Ground and Center: What keeps you grounded?

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Prayers. Ground and center.

“Ground and center.” How do you cope when things begin to be overwhelming? What do you do when you feel your temper rising? How do you deal when you’re beginning to sense that stress is about to overtake you? You center yourself. You keep grounded.

Keeping grounded means staying balanced and present at this very moment. It’s about being centered right NOW. It’s having a higher sense of self-awareness. The effect is that you’re more peaceful. Grounded.

During birth class, we were taught to have a focal point when the contractions would come, or when labor would come. You’d focus on one object while you take deep breaths, until you are calm, until you are grounded, until you are centered. This makes labor pains easier to bear! 😉

Trust in His process

Today, for me, it would be prayers. Prayer is my focal point. I subscribe to this app on my iPhone called “DVO” and everyday new devotions are shared. That’s where the beautiful prayer images you see in this entry are from. It’s nice to wake up in the morning, check the prayer for the day, then reflect on it. Sometimes the prayers really hit me in the heart! It’s a great way to kick off the day — grounded, centered, loved.

IN HIS TIME

I’ve also been going to LEAP, a life coaching program. LEAP stands for Leadership Excellence Advancement Program. It’s an 8-week program which has been teaching me to embrace total personal empowerment. LEAP’s program structure provides daily contact with a personal life coach, weekly meetings with a support group, and monthly workshop sessions that serve as checkpoints. It’s about making life work 100%, and celebrating one’s greatness. I’m halfway through the program now and have been abundantly blessed with love, contentment and much joy. If you’d like to learn more about the program, let me know! I’d love to share the LEAP love with you.

WAS LOST NOW FOUND

LEAP has been helping me keep more focused and grounded. Truth is, I’ve felt much less stressed since learning from LEAP. I still get stressed during work, don’t get me wrong. But because I’m more grounded, and I deal with it in a more loving, grounded way, stress doesn’t hold me down as much as it used to. { I will write more about LEAP after I graduate this late September. 😉 }

DO NOT CONFORM

Aside from prayers, there are other things that keep me grounded. They are:

  • Love. I just visualize anything that makes me feel loved, anything that I love. My husband. My son. Reading books. A walk to the frozen yogurt shop. Getting a pedicure. Sleeping in. My LEAP council and batchmates. A hot bowl of Sinigang.
  • The other person. Oddly (and yet, unsurprisingly enough), trying to understand where the other person is coming from keeps me grounded. I used to be highly reactive. Over the past few weeks, I’ve learned to take a deep breath before reacting, and try to see the other’s perspective first. This has been tough for me, especially since I’m such a control freak! But it’s an exercise that has been going well for me. It has helped me become more centered.
  • Closing my eyes and taking deep breaths. In private of course, not in front of the other person (see previous bullet). 😉
  • Being present. It’s easier to deal with things when you’re involved in the now, in the moment. Be 100% engaged in where you are at that particular time, and you’ll be grounded quite easily. Sometimes I find my thoughts drifting when I’m working on a task I dislike, but in the past weeks, I’ve been learning that with passion and commitment, I can be grounded. Another benefit to that is I get the task done with no grudges (unlike before!).
  • A personal quote. Is there a quotation that calms you? Is there a line from a song that brings you peace? Is there a passage that empowers you? For me, it is a line that grounds and moves me forward at the same time. It is a line that was borne from the LEAP program, just for me. My love nurtures greatness.

    My love nurtures greatness

    What keeps you grounded? Come and share your personal tips and techniques. Let’s learn from each other!

    6 Comments on Ground and Center: What keeps you grounded?

    1. Michelle Padrelanan
      September 1, 2014 at 10:02 am (10 years ago)

      Hi Toni! I’ve been observing your LEAP journey. Can you tell me more?

      Reply
      • Toni
        September 2, 2014 at 9:01 am (10 years ago)

        Definitely Michelle. I wrote about how my LEAP journey started here: http://www.wifelysteps.com/powerful-programs-live-inspired-excellent-life-flex-alc/ :)

        LEAP is part of a trilogy of programs. LEAP is the final one. So let’s start with the 1st! FLEX (Foundations of Leadership Excellence) is a 2-day workshop that heightens your sense of self-awareness; you learn truths about yourself that are empowering, that are beautiful, that are GREAT! Sometimes kasi we downplay our strengths to the point that we forget how great we are. FLEX helps pinpoint in you what is great about you. What I love about FLEX is that the journey is experiential and personal. So my takeaway from the program will definitely be different from yours. :)

        Next would be ALC, which is about overcoming fears and coming face to face with truths about yourself you may be refusing to acknowledge. It’s a very revealing and illuminating process. Through ALC I faced baggage I didn’t even think I carried, but was apparently digging roots in to my life and holding me down. My gosh. After ALC I felt so free. I knew myself more and knew how I could make my relationships work better. So liberating.

        LEAP is about living your dream. Seriously. It’s like the practical application of FLEX and ALC. You’ll be assigned a personal life coach who you’ll touch base with regularly, as well as a support group. It’s a beautiful process, and I am amazed at how my perspective on relationships, career and life in general has become lighter and more grounded because of LEAP.

        These are structured programs given by expert, world-class facilitators. The environments are safe and confidential.

        I highly encourage you to try out FLEX. There’s a batch this coming Oct 4-5. Very excited for this batch! I took my FLEX in May, ALC in June and started LEAP in July.

        Please let me know if you have any questions and clarifications. Would love to tell you more about it. <3

        Reply
      • Toni
        September 3, 2014 at 9:50 am (10 years ago)

        Hi ceemee! Sent you an e-mail. :) I’ll write about LEAP sometime in October! My graduation is on the last week of September. So near na!!!!
        Toni´s last blog post ..How to create an inspiring workspace

        Reply

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    1. […] recently blogged a really nice piece on how to keep grounded and centered, and I found myself reflecting on the things that keep me grounded […]

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