This week’s episode of the Growth Guide Podcast features Brad Stulberg. Brad joined us today to talk about his book, The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds—Not Crushes—Your Soul.

Brad is a writer, researcher, and performance coach and is also the co-author of: Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success. 

No matter how hard you tried or how hard you thought you would be happy at your destination, it’s normal to feel exhausted. But if you enjoy the journey, you may enjoy the destination. Brad discusses the importance of enjoying our journey in order to enjoy the end result.

As much as social media holds an important role in our lives, we have to understand that not all the things we see there are true.Brad talks about how we are consumed by the unrealistic nature of social media. 

The front-stage self is the personality we show to the world. The "backstage self" is who we truly are. If we give too much space between these two personalities, we are welcoming cognitive dissonance. Brad explains why we need to bridge the gap between our front-stage and backstage selves and why we need to set boundaries for our personal lives on social media.

[06.38] Blessing and a curse – Brad shares his opinion about the lack of boundaries between work and life. 

[14.08] Enjoying the journey – If we do not enjoy doing something, we won’t find enjoyment at the end of it.

[20.46] Social Media – We discuss how we are consumed by the false happiness of people in electronic media. 

[26.40] Stoicism and Buddhism – How the teachings of stoicism and Buddhism about being in the present moment which leads us to feel better and do better. 

[31.50] Behavioral activation – A key component of acceptance and commitment therapy. 

[38.33] Therapeutic toolkit – The Buddhist way of considering thoughts as thoughts and not taking them seriously. 

[45.06] Want vs. need – The more we focus on what we want rather than what we need, the better. 

[01.01.25] Productivity vs. productive activity – Brad explains the difference between productivity and productive activity. 

[01.10.31] Consistency compounds – Brad shares some practices to be consistent and stay on the path. 

[01.22.38] Front vs backstage self – Front stage is the performative self, and the backstage is who you really are. The less distance between them, the better. 

Resources

Connect with Brad

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/brad-stulberg-009b168b/ 

Website - bradstulberg.com/ 

Twitter - twitter.com/BStulberg 

Instagram - instagram.com/bradstulberg/?hl=en 

Book by Brad

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

Book by Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness

Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success

Book by David D. Burns

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy

Book by Stephen R. Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change