8 Easy Practices To Help You Stay Grounded & Balanced In Life
No matter where you are in life, chances are you are dealing with something.
Life in itself is a lot, it’s a journey full of unique experiences and lessons. Sometimes those experiences and lessons can turn out a lot differently than we had personally hoped or pictured in our minds.
It’s inevitable that everything is not going to go our way….and that’s okay.
One of the secrets to living a peaceful, prosperous, and fulfilled life, is staying grounded.
Being grounded means being well-balanced and sensible. Someone who is grounded:
has a clear sense of control over their thoughts, feelings, and emotions
has the ability to be present and live in the moment
has a positive and optimistic outlook on life
is always aware of their surroundings
doesn’t sweat the small stuff
Staying grounded in today’s society can be tough because there are so many external factors influencing our thoughts, habits, and moods. It’s important for you to consistently do the work that it takes to keep yourself grounded.
Here are a few helpful practices that you can incorporate into your daily routine to help you stay grounded.
1. Keep a journal.
Journaling is one of the easiest and most private ways to practice mindfulness and keep yourself grounded.
You can grab a cute, stylishly designed notebook or you can simply use a regular notebook. Whatever you decide to use, I would suggest that you designate this notebook solely for the act of journaling. You don’t want to be jotting down your deepest thoughts into your math notebook!
Keep your journal in an easily accessible and safe space, I keep mine in my nightstand drawer. Always make sure that you have a pen or pencil handy, I actually have a really cute diamond pen that I keep in my drawer with my journal. To make things even more enjoyable, try using colored pens!
Designate time every day to commit to journaling. Maybe write first thing in the morning, before bed, or during lunchtime, whatever works for you. There is no right or wrong way to journal.
What do I write about?
Here are 6 journal prompts to help get you started. Sign up for my newsletter to get monthly journal prompts emailed straight to your inbox!
What are 10 things I am grateful for today?
What are some of the limiting beliefs that might be holding me back?
What brings me peace?
What motivates me to keep going?
What does my schedule look like today?
What was the best thing that happened today?
What are 5 things that bring me joy?
Making a habit out of writing down your thoughts daily will give you a chance to dump all of that brain clutter somewhere, analyze your thoughts, reflect on your now, and ease some of those thoughts that make us anxious.
2. Practice yoga.
Yoga is a great way to ground yourself, bonus points if you can get outside and do it barefoot in the grass! Practicing yoga incorporates meditation and breathwork with stretching your body. Use yoga as a tool to help you “be in your body”, relax your mind, and center your concentration.
Practicing just 15- 30 minutes of yoga each day can relieve stress, help you sleep better, ease chronic pain, boost your mood, and promote better self-care. You can practice yoga anytime. Get a fresh start in the morning, mid-day, or even wind down in the evening.
Don’t know where to start?
Grab yourself a cute yoga mat, throw on something comfortable and get to a quiet space to practice.
My favorite yoga routine is this 10-minute one here.
3. Setting intentions for your day.
Setting your intentions for the day is a very helpful practice to help you stay present in the moment and map out your day with clarity. Most of us have a habit of waking up and just going about our day without a plan. This is the most unorganized way to live your life.
Spend time each day sitting down and planning your schedule out, it doesn’t have to be perfect but strive to give yourself a general outlook on what tasks, duties, and appointments need your attention so you don’t have many surprises.
Of course, don’t expect things to always go as planned, but in general, a sense of knowing what to expect throughout the day helps you feel less anxious and more at ease.
4. Taking regular breaks from social media and mainstream news.
Social media and mainstream news outlets are full of opinions, negativity, and unrealistic standards. In general, we consume way more of this than we need to.
Remember, all of this is fairly new to us. Social media has only been around since the early 2000s and the effects that it has on our mental and psychological development are astronomical.
Every now and then, challenge yourself to go on a media fast. Delete the Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok (and whatever other social platforms you’re a part of) apps, deactivate your accounts, and/ or refrain from tuning into the nightly news.
These media outlets fuel our dopamine levels so they can be pretty addicting, but making a conscious effort to eliminate these mediums for a set amount of time routinely can do wonders for your mental health.
