The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds--Not Crushes--Your Soul

where you are today is where you are today; it’s exactly where you need to be, and it’s the key to getting where you want to go.

We expect things to get better without ever acknowledging or accepting our true starting point.

And while transitioning from speed to patience may require us to confront our fears, this is not problematic. As you’ll see in the next chapter, when we confront our fears we develop deeper trust and confidence within ourselves, and we also forge connections with others.

When we do not fully know ourselves we cannot fully trust ourselves.

When we protect our time, energy, and attention and direct it wisely—when we are present for meaningful people, places, and pursuits—our entire experience of being alive improves dramatically.

Epstein makes a compelling case that match quality is even more important than grit. After all, if you’re a good fit for what you’re doing, then you’re likely to stick with

We’ve been conditioned to believe that if we aren’t constantly scheming and strategizing, taking inventory of the past, or thinking ahead to the future, we’ll miss out on something and fall behind. But perhaps the opposite is true. If we’re constantly scheming and strategizing, always looking back or thinking ahead, we’ll miss out on everything.

How do I want to show up? Where do I want to direct my energy and attention? What do I want to be present for?

we are training our brains to be in a constant state of hyper-alertness, always thinking about what could be happening somewhere else and feeling the urge to check in and see.