I’m always trying to escape. From what, I’m not always clear, but I get these urges to just jump on a plane and fly to remote places. As I flip through photos, attempting to picture myself in the midst of the serene landscapes that I’m admiring, I occasionally decide, let’s do this! More often than not, I’m greeted with more stress rather than peace and tranquility. Is it bad planning on my part?

Partially. It’s also the sudden realization that the experience I’m having on the trip is not living up to the incredible expectations I had placed in my head at the time that I made the purchase. What is it exactly that lead to this cognitive dissonance? And more importantly, why am I always trying to escape?

Finding Peace At Home

The only thing I can conclude is that what I’m truly lacking is inner peace. Thanks to my ADHD compounded by the emotional volatility of an entrepreneur, it’s extremely difficult to be truly relaxed. I jump between the stresses of work, to the fleeting highs of recognition (a comment on a blog post, a mention in an article, etc), to the depression caused by running a business at a loss. On top of that, my desk is a mess. The result is that I have a lot of emotions that anybody would want to escape from, and probably wants to on a daily basis.

We all have these stresses. They come in different forms but no matter what your source of stress is, we all try to find a way to escape from it (rather than resolve it). Today during a moment of meditative clarity I suddenly realized that the key to remaining productive is finding that inner peace by having a place that you can escape to on a regular basis. The irony in the phrase “inner peace” for me is that I’m very externally motivated. Flash a picture of a villa like the one below and suddenly I believe that peace can be found there.

Next thing you know, I’m trying to come up with an excuse to head out to this apparent place of serenity. The crazy part of all of this is that I could actually find serenity at home if I put in a little effort. So for 2012, that’s what I’m committing myself to doing. Creating an environment that enables inner peace in an effort to also become more productive. The moment that you finally know how to develop a sanctuary that enables you to be at peace no matter where you are, is the moment that you can finally accomplish it.

That’s what I’m committing myself to for 2012 … I’ll be sure to let you know how the journey progresses.