A big part of self-care and love is making sure that you protect your peace. Protecting your peace means maintaining a healthy environment for growth and guarding your state of mind at the same time. There are many distractions and things that happen in the world that can affect how we feel and our state of minds. 
When we are not at peace mentally and spiritually, it can affect our self-love and productivity. Protecting your peace means cultivating a safe space internally and externally.
Try paying attention to your triggers, does a specific person always get your blood pressure high? Do certain topics make you angry? Do certain environments make you irritable and crazy? If you feel like watching a certain TV show or hanging around a certain person makes you crazy, it is important to limit your time doing those things or to stay away from it altogether.
Letting go of negative people helps, ask yourself this, and are your friends supportive? Are you around people who do nothing but complain? Are you in a relationship with someone who puts you down and doesn’t lift you? 
Let go of anybody who is not a positive addition to your space. Life already has its ups and downs, so keeping people around who don’t uplift you or only focus on the negative will drain you and mess with your peace. Having the wrong people in your life can affect your state of mind and ultimately the direction of your life. 
Choose your friends/relationships wisely. If the negative people are the people you must be around or family, then find a way to limit how much you are around them or find a way not to let that person or situation steal your joy.
Another elephant in the room that need to be addressed and which takes people’s peace is social media, I can confidently say taking a break from social media has worked drastically for me, and I do that now and then. 
Sometimes we compare ourselves to other people’s highlight reels on social media not realising that anybody can make their lives appear to be a certain way online. Comparing ourselves or focusing on other people’s lives takes away the focus we need to have on ourselves and it interferes with our peace, which in turn messes with our productivity and purpose. 
While social media can be a great tool for sharing positivity and love, it can also take its toll. With negative news being spread like wildfire on social media, it can have a huge effect on our state of mind. I think it is important to know your limits and always take a break so that you can refresh your mind and soul. 
I am the type of person who loves to hang out with friends and family but will need to get alone time after so I can recharge. Take some time away from people and spend quality time with yourself. Take yourself out to eat, binge watch your favourite show, do anything, which truly puts you at ease and relaxes your mind. 
Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed by taking on too many tasks or life obligations can fill our plate and take its toll. It’s important to say no sometimes and do one thing at a time. Sometimes, some things have to be left for the following day so that you can prevent burnout and protect your peace, so prioritise. 
Protecting your peace is essential to living a purpose-filled and empowered life. Remember to protect your peace as your life depends on it… Because well! it does.
*John Ikondja is a producer at the NBC. The opinions and reflection raised herein are purely his.