How to Find Peace in an Environment You Do Not Enjoy
Can you find happiness anywhere?
To say Winnipeg, Canada, is a sh*t hole is an understatement. I have the pleasure of living here.
It is the coldest city in the world with over 500,000 people. Our winters see winds as cold as -50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit).
Winnipeg is often the murder capital of Canada, but that does not compare to how many stabbings, break-ins, and other “small” crimes we have.
The downtown streets are littered with broken needles and crack pipes.
When it does finally warm up, the weather is nice.
Unfortunately, that only lasts for a few weeks before the mosquitoes and wasps take over. And then a few weeks later, the 6+ month winter comes back.
Winnipeg has no mountains or oceans nearby, and the summer air is so dusty that everyone has allergies.
Oh, and it smells bad.
So, at this point, you are probably wondering why I am so negative. You are probably also wondering why I live here.
The truth is, I have found some level of peace in this city (not without effort). And, well… I have family here.
My hope with this article is to give you tools and insight to help you also find peace in an environment you don’t enjoy.
Look at the positives
If all I ever thought about were all the negatives I just listed, I would be pretty damn miserable.
Luckily, there are positives I can focus on.
For one, the city is quite affordable compared to other cities.
You can rent a place relatively cheaply, potentially even afford a house, eat out for a fair price, and attend festivals.
Additionally, the people are actually nice despite the crime.
When I lived in Vancouver, I found it quite hard to make friends. People were not as welcoming to their friend circles.
In Winnipeg, you meet one person who likes you, and they immediately want you to meet all their friends.
The food scene here is notable, especially if you like Vietnamese food.
And if you are looking for a relationship, I have found that fewer people in Winnipeg have been cheated on (or cheat) than in other cities.
Find your community
It is essential to find people you get along with in the city you live in.
One of the best things I ever did was to start attending a chess club every Saturday.
I love playing chess, and while playing chess online is great, playing in person with people who also love it gives you a different feeling.
Finding this community has made me exponentially happier.
The nice part is that you can find similar communities in many other hobbies as well.
Do you want to find other people who invest in the stock markets? Other foodies? A book club? Run club? What about writers or dancers?
Find your people, and you will find some peace.
Give yourself something to look forward to
It is easier to keep positive spirits when you have something exciting coming up.
Perhaps it is a trip to get out of this place, but it could also be a concert, a comedy show, time with friends, or that chess club on Saturdays.
Excitement and hope can help make you at peace with what is happening now.
Find peace within yourself
On some level, you will never be at peace anywhere you go if you are not at peace with yourself.
What I am getting at is that the main reason you are not at peace in your environment is that you are not at peace with yourself.
When you are at peace with yourself, you can close your eyes anywhere, take a few breaths, and feel at peace. It allows you to make the environment irrelevant and be happy with what is in your control.
How to find peace within yourself
You might hate my answer, but… meditation is the best way to find peace within yourself.
To become at peace with your mind, you need to confront your thoughts. You need to spend time with yourself.
The more you are aware of your thoughts, feelings, and whatever else is going on inside of you, the more you will understand.
The more you understand, the more at peace you will be.
If you absolutely can’t meditate, I would recommend trying therapy or extensive journaling.
Alternative meditative activities can also help.
An important conclusion
Picking the right environment is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. (second only to your partner & business partners)
If you are not happy with yours, it could be your body and mind telling you to find somewhere else, and that is worth spending time on.
I will not spend my life in Winnipeg and will be leaving when I decide on the right destination for me.
Regardless, you need to do your best to find peace wherever you are.
The last thing you want to do is uproot your life only to find out that the reason you were not at peace was irrelevant to your environment the whole time.
Thanks for reading