Embracing The Now: Grounding Techniques For Exciting Times

In this short talk, Marissa explores the importance of grounding when life feels exciting and filled with possibilities. While we often associate grounding with calming anxiety or stress, it is equally useful in moments of enthusiasm and excitement. By practicing simple techniques like feeling your feet on the ground and tuning into your physical sensations, you can stay present and open, avoiding the trap of getting lost in fantasies or unrealistic expectations. Marissa encourages you to embrace the current moment with curiosity, kindness, and a relaxed openness, helping you respond to life in a grounded and skillful way.

Transcript

In this talk, I'm going to talk about the need to ground when life is exciting. But before I get into it, I wanted to provide a quick overview of what grounding is. Grounding is a simple practice of feeling your body on the ground, Feeling your feet on the earth. So let's ground together for a moment. Whatever you're doing, Pause for a moment and simply begin to notice the parts of your body that are making contact with the ground. If your feet are on the ground, Try spreading your toes to connect a little bit more to the ground. Take a breath. Relax your body. Allow yourself to be supported by the ground below. Notice the sensations. Notice the experience. So that's the simple practice of grounding. It can help us notice the experience of your physical body. Settle into this moment. When you're grounded, You're present to what's actually happening in this moment, Not stuck in whatever might be happening in your head. Grounding has been a super helpful practice for me in many different circumstances, Especially because I'm the kind of person who can easily spend a lot of time in my head, Which I imagine might be the case for some of you too, Huh? The benefits of grounding during challenging times are discussed all the time, Like how it's helpful to ground and be in the present moment when you're worried about the future or ruminating on the past. And yes, I find that's true for me too. I found that grounding is incredibly helpful when things are rough. I mean, Research shows that it can help relieve stress, Anxiety, Regret, And I've noticed that too. And I've also noticed that people don't talk as often about the flip side, The importance of grounding when things feel exciting. I think many of us, Myself included, Believe that when things feel positive and hopeful, Life will just naturally flow and be easy. Ah, Wouldn't that be great? But from my experience, That's not necessarily true. It's actually never been true. When I'm excited about something, One of my typical patterns is to go into fantasy mode and create lots of stories about what amazing things will certainly happen in my future. As opposed to worrying about the future, This projection into the future is super fun. I often notice that I'm creating fantasies and actively don't want to stop because whatever is actually happening in my life is not quite as exciting and enjoyable as the virtual reality I'm creating in my head. So if it feels good, Why should I stop? Well, My fantasies aren't true. And in reality, Things never really pan out in the amazing ways I have imagined them to in my head. In my head, They are pretty perfect. And in reality, Well, They're just not. They're usually more complicated and messy. And that can leave me feeling disappointed. And when I feel disappointed or wronged or rejected or whatever feelings come up, I often feel tight and closed. Maybe even some anger. Which makes it hard for me to be fully present with whatever actually is happening. Which might not be that bad, But it's just not as good as what I had hoped or imagined or fantasized. And those fantasies make it harder to be open and curious and kind and light and playful and relaxed with the moment just as it is. All because I created expectations that were not met. Expectations in my head. So the next time that you're excited and you notice that you're going into fantasy mode, I invite you to pause. We for a moment feel the pleasantness and the goodness of those fantasies. We don't have to demonize them. And it's actually not helpful to demonize them. They're a part of us. We can love them, Right? So offer some love to them. Our fantasies might actually help us understand what we might deeply really want in our lives. So they can be useful, But that's a topic for another time. So offer them some love. Thank them for visiting. And ground. Notice your body on the ground. Feel your feet on the earth. Connect with the earth. Thank her for holding you. Thank her for supporting you. And breathe. If you practice this, I'd love to hear how it goes. In the meantime, Be well and take good care.