Try going silent for 2 hours, 24 hours, or 1 week, whatever works for you. The important thing is that you do it.
5. Practicing daily meditation.
Practicing daily meditation is a wonderful way to ground yourself. Meditating involves making a conscious effort to clear your mind, control your thoughts, and breathe.
You can practice meditation anytime throughout the day, in almost any setting. My favorite is to meditate in the morning just after I wake up.
Find a quiet space, sit down on the floor, on the couch, or if possible outside in the grass. Listen to a guided meditation, like mine here. You can also listen to some calming music or nature sounds. You can open the window and listen to some organic nature sounds or turn everything off and listen to nothing.
Sit with your back straight, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
With every exhale, release all of the tension in your body. With every inhale allow the breath to flow through your body like a stream. Empty your mind of any thoughts, as soon as any thoughts pop into your head, release them. Focus on just breathing for at least 10 minutes.
Some people find it hard to think of “nothing”. If that’s your case, try visualizing the things or people that you are grateful for.
Commit to practicing this meditation daily, 10 minutes per day for 5 days to get yourself started.
6. Connecting with nature.
Getting outside to connect with nature is also a great way to connect with nature, weather permitting of course.
This beautiful Earth that we live on is living and breathing just like us. It is a major source of energy. Just standing outside in the grass barefoot for 10 minutes can help you get grounded.
Breathing in fresh oxygen, laying in the sun, hugging trees (yes, I said hugging trees), walking barefoot in the sand, sitting by a stream or looking out at the ocean are all great ways to get more grounded.
I truly feel a sense of euphoria when I am doing any of these activities. They really have a unique way of allowing you to live in the moment and take in the beauty of this wonderful planet in all its glory.
Try doing this once a week. Depending on where you live, you may want to incorporate this grounding technique into your spring and summer routines.
7. Programming your mind with positive affirmations and mantras.
Positive affirmations are one of my favorite ways to ground myself. I was introduced to positive affirmations years ago and I have been obsessed ever since.
It’s crazy how much we fail to realize that the words that we speak over our own lives really shape the realities in which we live. It is so important to make sure that you speak positivity into yourself on a daily basis.
I am have become so consciously aware of what I am saying now that I make up affirmations and mantras for every area of my life. Most importantly I think before I speak and I make sure to be mindful of the dialogue that I am using when describing myself or certain situations.
There are certain words that I will no longer even allow to come out of my mouth. It’s THAT serious.
No matter what your current situation looks like at the moment, you always have the power to shift perspective with your words and thoughts.
Have issues with your health? Try these health affirmations.
Not feeling like your best self? Try these confidence affirmations.
Have trouble paying your bills? Try these money affirmations.
Reprogramming your mind to view these perceived issues in a more positive light can help to ground you in knowing that your current reality is never permanent and always has the potential to be “better”. If you feel better about your circumstances now, the higher your energy vibrates and the higher your energy vibrates the better you feel in the moment.
Feeling good is the energy that sparks these affirmations to become true, and only YOU have the power to do that for yourself.
Make a habit out of saying positive affirmations to yourself daily. Commit yourself to try this 21-day challenge on my YouTube page, I have a few on there that you may find helpful.
Often it’s the little daily habits that we form that end up making] the biggest differences in our lives.
8. Serving others.
This is the practice that I think is harder for some people to grasp, but it might be easier to execute than you think.
If you ever need to feel grounded in the present moment, try doing something genuinely generous for another person.
It doesn’t have to be money that you give, although of course giving or donating money to someone or something definitely counts as generous.
You could give a compliment, give gratitude by thanking someone, give a meaningful gift, a kind gesture, give a hug, or even wish someone a wonderful day with a pleasant text. Whatever it is, make sure to do it with pure intent and from a loving heart, expecting absolutely nothing in return.
Giving and serving others is the ultimate grounding technique because it allows you the opportunity to be selfless, using your light to illuminate someone else’s and spread love and joy!
Try to commit to serving at least one person each day, every single day. If you really want to commit, make it a habit to give something to everyone that you come in contact with each and every day.