Cowritten by Nathalie Boutros, Ph.D., and Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.

Generally, inner peace is defined as a low-arousal positive emotional state coupled with a sense of balance or stability (Cherif et al., 2022). Low-arousal positive states are those calm and relaxed happy feelings that aren’t extreme or exciting. They include feelings of calmness, serenity, tranquility, and contentment, in contrast to feelings like exuberance, ecstasy, or euphoria. Low-arousal positive feelings come from within and may be more authentic, stable, and durable than high-arousal positive feelings (Dambrun et al., 2012).

Inner peace means balance, equanimity, even-mindedness, harmony, and stability (Desbordes et al., 2015). Pleasures are experienced and enjoyed without getting overexcited while pains are experienced without getting despondent. This evenness of temper may guard against dangers that come from excessive positive or excessive negative emotions.

Excessive positive emotion may put a person at risk of developing an unhealthy compulsion to consume, acquire, or strive, which may in turn lead to addiction, materialism, or ruthlessness. Excessive negative emotions, on the other hand, may lead to aggression, defensiveness, or dishonesty (Xi & Lee, 2021). Both of these extremes are to be avoided, and inner peace means existing in a state of balance and stability.

In 2013, researchers from Taiwan and the United States explored the emotional components of inner peace and found that the following words best described the experience of inner peace for the 378 people who participated in their study (Lee et al., 2013):

In a recent study, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 900 people to discover attributes and characteristics that underlie inner peace (Demirci & Eksi, 2018). These include the following:

You may be able to find inner peace by making changes in your life according to the findings of the above study.

Inner peace is contentment and balance that doesn’t change as outside circumstances change. Although finding inner peace may be a more difficult, more arduous task than finding happiness, the benefits may be far greater. Happiness is usually fleeting—the vacation ends, your new car gets dented, your new job becomes routine. Inner peace, which comes from within, doesn’t change as circumstances change. However, inner peace, unlike happiness, needs to be cultivated and developed through mindful living. By choosing to intentionally develop inner peace, you may discover a sense of serenity, tranquility, balance, and stability that is with you always, in your good times and in your bad times.

A version of this post also appears on The Berkeley Well-Being Institute website.