When you think of staying grounded, or being mindful, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For some, it’s meditation. For others, it’s deep breathing or affirmation statements. Still others think of misty mornings with a cup of coffee or tea, planning their day and sending positive vibes into the ether.
Me? I think of a big metal clamp and a mistake I make five or six times per day.
Weird, right? It’s totally true, though.

See, I’m a welder– and I tend to make weird connections between my job and the regular world. The clamp I’m talking about is called, fittingly, a ground clamp. It’s what makes welding possible. And I can think of no better metaphor to help us stay mindful and grounded in our day to day lives.
Let’s start with some background.
For this metaphor to make any sense at all, you need to understand that welding is just one big electrical circuit. On one end you’ve got a welding machine which provides electrical current, and on the other you’ve got a ground cable (and the big clamp) that connects the material to be welded back to the machine. When I pull the trigger on my welding gun, filler-wire is advanced, connecting the current from the machine to what I’m working on via an intense electric arc. This arc creates a tremendous amount of heat, and when you add that heat to metal (along with the extra filler-wire), BOOM (or maybe ZAP!) you get a weld. Basically.
Unless, that is, the ground isn’t connected. Which, for me, it frequently isn’t.
Several times per day, I completely forget to connect the ground clamp to whatever new thing I happen to be working on. When this happens, I am rewarded with an obnoxious bump as my welding wire makes contact with an inert hunk of metal, and a feeling of resigned amazement that I forgot something so critical and obvious again. At this point I usually hang my head, roll my eyes, and moan “grooooound” as I walk over to get the clamp. It’s an easy mistake to make, and doesn’t hurt anything, but man is it annoying.
I think this is a really good –if somewhat weird– metaphor for us as we try to stay grounded and mindful in our daily lives.
In today’s world of phones, and internet, and jobs, and pandemics, and whatever else is constantly distracting us, it’s really easy to lose our way and become untethered from the things that help us be happy. Far too often, I find myself wrapped up in stress about work, spending hours staring at my phone, playing way too many video games, or doing any number of other mind-numbing pacifying activities, and then wondering why I’m unhappy.
How often do we forget, or ignore, the things which allow us to have rich, fulfilling lives? When this happens it’s important for us to take a step back and re-ground ourselves; to mindfully and intentionally refocus on things that center us.
And I don’t think we have to do anything specific to get there, we just have to try.
Sure, sitting and meditating, or following some kind of mindfulness practice, or something else that is stereotypically “mindful” would be great, but all it really takes is taking time to refocus on the things that matter most to us. Personally, when I’m trying to re-center, I’ll cuddle with my wife on the couch, or listen to some really loud music, or pick up my guitar and play the same four Jack Johnson songs over and over. The activity itself isn’t what matters, the benefits come from taking the time to notice that I’m in a bad place and then doing my best to refocus on something good. Much like how I can only weld once I’ve grounded a piece of material I’m working on.
So, now I invite you to do the same thing. The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, or stressed out, or otherwise unhappy, try to remember me and my ground clamp. Then, hang your head, roll your eyes, moan “groooound” to yourself, and reach for the things that lift you up.
Thanks for reading, you’ve got this,
-Ian
Ahhhh so this is the metaphor you were referring to today. I’m so glad I found you! This is so well written and I love the correlation between the bump and re-centering your life. Also, I love Jack Johnson!
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Thanks, Dana!
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My new favorite philosophy! “GROOOOUUUNNDD”
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I sincerely appreciated this post. The metaphor is perfect. You did justice to ‘write what you know’. Amazing way to get the wonderful message across. Sweet. Keep going. I wish you miracles.
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Thank you so much for reading 😊
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Very nice post! I think it’s very valuable to be reminded of what you need to stay grounded. There is no one thing (practice, method, etc.) for achieving this, everyone has to – and definitely can – find their own grounding activities fairly easily, actually! Thanks for this
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Thank you so much!
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I love how you linked something you do often to remaining grounded. Lovely post!
Esterella | esterella.co.uk
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Thank you so much! I figure if I’m going to keep making the same mistake, I might as well make it useful SOMEHOW 😅 Thank you so much for reading 😊
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A very clever metaphor! I was thinking similarly earlier, when I had an extra half an hour for lunch and stopped myself from working to read a bit – time to focus on enjoying things
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Thank you! I’m glad you made time for yourself, that’s so important 😊
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What great post, I love how you connected staying grounded to something in your job. The metaphor is quite beautiful and a great visualisation of a concept that can be so broad and sometimes difficult to grasp. Thank you for sharing 😊
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Thank you so much for reading!
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This blog, this post is so… Peaceful. It’s positive and I am all for positive vibes… I’m here to stay!
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Thank you so so much 😊 Honestly, that’s the best complement someone could give about this site. I am so happy you enjoy it ❤️
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We all need to remind ourselves to focus 🙂
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Definitely need to remind myself of this! Wonderful post!
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Thank you so much!
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Really interesting post, I need to remind myself all of this 😆
Thanks for sharing
https://uncuaderno4cero.wordpress.com/
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Thanks! It’s definitely a bit of a weird metaphor, but I guess that’s just a hazard of my job 🤣 Thank you for reading!
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wow you are an incredible writer. i’m so glad i found your blog. looking forward to reading more.
B | http://www.mindbeautysimplicity.wordpress.com
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Thank you so much!
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What an interesting way of looking at life. I really like your illustration. It’s like, going back to the basics. Brilliant 👏
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Thank you so much!
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I love this take of grounding ourselves. I agree, there is meditation and everything, but I find it more grounding to play Animal Crossing or hug my partner. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you so much for reading!
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Great piece! A lot of people and those I know, don’t think about grounding at all. Just busy with their lives and routines. Discovering grounding made a lot of sense and I think this is a reward that we give to ourselves every day. At least 30 minutes. We have to show our love and appreciate ourselves too.
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Exactly! I wish everyone would just take that little bit of time every day, people would be so much happier. Thank you so much for reading 😊
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This sounds great, I defo could take a leaf out of your book to try to be more grounded!
Rosie
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Thank you!
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Interesting connection, and it makes a lot of sense! All of us need to take some time to re-center ourselves and ground ourselves. Great post.
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Thank you 😊
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Brilliant discussion on mindfulness and remaining grounded. It’s so important!
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Thank you so much for reading!
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This is awesome. Your metaphor is stunning. Reading this I was put in mind of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. No higher praise for the writing. Stillness and mindfulness are found among the daily rituals of life. I too will take my guitar and play songs I learnt when I was 13.
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Thank you so much 😊
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