Ernie O Dacumos 
You must be saying, “Are you going nuts, Ernie? I don’t have it all yet and what are you talking about staying grounded I am on the ground and have not reached my goals?”
Okay, I am speaking metaphorically here dear.
I know that you are here to learn how to have a better mindset and/or how to gain confidence, so why did I say you have it all?
Because you do! You have all the things that you need right now at this moment. The roof over your head, the food on your table, the clothes you wear, the water you drink, a source of income to keep you sustainable. But the thing is, do you even recognize it?
I will confess that I did not recognize having these things before. I was so busy reaching for the next big thing; salary increase, a job promotion, a business to build, that I did not stop and recognize or even acknowledge how far I have become. What level in life I have reached?
I became impatient, short-tempered and most of all, anxious!
I was living in the past and having anxiety about the future. Not realizing that I am missing the most important moment, which is now.
So, when I say staying grounded, I meant living in the… “now”.
Now, you have clarity of what I meant, I will ask the same question, how do you stay grounded while having it all?
How did I do it?
I joined a program called the HerhigherSelf program coordinated by my mentor and became a very good friend Shari Angelina. I did not know what to expect from her program, but I wanted to find peace in myself and calm the chaos in my mind, and I was surprised with how easy it was.
Here are my takeaways from her program that helps me stay grounded:
1. Journal
Whether it is good, bad, or ugly- write it down. Write down what happened to you that day, what did you do, what did you feel, who you were with. Express yourself, surrender and voice your truth. It is your moment with yourself, your way to release after all the commotion, after all the noise, and after all the busyness. That moment is yours and yours only.
2. Gratitude
Expressing gratitude was a big realization of how abundant I was even though I have not reached my desired goals. I started with having a separate notebook and every morning I would write all the things that I was grateful for.
- I am grateful for another day to be alive. I am grateful for the roof over my head and keeps me sheltered.
- I am grateful for the sun shining providing light in the sky.
- I am grateful for my health and for my family’s health.
- I am grateful for my family.
These are a few examples, and over time, I learned to express them in a chant in the morning the moment I open my eyes and stretch my body.
Yes, I may not where I wanted to be then, but I know what I have, and it is all I need.
3. Meditation
Now, what? Meditation? That’s boring! You may say! I am not going to lie, how can with a chaotic mind sit down and meditate, her own mind racing will eat her alive. Yes, bizarre right? That is how my mind used to work. But staying grounded means stopping, reflecting and meditating.
Also, I did not see meditation fitting for me because whenever I attempted to do it, I was thinking about food. Yes, food!
It is not until I learned about guided meditation which was introduced to me by the well-known Human Optimizer Adrian Z. Wesley. His guided meditation helped me focused and the delta wave music in the background helped me calm down. It worked wonders as they say. And I’ve used it ever since especially on days when overwhelmed and stressed out.
4. Sit with yourself
Yes, gorgeous, you read it right, sitting with yourself is another way to stay grounded. How? I thought you’ve never asked. One activity that stuck with me after completing the HerhigherSelf program was to sit with myself. In the program, Shari instructed us to focus on this activity as a form of self-love, I will dive into this in the future. I had to schedule a day, 24 hours, to do nothing but to spend time with myself. Technically, a day off from everything; no movies, no music, no cellphone, no driving, no exercising, no people around me, just time with me, myself, and I.
Did it drive me crazy? Surprisingly not! I realized that I was too busy spending my time with other activities, other people but for myself. I liked hanging out with myself. I journaled that day, I had a precooked meal ready, so I don’t take time away from myself. I happened to take three naps, yes, I know, crazy.
But these are the things that we don’t do, not realizing that our company is important too. Checking in with yourself, asking yourself how you are feeling, feeling, embracing the moment, embracing the time means embracing you!
Now, that you know my ways on how to stay grounded, I would love for you to try them and let me know how they worked for you. Also, check out my post, “3 Killer ways to show up for yourself” for more tips.
