By Leo Babauta

A lot of people right now are feeling exhaustion from the news, the economy, politics, wars, the AI frenzy … it’s a lot to deal with.

People tend to have two responses to feeling like the world is too much:

1. Being over-engaged: Feeling anxious about the world, you can get hooked on following the latest news, doomscrolling through social media and other feeds, and spinning in your head about it all; or

2. Disengaging: It feels like too much, and so you check out. You don’t follow any of the news, you don’t check social media (or only the entertaining parts), you don’t get involved. Not my problem.

Is there a way to stay grounded and engaged, without checking out? Is there a way to stay engaged while not feeling so exhausted?

I think most of us want inner steadiness and groundedness, and none of us want to be exhausted. But can we do that when so much is going on in the world?

Let’s call this a third option: being grounded and engaged with the world.

Let’s talk about it.

The Costs of the False Choice

If we think that we either have to be engaged and spiraling with anxiety, or disengaged for the sake of our sanity … then we are forced to make a choice between the two. But maybe that’s a false choice.

There’s a cost to this false choice, no matter what we choose:

1. Cost of Over-engaged: Constantly scrolling, constantly feeling anxious or enraged, not getting enough sleep, not being able to focus on any meaningful work or anything that requires us to be calm with a battery that isn’t drained. That’s a real cost beyond our peace of mind (which is already a huge thing) … we can’t focus. That drains us of our joy and life purpose.

2. Cost of Disengaged: Checking out can feel like relief, but it has some big costs as well — including being excluded from the conversation about how we want the world to be, what our future is going to be like, and what solutions there might be. We also become disconnected from people, and remove our agency.

I’m not judging either of these — I’ve done them both, and they both seem like reasonable choices. I’m not saying either are bad … I just want to acknowledge their costs.

Grounded and Engaged

First, let’s be honest: news about what’s happening in the world can bring up anxiety, anger, frustration, overwhelm, sadness and powerlessness in all of us. This is the reality.

So what we need to do is find a way to ground ourselves when these emotions come up.

Here’s a simple method (simple, but it needs lots of practice):

1. Acknowledge that you’re feeling stuff: this is something you can do when you read the news or scroll a feed. Be very intentional as you do so, and try to notice when your emotions are getting riled up.

2. Notice how your feeling in your body: People engage with the thoughts about things, but don’t notice the physical sensations of the body as it’s happening. If you’re frustrated and angry, where is that located physically in your body? What does it feel like? Can you get curious about the sensations without engaging with the thoughts?

3. Breathe and soothe yourself: Take a few deep, slow, soothing breaths. This starts to slow down your nervous system. Let your tensed muscles relax. Remind yourself that you’re safe and there’s nothing to fear.

4. Remind yourself of what you can control in this moment: You can’t control the entire world, and you don’t need to. You only need to focus on the power you have right now, in this moment — to breathe, to soothe yourself, to appreciate the beauty of the world that’s around you.

5. Steps beyond: You can also talk with others about this, and have a conversation, once you’re a bit calmer. And you can make a list of a few things you can do in the next couple of weeks to engage.

And that’s the engaged part of grounded and engaged — you can have conversations and take small actions. You can read a little more and get a bit more educated.

You can also talk to people who have different opinions, and try to understand them and have compassion for the fear and anxiety they’re feeling as well.

You can get involved with organizations trying to make change, as you practice your groundedness.

You can also realize when you need a break from being engaged, and take care of yourself. Replenish your resources before getting burned out.

You don’t need to exhaust yourself — and in fact, I’d argue that you’re better of not doing so. The world is a better place when you’re grounded, and when you get engaged from a place of feeling like your battery isn’t drained.

How would you like to practice?