--- title: Staying Grounded description: Discover the power of humility and staying grounded as Mark Glicini shares insights on ego, personal growth, and the importance of maintaining perspective amidst success. image: https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2025%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Staying%20Grounded.png --- [Skip to the main content.](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/staying-grounded#main-content) [![MGPP Header White](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MGPP%20Header%20White.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=MGPP%20Header%20White.png "MGPP Header White")](https://markglicini.com) [![MGPP Header Logo](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MGPP%20Header%20Logo.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=MGPP%20Header%20Logo.png "MGPP Header Logo")](https://markglicini.com) - About MGPP - [Meet Mark](https://www.markglicini.com/meet-mark) - [Our Team](https://www.markglicini.com/our-team) - [Partnerships](https://www.markglicini.com/partnerships) - [Store](https://www.proathletics.com/mark-glicini) - [Services](https://www.markglicini.com/services) - Media - [Intentionally: The Blog](https://www.markglicini.com/blog) - [Mark's Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ruq1L8SNPyGmAqLdrVAVQ?si=fe35a92f2ae94518) - [Newsletters and Articles](https://www.markglicini.com/media) - [Testimonials](https://www.markglicini.com/testimonials) - [Meaningful Growth Foundation](https://www.markglicini.com/meaningful-growth-foundation) [Contact Us](https://share.hsforms.com/1VWcoL6s9TM6Banj_CI8rhwcj7mn) Toggle Menu Toggle Menu [Contact Us](https://share.hsforms.com/1VWcoL6s9TM6Banj_CI8rhwcj7mn) - About MGPP - [Meet Mark](https://www.markglicini.com/meet-mark) - [Our Team](https://www.markglicini.com/our-team) - [Partnerships](https://www.markglicini.com/partnerships) - [Store](https://www.proathletics.com/mark-glicini) - [Services](https://www.markglicini.com/services) - Media - [Intentionally: The Blog](https://www.markglicini.com/blog) - [Mark's Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ruq1L8SNPyGmAqLdrVAVQ?si=fe35a92f2ae94518) - [Newsletters and Articles](https://www.markglicini.com/media) - [Testimonials](https://www.markglicini.com/testimonials) - [Meaningful Growth Foundation](https://www.markglicini.com/meaningful-growth-foundation) [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/mark.glicini/) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/markglicini/) [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-glicini-b2698261/) [X](https://twitter.com/markglicini) 3 min read # Staying Grounded [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini) : Jan 16, 2025, 7:03:00 PM ![Staying Grounded](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2025%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Staying%20Grounded.png) Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s about thinking of yourself less. Humility is not about what you do know; it’s about what you do not yet know. Humility is not about judgment; it’s about curiosity. > ## All cures come from curiosity. > > ## – Marisa Peer, best-selling author and ranked UK’s #1 psychotherapist One of the lessons I learned recently emphasized how an individual’s ego, “that which compares,” becomes more powerful as he or she wins… Susceptibility to egotistical and narcissistic tendencies increases in magnitude as self-perceived status improves. Therefore, maintaining humility from basecamp to summits to metaphorical peak remains mission critical. ## Aim for what’s highest, strive forward with focus, and **never forget where you came from**. Humility provides perspective, allowing one’s heart to remember what it was like to be a beginner while one’s mind stays set on the next target. In Ryan Holiday’s notable book, he states Ego is the Enemy. In my podcast episode with Scott Cochran, he remarks that ego stands for Edging God Out. And in Greek mythology, Icarus flies too close to the sun, falls from grace, and drowns due to hubris. What kind of relationship with our own ego should we have? Should we attempt to completely tame our egos altogether? Is comparison healthy, maladaptive, or both? President Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” To an extent, I agree. However, comparison to who we were yesterday, last month, and last year seems appropriate. We know ourselves intimately. We know our past; therefore, we can better understand how we got to where we are today, and use that information to put our next behaviors in formation. ### As a final explanation of the same idea, humility refers to evolution and transformation, not attempting to be someone we are not. When we reflect, come to understand our values, and live in accordance with those values… we progress from chrysalis to butterfly, from potential to possibility, away from a judgmental ego to a flourishing, mindful self. Not all decisions are of the same prowess. Some require deeper reflection, connection to our inner authentic selves, and courage. In 2018, when I was at a crossroads between a continued career on Wall Street or a leap of faith towards entrepreneurship, Performance Psychology, and individuation, I challenged myself to become clear about my core values. After all, those do not change. Themes like faith, family, health, service, and love began to appear in my consciousness as I meditated. Upon contemplation, I’m grateful I was patient enough to listen to that *small still voice* inside of me. That’s the thing about patience — when we desire an answer strongly enough, and wait without anxiety, and let our gut’s intuition sing, resolution manifests itself. Success comes from peace and peace comes from clarity. Clarity is a byproduct of calmness and gratitude. Calming gratitude presents itself when we deliberately choose humility. — ## **“If” — Rudyard Kipling**   If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise…   If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools…   If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’   If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”   —   In a world full of uncertain events, we decide our attitude.  