As the year's end approaches, I, Michael Maassel, wrap up season two of Monday State of Mind with reflections that strike a chord and provoke thought. Picture the holiday season, a time of year that's personally significant to me—not just for its festive spirit but also as the anniversary of my sobriety journey that began at Harmony Foundation. It's a period that reminds me of growth and transformation, a theme that resonates deeply in this episode. I invite you to join me in a contemplative space as we bid farewell to one chapter and eagerly anticipate the launch of our third season, promising new perspectives and weekly doses of inspiration.
This episode is more than a mere recount of past themes; it's a challenge to our perceptions of fear and how it has shaped our decisions throughout the year. I open up about my own battles with fear, even amidst recovery, and how a pivotal shift towards faith has led to embracing change and welcoming positive outcomes. We explore the nuanced dance between fear and hope and how choosing to believe in the potential of the unknown can illuminate our paths forward. Together, let's consider the courage it takes to shift a few degrees away from fear, stepping into a realm driven by hope and the boundless possibilities of a brighter tomorrow.
For over 50 years, Harmony Foundation has worked as a nonprofit to serve those seeking recovery from substance addictions. Our residential and intensive outpatient programs are in a collaborative and respectful treatment environment with multiple specialty tracks offering additional support. Our main campus is nestled on a 43-acre campus in the Rocky Mountains just outside of Estes Park, Colorado, that promotes physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. With one of the most robust alumni programs in the county, clients remain connected and empowered for a lifelong journey of recovery.
Hey, hey, welcome to season two, episode 29 of Monday State of Mind brought to you by Harmony Foundation. My name is Michael Mausel and I am your host. We are on the last Monday of 2023. What Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate this holiday and happy holidays in general to all, all of the celebrants, right, everybody who is celebrating something during what we all like to call this holiday season. Me personally, I am a Christmas freak. For all of you that know me, I live and breathe Christmas. It's also a very special time of the year because when I got sober eight years ago, I started my journey in treatment and I was in treatment over Christmas at Harmony Foundation. So there's just a lot of reasons why I love this time of year and why it is so special for me. So hopefully, you guys have all been able to find some reprieve during the holiday season and find some moments of peace and calm and ways to get grounded in what you want to do as well, because sometimes in the holiday season, we get tugged and pulled in all these different directions, and so I am hoping that you all can find some peace and calm for yourself. Last episode of 2023,. What I'm also going to tell you is that this is the last episode of season two. Last week, january 1st, we open up with season three baby of Monday State of Mind, and I'm so excited for what's to come and it's going to be a little different than what it has been on Monday State of Mind historically. Yes, don't worry, we're still going to be having an episode every week, because this is how we do and I'm so excited about it. Let's dive in to the end of the year. Let's wrap things to ponder. That's what this is all about.
Speaker 1:
When I look at season two, the entire theme, you could wrap it up into one underlying word, and that word is fear. So many of our decisions, our actions, our behaviors, they are rooted in fear fear that I shouldn't take the action, fear of judgment of if I do this, am I going to be liked? Fear of not being enough, fear of trying something new, fear of being in a new community. I want you all to ask yourself, as you reflect on 2023, maybe even as you reflect on the last month, the last two months, how much of your life's decisions have been rooted in fear instead of really what you would rather a decision be based on your desires, but you choose a decision because you're afraid of being alone, afraid of acceptance, afraid of what a different outcome could be, because it's unfamiliar. So much of my life and I've shared on this podcast, even in sobriety, I realized that a lot of my decisions have been fear-based. They've been fear-based because there is still that fear of doing something new, trying something different. Again, I'll say acceptance, of being able to really believe in myself.
Speaker 1:
I will also say that, even though fear has been a big part still in recovery of some of my decision-making and behaviors, this last year was a game changer for me with moving way more into faith, and it was only a matter of being willing to believe that, hey, when I do something uncomfortable, when I try something new, when I lean into the unfamiliar, that you know what things could turn out even better than I could ever imagine. And that's with expectations that we just wrapped up talking about. It's with community, it's with running like exercise, it's with everything that we've talked about. It's crazy to think about what can happen when we literally just throw our hands in the air and just say, hey, you know what, I don't know what the outcome is going to be, but it's got to be better than making a decision based in fear. So I really invite you to get curious right here, right now.
