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

by Brad Stulberg

FINAL THOUGHTS ON ACCEPTANCE Acceptance is about being with your reality, whatever it may be. By doing so, you lessen the distress caused by wanting things to be different and judging yourself when they are not. You rid yourself of the gap between your expectations and your experience, and you eliminate the second, third, and fourth arrows. Only once you’ve accepted your reality will you find peace, strength, and stability, or at least an understanding of the actions you might take to attain these states. Acceptance is not about doing nothing. Rather, it is about reckoning with what is in front of you so you can encounter it in a skillful manner. Acceptance is necessary to experience contentment and happiness in the here and now, and it is the first step toward making progress in the future. It can be applied to every level of life. Whatever it is you are working toward—big or small, micro or macro—acceptance is an essential and ongoing practice. If you accept your reality you’ll feel more firmly grounded in it. You’ll be where you are, and you’ll have a much better chance of getting where you want to go.