My encouragement: embrace an attitude of humility. Then, come what may…   ![Mark News and Articles 4](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/News%20and%20Article%20Thumbnails/Mark%20News%20and%20Articles%204.png?width=500&height=500&name=Mark%20News%20and%20Articles%204.png) [Meet Mark](https://www.markglicini.com/meet-mark) #### Mark Glicini ##### Founder & CEO of Mark Glicini Peak Performance Mark was born and raised in New Jersey where he became an elite high school student-athlete. He earned varsity letters as captain of his high school football, basketball and lacrosse teams and was elected into the National & Spanish National Honor Societies. He attended a post-graduate academic program at Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, MA before college where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Yale University in New Haven, CT. He is currently a graduate student working toward his doctorate degree in Sport & Performance Psychology at San Diego University for Integrative Studies under Dr. Cristina Versari, Founder & CEO of SDUIS and former Head of Sport Psychology for the National Basketball Association. He is a Teaching Associate with Dr. Robert Gilbert, a Professor at Montclair State University (NJ) and a leading authority and author in the field of Applied Sport Psychology. Mark is currently the lead Mental Health & Wellness Player Advocate for the Premier Lacrosse League. [Join Our Email List](https://share.hsforms.com/11xhsBMIVT9Gu2ICJnftvXwcj7mn) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) #### Getting to Know the Author Mark is a Certified Fitness Trainer, Nutritionist, and Mental Performance Coach. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Sport & Performance Psychology at the San Diego University for Integrative Studies. At Mark Glicini Peak Performance, we recognize that physical health reflects mental health. We study how intention drives behavior and emphasize that true peak performance requires an integrative approach—mind, body, and spirit. [See What We Offer](https://www.markglicini.com/services) #### The Meaningful Growth Foundation As the Mark Glicini Meaningful Growth Foundation embarks on a journey of endurance and togetherness against the trials and tribulations brought upon by cancer, I state: every inch of my heart is in this. Like so many, cancer has had a profound impact on my life. It took the lives of my grandfather and uncle before I was born. For years starting in 2011, I stood by my mother’s side as she battled and overcame lymphoma. Her fortitude, unwavering support from loved ones and God’s will triumphed amid extreme adversity. Although we have not and may not win every fight, we will relentlessly strive to make an individual’s growth meaningful and to ensure his or her family feels cared for and supported. Thank you for your love, God Bless! [Contribute Today](https://donate.stripe.com/fZe7vSaDlfjvf8Q7ss) [![Purpose Inspires People](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Purpose%20Inspires%20People.png)](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/purpose-inspires-people) #### [Purpose Inspires People](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/purpose-inspires-people) [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png?width=30&name=Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini): Oct 22, 2026, 7:01:00 PM When we have a big enough Why, we will find and do the How. [Read More](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/purpose-inspires-people) [![Standardize then Optimize](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Standardize%20then%20Optimize.png)](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/standardize-then-optimize) #### [Standardize then Optimize](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/standardize-then-optimize) [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png?width=30&name=Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini): Oct 15, 2026, 7:32:58 PM The person who moved a mountain began by carrying away small stones. [Read More](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/standardize-then-optimize) [![The Love to Care & the Courage to not Care](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Take%20Care%20Carefully.png)](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/the-love-to-care-the-courage-to-not-care) #### [The Love to Care & the Courage to not Care](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/the-love-to-care-the-courage-to-not-care) [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png?width=30&name=Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini): Oct 8, 2026, 7:03:00 PM Do not be careless… care less. 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