1-Sentence-Summary: The Practice of Groundedness provides a more grounded way of living by eliminating the cult of being productive all the time to achieve success, instead offering a way to be at peace with yourself, prioritizing mental health and a simple yet meaningful life.
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Favorite quote from the author:
The cult of success has taken over the world in recent years. People prioritize achieving ultimate fulfillment, which translates into multiple assets, properties, and respected status. Whoever reaches those is considered a person of success and must be praised and followed as a role model. However, the world isn’t just black and white, so what happens to those whose definition of success looks quite different from this?
Sadly, such people are considered rebels, lazy, or average by society. Yet, in a world of materialistic expectations and the iconization of a few, what happens to all of us who want to live a simple, connected, happy life? The Practice of Groundedness by Brad Stulberg by offers a healthier view of life for those who want to live more peacefully and grounded to themselves, their families, and what surrounds them.
Nevertheless, the increase in the volume of work and the continuously rising expectations of society have pushed people to live a mundane life and suffer from burnout. It also takes away the quality of your life and your ability to enjoy it. The remedy? We’ll find out all about it throughout the summary.
Now, let me show you my three favorite lessons from the book:
- Ground yourself in the areas of your life that speak to you the most and avoid becoming a heroic individualist.
- Embrace the community around you to ground yourself even more.
- To reach a state of fulfillment, you have to sync your body and mind.
If you’re willing to learn the implications of these lessons and see what they have to offer, stick with me as I’ll explore them one by one!
Lesson 1: Heroic individualism can lead to burnout, so start being more grounded in your inner life.
So what is heroic individualism? Let’s see: Do you often feel like whatever you do isn’t enough? Or that the version of yourself that you want to achieve is far away from who you are now? Do you have to work restlessly to accomplish that? Whenever you take a break and stop working on being more efficient and productive, you have this unsettling feeling that can’t let you enjoy the present?
If the answers are yes, I’ve got some news: You too suffer from heroic individualism. The solution? Ground yourself! Find your inner core and explore it. Whether you love to dance, paint, spend time with your family, practice spirituality, connect with nature, do it! It will make you reconnect with your life feel more stable and confident. Simply put, it will remind you of who you indeed are.
Remember that the feeling of groundedness doesn’t derive from external factors but rather the inside ones. You’ll have to find or remember what it is that sparks the energy, the passion and the will to live within you. It doesn’t depend on the ups and downs going on in your life and your successes or failures. Your inner core is always constant.
Lesson 2: After you’ve discovered your roots, share them with your community to grow stronger together.
Humans are social animals. We are made to live in communities, talk to people, socialize and form bonds. Whoever fantasizes about moving to a remote island and living there for the rest of their life would probably go crazy soon after they’ve arrived there. Therefore, to grow even more vital, people must collaborate.
As such, heroic individualism proves to be destructive once again because it encourages us to carry our burdens like a badge of honour, deal with everything by ourselves, and efficiently do everything we constantly do. It may sound good in theory, but in reality, this way of living will ultimately lead to burnout, mental disorders, and other negative implications.
To fix this mindset, you must ground yourself in a community. Find like-minded people, good people, and people who care about you. Join a book club, a gym group, a dance community, or anything at all! Just like trees that grow their roots horizontally to meet with their neighbours and form underground networks. You too must reach out and find people to bond with and grow stronger together.
Lesson 3: To become more grounded, you’ll have to start exercising.
An old saying in Latin goes like this: Mens sana in corpore sano, which means a healthy mind in a healthy body. In other words, a healthy mind depends on a well-maintained, healthy body to function correctly.
Scientific research backs up this affirmation as well, as it’s proven that the mind can make our body release certain good or bad hormones, and the way we feel physically influences our brain deeply. After all, it’s no secret that a routine containing a good dose of exercise can help us improve our life and health levels.
However, the degree to which it affects the quality of our life is beyond remarkable. You don’t need to run a marathon each day to reap exercise’s positive effects on the mind! A short (or long) walk or some light home workout will do. It’s definitely enough to start. Strengthen your body, strengthen your mind!
The Practice of Groundedness Review
If you feel too busy to enjoy life, always trying to be more efficient and productive, and feeling close to burnout or distanced from yourself, The Practice of Groundedness is the book for you. It will shed light on the importance of becoming more connected to your spirit and living a more balanced life. It will also offer some practical tips on how to start doing so right away. So if you want to learn how to become more grounded and connected, make sure to give this book a read.
Who would I recommend The Practice of Groundedness summary to?
This is for the 30-year-old person who works too hard and feels close to burnout. This is also for the 40-year-old person who has recently recovered from an illness. This can pertain to those who want to turn their life around by being more grounded. Lastly, it can also for the 50-year-old person close to retiring who wants to focus more on their spirituality and the relationship they have with themselves.
Last Updated on May 19, 2023
