplement your income, prepare for retirement, or achieve financial independence, the importance of passive income cannot be overstated.

Melissa Houston, CPA is the author of Cash Confident: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating a Profitable Business and the founder of She Means Profit . As a Business Strategist for small business owners, Melissa helps women making mid-career shifts, to launch their dream businesses, and I also guide established business owners to grow their businesses to more profitably.

The opinions expressed in this article are not intended to replace any professional or expert accounting and/or tax advice whatsoever.

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