Three days ago, I finished reading The Practice of Groundedness by Brad Stulberg. I was first introduced to this self-help book via a guest article inside TIME magazine by the author. I found the points raised inside the article to be especially relevant to my situation. So much so that I was motivated to check out a digital copy from the Santa Clara County Library.
The six points of groundedness and the general practices associated with each one are listed below:
- Acceptance: Cultivate the Lens of a “Wise Observer”, Choose Self-Compassion over Self-Judgement, Mood Follows Action, Relax and Win
- Presense: Step out of the Distraction Candy Store, Surf Waves of Distraction, Develop Mindfulness, Make a Not-to-do List
- Patience: Let Things Happen Instead of Always Trying to Make Them Happen, Process Over Outcomes — Take Small Steps for Big Gains, Stop one Rep Short, Leave your phone behind, 3x5 Breathing
- Vulnerability: Develop Emotional Flexibility, Ask Yourself What You Really Want to Say — And then Say That, Remind Yourself that Everyone is Going through Something
- Deep Community: Get involved with a meaningful group, Prioritize Quality over Quantity, Develop a “Braintrust”
- Movement: Move throughout the day, Get Aerobic, Strength training
Personally, I think Presense and Patience are the ones I need to work on the most. There are times when I really need to be in the moment, as opposed to worrying endlessly about what’s going to happen next.
Come to think of it, Brad Stulberg claims that his case of OCD was what steered him towards discovering these six important points. I hate to admit this, but I may have an undiagnosed case of OCD myself. Once something gets on my mind, it’s hard for me to stop thinking about it.
All in all, The Practice of Groudedness was a good read for me. It was a little cheesy at times (aka something common with self-help), but it got its points across clearly. It also gave good guidance on how to accomplish them. My next read, Dune Messiah, has arrived, but I’ll probably continue to browse through Stulberg’s book these next few weeks.
