The Practice of Groundedness by Brad Stulberg

The Practice of Groundedness, by Brad Stulberg, was recommended to me by a coworker. I preordered it back in May and was delighted to see it pop up on my Kindle on its release date, September 7, 2021. This book deals with how top performers in all industries can help manage anxiety, stress, and imposter syndrome. Drawing from ancient philosophies, from Buddhism and Stoicism to the Abrahamic religions, this book helps connect similar struggles from CEOs, songwriters, and athletes, to how you may feel in the day-to-day of your job. This book isn’t particularly thick or dense, which is nice if you want to practice more groundedness and mindfulness without reading esoteric texts.

I didn’t find anything dramatic or groundbreaking because I tend to read so much in this genre, but I appreciate all the parallels to longstanding philosophies. The Practice of Groundedness devotes a chapter to each of the principles of groundedness. These deep dives show you what it looks like when you are out of alignment with the specific principle and gives you anecdotes from those who have gone through the process of practicing groundedness. I truly appreciated how this book didn’t reference and rehash every self-help book published in the past five years but drew from relevant, present-day people and scenarios to illustrate the points.

5/5 Highly Recommend

Lessons Learned from The Practice of Groundedness by Brad Stulberg

• Alignment with your principles takes ongoing practice. It’s not something you win or something you complete.

• Everyone is struggling with or dealing with something less than ideal. Be empathetic.

• This mantra: This is what’s happening right now, and I’m doing the best I can.