Speaker 1:
What has fear looked like for you this past year?
Speaker 1:
How has it shown up? How has it been a theme in certain areas of your life? The next thing I'm going to ask you are you willing, what does willingness look like for you, to look at fear and to be like, hey, what would it be like if you just moved the needle one degree, two degrees every day, and being like, instead of coming from fear? Today I'm going to choose to believe that things could be better. I'm going to choose differently because what I know to be true about sobriety is that I have been gifted a choice, and I've said this multiple times on the podcast. But we have a choice and I have diligently and with a lot of discipline this past year, been very mindful of decisions that I'm making and pausing and asking myself, first and foremost, michael, is this rooted in fear, michael?
Speaker 1:
Why are you making this choice? And if I think it's going to be rooted in fear, I pause and what do I do? I talk about it with other friends. I call mentors, I call my sponsor, I call people to be like hey, this is what I'm feeling and I might need some help with this, because I don't want to do this business of life alone and I do not want to be rooted in fear. I want to be rooted in faith, I want to be rooted in expansion, I want to be rooted so much in miracles and growth so that I look back and I can be like you know what. That was so uncomfortable in the moment, but I am so glad I chose to not listen to the fear in my head and I chose differently so that I can be like Wow, look at all these things I accomplished as a result of not listening to fear. Are you willing to make that effort?
Speaker 1:
Most of the times, we don't choose to change because we're not in enough pain. I wanna ask you are you choosing to stay where you're at because you're not in quite enough pain yet and you're like life is manageable, I can still do this, okay. But what if? What if you didn't have to get into so much pain and you just chose to do something different? That's what really, almost everything we talked about in season two is about. It's about choosing different. It's about choosing to get curious. It's about expansion, and all of the guests that have been on have really talked all about that.
Speaker 1:
It's a gift to be able to look at ourselves and to be like, wow, I am powerful and wow, I do have a choice. I love this business of growth and I wouldn't have it if I wasn't so. Variety has really gifted this, and so it is my hope that, before you finish this podcast, or when you finish listening to this, that you can make a declaration to yourself, just, even if it is you know what. I can't set a long-term goal, but maybe it's just the rest of the day. You're gonna be aware of your fears, you're gonna be aware of what could be different for me if I choose different, and I'm also gonna say don't beat yourself up so many times.
Speaker 1:
A lot of us are afraid to change or afraid to look at things, because we're gonna be like I can't believe I've acted this way for so long or oh, I can't believe this has been my life. There's no shame in any of this. There's no shame in any of it at all. What you get to do is, instead of looking at it as shame, feel so powerful. Feel powerful and confident that you're making the choice to look at your behaviors in your decision-making process and how you're showing up. It's scary AF sometimes, but damn, it's so rewarding. It is so rewarding when I look back at all of this. What a gift you guys. We have a gift here. It's amazing and it can be scary, but it can also be powerful and there's so much freedom in it.
Speaker 1:
So that's what I wanna offer you is we look back and wrap up season two of Monday State of Mind, where really the common thread in everything, anything that was talked about, was fear, and we get to now look at it. So good. You have two choices with fear Forget everything and run, or face everything and rise. Fear and faith cannot live in the same room. Which one are you gonna choose? Deep breaths, smile, go, slay the rest of your day, whatever time of day. You're listening to this, share this episode with somebody you know would benefit from listening to this and get excited for season three. Baby of Monday State of Mind. We're gonna shake things up a little bit. We're not gonna do the theme thing anymore and you'll see like I will talk more about it with the opener for season three, but we're gonna shake it up and I'm excited about it because that's part of the evolution of the podcast. We have not been in fear of changing things for the good, for the betterment of the evolution of it. And so there you go. There's that fear.
Speaker 1:
I'm so grateful for all of you that love and support Monday State of Mind and our listeners. I am so grateful for all of you who tune in weekly. I'm grateful for all of you who share this. It takes a village and that is why I love this podcast, because it builds community. It allows people to hear the things they need to hear without having to go and talk to people. Sometimes, this is the invitation to be able to go do something bigger. I love this so much. I love all of you. Again, thank you for your love and support. Before we part ways, I want to remind you that help is available. If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please reach out to Harmony Foundation at 970-586-4491. Just remember that together we are building better humans. All right, you guys, I'll see you in 2024. All right, you guys, I'll see you in 2024.